Past, Present and Future of Research on Educational Technology in the West

This is a review of research on educational technology from a particular historical and theoretical perspective. It focuses on the research field of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and does so based on the author’s personal experiences in that field. Starting with an overview of the changing role of technology in educational design, it then looks at the shifting function of individual learning as a component of group collaboration, with the central theme of intersubjectivity. The multiple dimensions of philosophical and analytic perspectives that emerged in the past have spawned a variety of methodological and thematic alternatives in current research. Lessons learned from this research point to a number of principles for productive, multi-disciplinary research in the future, as the field of CSCL spreads globally.