Engaging in asynchronous activities in distance teaching mode: Requirements of collaborative interfaces

This paper identifies and classifies various types of actions performed on asynchronous activities and also presents the related actions that contribute with the increasing of collaborative learning. The actions and asynchronous activities were categorized in discussion forum, aiming to identify action patterns that increase student´s engagement in the resolution of such activities. The analysis resulted in a set of requirements for improving the interfaces of asynchronous activities that emphasize collaborative learning. A discussion forum model is proposed with the aim of contributing with the increase of student´s engagement found in the resolution of academic activities available in discussion forums, and to facilitate understanding of subject matter through an organized representation of ideas. The results were prototyped to the LMS Amadeus¹.