Abstract

Research on the place of digital collaborative learning in schools has establishedits extensive use for the provision of online courses (Stevens, 2007), for learningwithin schools (Orech, 2009) and as a means of promoting inter-cultural education(Austin, 2006). Given that teachers’ understanding and practice in collaborativelearning is critical, the authors examine in this article teachers’ perception ofcollaboration and collaborative learning in terms of a model for understandingdifferent levels of engagement with digital collaboration. They also seek to explorethe reasons for teachers’ perceptions and how this may impact on theirparticipation in online collaborative learning projects.