Telematics for Group-based Learning: Simplicity versus (or With?) Functionality

Group-based learning is being introduced into many settings in higher education. Is this a sustainable development with respect to the resources required? Under what conditions can groupbased learning be applied successfully in distance education and in increasingly flexible campusbased learning? Can telematic support facilitate and enrich courses where group-based learning is applied? These questions formed the basis of the motivation for the research project whose main results are presented here. The goals set for the research were the identification of problems associated with planning, operationalisation and monitoring in group-based learning in higher education and the identification of telematic support options which, in combination with appropriate instructional decisions, have the potential to remedy these problems. The solutions identified were tested in the context of three case studies.