Achieving collaboration in e-learning

Reflection and metacognition turn activities into ongoing learning. In a group context, they allow students to notice patterns in their own collaboration: what moved the group forward, where energy was wasted, how decisions are made, and how disagreements are managed. Metacognitive prompts focus attention on planning through questions such as "What do we know now and what do we lack?", monitoring through questions such as "Where is our discussion going and is it on target?" and evaluation through questions like "What would we do differently next time and why?".

Operationalisation includes personal and group tools: individual diary entries after each major step, group retrospectives with categories of what went well and what needs to be improved, a decision log with short explanations and process metrics such as balance of time spent, average response time and number of locked tasks per cycle. Evaluation of reflection can be conducted using rubric with criteria such as depth of insight, connection to evidence and planned steps, with the emphasis remaining on development rather than punishment.

Digital tools provide transcripts and automatic summaries that serve as a starting point for reflection, but human facilitation is essential. What is needed are stimulating questions, normalising uncertainty and directing the discussion towards learning, not blame. A culture of interpersonal respect and safety, in which it is permissible to admit a mistake and change one's mind, is a condition for honest and useful reflection and work, and therefore we should use all the possibilities of digital tools that allow us to do so, and try to suppress most of their possibilities that can be used for mere surveillance devoid of pedagogical purpose.