Progressive dialogue in computer-supported collaborative knowledge building

Abstract

The importance of educational dialogue in promoting learning, thinking and understanding is recognized widely (Alexander, 2017; Howe & Abedin, 2013; Mercer & Littleton, 2007; Wegerif, 2013). Recently, there have been major developments examining the mediating role of digital technology in dialogic processes (Major, Warwick, Rasmussen, Ludvigsen, & Cook, 2018), for example, the use of interactive whiteboards (Hennessy, 2011), table tops (Falloon & Khoo, 2014; Haßler, Major & Hennessy, 2016), microblogging (Cook, Warwick, Vrikki, Major, & Wegerif, 2019) and wiki-supported tools for knowledge construction (Pifarré & Staarman, 2011). Research has shown how meaning is generated through dialogue and how technology can create and open up a “dialogic space” (Wegerif, 2007) for inter-thinking (Littleton & Mercer, 2013). New technology not only makes it possible for dialogue to transcend time and space but also provides opportunities for dialogue to be dynamic, creative and transforming.