Abstracts - Earli

analysis. Our main finding is that the students, and their teacher, pursue the biological inquiry tosolve the problem but not so much to make conceptual knowledge about the disciplinary field. Thestudents employ scientific concepts but they do not relate these as part of a larger conceptualsystem. This is critical if conceptual reflections are wanted and not only procedural employment ofisolated concepts. This affords clear efforts to improve different kinds of interventions thatmutually stimulate interactions that support the students’ making of scientific concepts in theeducational setting, and that are taken care of as inscriptions in the CSCL environment. Theseinscriptions are important in the computer–based 3D model but it is even more decisive that theseare taken care of as educational inscriptions on the website that is designed to support the 3Dmodel. These inscriptions work as a starting point for organising the activities and direct thestudents in a wanted interpretation of the knowledge domain.Technology-enriched learning environments – A potential to enhance learning: The students’perspectiveRivka Wadmany, Teachers College of Technology, IsraelTamar Levin, Tel Aviv University, IsraelThis study explored the characteristics of technology-enriched classroom environments and itspotential to enhance both students’ and teachers’ growth that were reflected in the views of 1644th-6th grades students on their longitudinal learning experiences in technology rich classroomenvironments. The main findings show that in almost all participating classrooms students’ viewswere aligned with constructivist ideologies drawn on both social-dialogical learning and individuallearning, and focused mainly on: authenticity, cognitive complexity, multiple perspectives,collaboration and personal as well as cognitive growth. The findings also indicated that students’perceptions of the learning environment in various classroom contexts differ significantly. Thesedifferences were also reflected in the constructivist characteristics of technology uses among thedifferent classrooms. The findings further show the multi-dimensional nature of teachers’educational beliefs and reflect the complex nature of the relationship between students’ views ontheir learning environments and teachers’ educational beliefs and classroom practices.Students’ satisfaction with and perceptions of the added value of performing learning tasks inasynchronous online discussion and collaboration environmentsHossein Mahdizadeh, Wageningen University, NetherlandsHarm Biemans, Wageningen University, NetherlandsMartin Mulder, Wageningen University, NetherlandsThe features of asynchronous online discussion and collaboration (AODC) environments areassumed to stimulate and facilitate processes of collaborative knowledge construction. A crucialquestion in this respect is how students perceive AODC environments. In the present study thefollowing research questions were addressed: 1) Do students perceive added value of performinglearning tasks in AODC environments?; 2) Are students satisfied with performing learning tasks inAODC environments?; and 3) What factors determine students’ satisfaction with and perception ofthe added value of performing learning tasks in AODC environments? 148 BSc and MSc studentsfrom Wageningen University, who were enrolled in 7 different courses that included differentAODC learning tasks, completed a questionnaire covering various student variables and thedependent variables. Our results showed that most students had either a positive or a neutralperception of the added value of performing learning tasks in AODC environments. The same heldfor their satisfaction with online collaboration. The determining factors identified in this study(students’ previous experience with e-learning environments, their opinion about web-assisted– 107 –