Contextualized Systems and the role of Mediating Information Structures

Within the school environment, interactions between people and interactions between people and things are affected by situated, contextual factors. Context includes not only physical characteristics, but psychological, and social characteristics as well. Moreover, context is understood in terms of both past and present circumstances. Computer applications designed to support group activity, like Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), frequently fail because contextual factors are not adequately addressed. CSCLS applications can be contextualized, or designed to fit in specific contexts. This paper compares traditional computing and contextualized computing and introduces StoneSoup, a digital student portfolio project that demonstrates how an information structure can play a mediating role in a contextualized system.