As noted earlier, exploring and investigating its primary functional features is the first step towards designing and implementing a functional and effective e-learning CVE. Several studies in the literature deal with various aspects of these complex issues (Kanev et al., 2009; Calongne, 2007; Bouras.etal.2008; Clark et al., 2006; Dillenbourg, 1999). These functional features should be specific enough in order to differentiate an e-learning environment from other virtual environments. Following Bouras et al. 2008, and Dourish et al. 1996, the design has to deal with some aspects of the “real world”, which can be exploited by virtual spaces for collaboration and learning. The real world value of the features listed below is that they provide critical cues. These would allow individuals to organize their behavior accordingly.
Every tool designed for supporting e-collaboration should exploit aspects of space and spatial mechanisms, such as providing identity, orientation, a locus for activity and a mode of control, which can be considered as powerful tools for the design.
CVE designers should include precise tools and take into account specific aspects in order to support the creation of places by the users who would, in turn, be able to create meaning of things in social interactions (Dourish, et al.; 1996; Clark et al. 2006; Bouras et al. 2008). These specific aspects are outlined below:
- Relational orientation and reciprocity: The spatial organization of the tools should be the same for all participants. The core point is that since people know that the world is physically structured for others in the same way as it is structured for them, they can use this understanding to orient their own behavior toward other people’s use.
- Proximity and activity: More or less, people pick up objects that are near, not at a distance; they carry things to view them at close proximity which helps the learners/collaborators to be active and not passive in relating to activities and interacting with other learners.
- Partitioning: Resulting from the concept of proximity is the notion of partitioning. Since actions and interactions fall off with distance, this distance can be used for partitioning activities and the level of interaction.
- Presence, awareness, and support of users’ representation: The sense of ongoing awareness of other people’s presence and activity allows learners to structure their own activities, integrate communication and collaboration progressively, seamlessly, and easily. It should be noted that the use of avatars in a virtual environment is key for supporting collaborative e-learning. Additionally, note that the role of the lecturer as a facilitator is supported by the visualization of students represented as avatars in the virtual place (Wolf et al., 2009; Clark.et al.2006). Consequently, the visualization of students in a location helps the lecturer to gather students to specific locations – which provides a context for discourse in the virtual place. In short, it might be useful to represent the users by avatars that can support mimics and gestures, for supporting virtual and social presence, as well as for enhancing the ways of communication among the users with non-verbal communication.
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