Collaborative second language writing: an activity analysis of Web conferencing

This article discusses an undergraduate second-language writing course that incorporated Web conferencing. The study was informed by a sociocultural research approach known as activity theory. Student reflective diary entries posted over ten weeks to the Web conference helped identify features that supported or detracted from collaboration, peer evaluation and the co-construction of academic text. Employing activity theory, we outline two course objectives (collaborative writing and peer evaluation) and discuss the use of student feedback to modify web conferencing support.