Designing and evaluating collaboration in a virtual game environment for vocational learning Raija Hamalainen * Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, Keskussairaalantie 2, FI-40014, Finland Received 23 October 2005; received in revised form 29 March 2006; accepted 5 April 2006 Abstract Especially in vocational education, attention should be paid not only to the use of new technological solutions but also to collaborative learning and cooperative working methods in order to develop students’ skills for their future jobs. This study involves a design experiment including the design process of a new game environment, description of the script devel- oped for this game, as well as the empirical study with multiple data collection methods, data analysis, results and conclu- sions for further work. The aim of the study was twofold. Firstly, we aimed to develop a game environment to simulate the work context of a vocational design process, and secondly, to investigate how effective the game environment is in voca- tional learning and how scripting affected students’ group processes during the game. It seems that, at their best, such ‘‘edugames’’ may enrich learning and the pedagogical use of technology. Although integrating learning and games provides tempting possibilities, it also contains many challenges, such as different group-specific learning processes despite the scripted environment. Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Cooperative/collaborative learning; Improving classroom teaching; Interactive learning environments; Simulations 1. Introduction Shared activities within the frame of distributed or distant working over computer networks will play an increasingly important role in the future not only in the field of learning but also in working life. Therefore in work organisations, hope is placed on CSCW (Computer-Supported Cooperative Work) (Dourish & Bel- lotti, 1992), and on school contexts CSCL (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning) (Koschmann, 1996). The current research on collaboration and cooperation in virtual environments stems partly from ear- lier work on group-based learning approaches (Strijbos & Martens, 2001). Even though cooperative work and collaborative learning are related and have partly shared roots, the pro- cesses are different. The differences between CSCW and CSCL include, for example, that in school contexts as opposed to working life the methods and rewards are different. Cooperation and collaboration differ from 0360-1315/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2006.04.001 * Tel.: +358 40 744 2611; fax: +358 14 260 3201. E-mail address: raija.hamalainen@ktl.jyu.fi Computers & Education 50 (2008) 98–109 www.elsevier.com/locate/compedu