On modeling children´s non-verbal interactions during computer mediated music composition: a case study in primary school peers

The proposed paper aims to model the non-verbal interactions that occur during a computer-mediated music composition process between pupils in primary school within a collaborative framework. The socio-cultural approach, drawn from Vygotsky´s theoretical context, is being further developed and some of its aspects are outlined and used as a framework to further understand the collaborative processes that occur during collaborative learning. The latter is achieved by identifying effective peer´s verbal and non-verbal interactions in a collaborative computer-based music composition environment (CCMCE).The present paper aims to explore and model children´s patterns of body language signs which contribute to measure peer´s active and passive collaborative learning in CCMCE. Experimental results from a case study in a primary state school in Greece promise to yield important cues for peer´s thinking, concentration and mental processing that will be useful to anyone engaged in examining children´s computer-mediated collaborative interactions.