Experiences with teaching and learning in virtual learning environments

International Online Seminar - a cooperative and collaborative event. Social Learning on the Internet: This book gives a kaleidoscopic view of the Ikarus project, an EU- financed training programme that lasted over three years and whose objective it was to develop an interactive learning environment based on cooperation and collaboration. Die Thematik des Erlernens neuer Wissensbereiche durch das gemeinsame Arbeiten in internationalen Gruppen stand im Zentrum dieses Projekts. In zwei Kursen wurden wichtige Themen des Lernens in virtuellen Lernumgebungen aufgearbeitet. Einen zentralen Platz nahm dabei das gemeinsame Erarbeiten des „Lernstoffs“ durch Diskussionen und der Mitarbeit in Projekten ein. In the Ikarus project important aspects of learning were reappraised in virtual learning environments. Working out the syllabus together across state borders (in particular the subjects of law, educational science and computer science) formed a fundamental part of the project, so great emphasis was placed on the communication between those teaching and those being taught and within these groups themselves. In order to achieve these objectives international online courses with intensive communication were held - in this case courses on teaching and learning in virtual learning environments -, educational guidelines set out and the teaching and learning behaviour evaluated. In this book the background and development of the online seminars are presented and the experiences gained in the course held in the summer semester of 2004 are described.