Reducing Free Riding: CLASS – A System for Collaborative Learning Assessment

In today’s era of digitalization of education, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning is becoming increasingly important in higher education. This type of learning has been frequently associated in the recent research literature with student regulation, feedback from peers and a student assessment schema which can incorporate both formative and summative assessment strategies. This work-in-progress paper presents the CLASS system which caters for all these aspects. Furthermore, the system supports mechanisms for the prevention of the free riding phenomenon, which has been reported in the literature as one of the most important disadvantages in group student work. The paper discusses the higher education context in which the CLASS system was developed and used, along with its design affordances and how these affordances can facilitate CSCL. The paper can be useful to designers and developers of CSCL systems as well as to practitioners that are interested in how they can exploit CSCL with their students working in groups.