CHAPTER 11: What Influences Teacher Educators’ Use of Collaborative Learning?

An entirely new approach to thinking and learning has started to emerge in the 21^st century as a result of the invention of the Internet (Harasim, 2012). Technology and social media have led to changes in all areas of life. Daily online communication has become commonplace, and information systems and networks offer a new model for sharing (Blau, 2011). Thus, distances between cultures and continents have been shortened, and learning activities and work have become common among workers from different countries (Resta & Carol, 2010; Shonfeld, 2017). Learning methodologies have been similarly impacted by these rapid technological changes (Harasim, 2012; Warschauer & Grimes, 2007). For example, Harasim (2012) introduced Online Collaborative Learning (henceforth OCL) as a new learning theory, far beyond the concept of collaboration as a teaching and learning methodology.