  A number of papers have been reviewed in the areas of HCI, CSCW, CSCL. These
have been analyzed with a view to extract the ideas relevant to a consideration
of user interactions in a collaborative on line laboratory which is being under
development for use in the ITO BSc course at Southampton University. The
construction of new theoretical models is to be based upon principles of
collaborative HCI design and constructivist and situational educational theory.
An investigation of the review papers it is hoped will lead towards a
methodology/framework that can be used as guidance for collaborative learning
systems and these will need to be developed alongside the requirements as they
change during the development cycles. The primary outcome will be the analysis
and re-design of the online e-learning laboratory together with a measure of
its efficacy in the learning process.
