Peer-to-Peer Learning

There are many ways for children to learn to use the XO and the activities it offers. One model that has shown great promise is that of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) collaboration . When students come together to share their experiences with the XO, they have the chance to learn from peers while taking pride in their personal expertise on different aspects of the hardware and software. The benefits of such an initiative go far beyond gaining familiarity with the XO itself – students are also provided with the opportunity to gain self-confidence and develop habits of teamwork.

The purpose of this Wiki to share experiences with P2P learning in OLPC deployments across the world. Please contribute so that we can learn from each other and provide students with the best possible learning experience. Thank you in advance for your collaboration!

Academic Studies

OLPC Deployments

Title	Info	Autor	Year
PVC’s XO Laptop Program: Year One Report	Doctoral student Gerald Ardito describes the effects of an XO “tech team,” comprised of twenty fifth and sixth grade public school students in Westchester County, New York	Gerald Ardito	2009

Collaborative Learning: Other Studies

Books

Title	Info	Author	Year	Publisher
Educational cooperation and the use of technology in D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology	Researchers and practitioners summarize the literature and explore research methods and models regarding educational cooperation and the use of technology. Attempts to answer questions such as "What does research tell us about television learning or computers as cognitive tools or the design of graphics and text in the technological environment?" and "How are various research methodologies applied in the field of educational communications and technology?"	Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T.	2004	New York: Macmillan Library Reference.
We-think: The Power of Mass Creativity	"We think explores how the web is changing our world, creating a culture in which more people than ever can participate, share and collaborate, ideas and information." Note: The first three chapters of this book are available online for free.	Leadbeater, C.	2004	New York: Basic Books Inc.
Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas	"Mindstorms has two central themes: that children can learn to use computers in a masterful way and that learning to use computers can change the way they learn everything else. Even outside the classroom, Papert had a vision that the computer could be used just as casually and as personally for a diversity of purposes throughout a person’s entire life. Seymour Papert makes the point that in classrooms saturated with technology there is actually more socialization and that the technology often contributes to greater interaction among students and among students and instructors" (Amazon.com)	Seymour, P.	1980	New York: Basic Books Inc.

Articles

Free to View

Title	Info	Author	Journal	Year
Cooperative Learning: Theory, Principles, and Techniques	"This paper discusses the use of cooperative learning (CL) in second language (L2) instruction. Aftre two brief definitions of CL, key areas discussed in the paper are: a) how CL relates to theories of L2 acquisition, b) CL principles, and c) some CL techniques and lesson plan considerations when using CL in L2 instruction. An appendix provides a list of websites on CL."	Jacobs, J.	Conference Proceedings	Year unknown	Use of reciprocal peer tutoring technique in an environmental control systems course at an undergraduate level	Study on the effects of reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) on student performance in one of the Environmental Control Systems courses offered by the Department of Construction Science, Texas A&M University.	Choudhury, I.	Journal of Construction Education, 7(3), 137–142	2002

Fee for Use

Title	Info	Author	Journal	Year
Peer tutoring: An effective instructional strategy	"This review examines the literature addressing the concept of peer tutoring. Journal articles and education documents written within the last 10 years that discussed peer tutoring were considered."	Sanders, P.	ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED457224	2001
Cooperative Learning: Where Behavioral and Humanistic Approaches to Classroom Motivation Meet	Article discussing the "behavioral and humanistic perspectives on collaborative learning." Argues that "it is the combination of group rewards and peer interaction on learning tasks that is necessary to produce the learning gains characteristic of effective cooperative learning models."	Slavin, R. E.	The Elementary School Journal, 88(1): 29-37	1987

Theses

Title	Info	Author	Year	Institution
Twenty heads are better than one: Communities of children as virtual experts	Thesis describing "the online system [Evard] designed to allow students to consult one another about their individual projects. [She] observed a class of fifth-grade students using [her] online environment during five months, while they were designing and implementing educational computer games in Logo."	Michele Evard	1998	MIT