The Metaphor of Virtual Rooms in the Cooperative Learning Environment CLear

In the CLear project we develop a cooperative learning system for supporting learning and training processes of co-located and distributed groups. One of the fundamental concepts of CLear is the virtual room metaphor. We discuss divergent interpretations of this metaphor each appropriate for certain aspects of the learning process. We are exploring the implications of using such a metaphor for supporting collaboration, structuring hypermedia information and supporting the learning process in general. Our aim is to define a virtual room metaphor that integrates the collaborative aspects as well as the need to structure learning content contained within this system.