ABSTRACT

The design and development of learning support systems has been a prominent subject in educational computing recently. Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crismond (2008) suggested using a computer not just as a tutor but as a cognitive tool for critical and complex thinking processes, and many studies have been conducted to design learning environments in which computers work as supportive tools. Computers with network capabilities can play a key role in systematically guiding collaborative activities among learners. A structural approach for creativity such as Creative Problem Solving (CPS), for instance, can be successfully supported by an online system in which learners are guided and asked to join divergent and convergent activities collaboratively among team members. CPS as a model for guiding creative processes has long been the framework for teaching creativity (Treffinger, Isaksen, & Dorval, 2000, 2006). The model emphasizes a balance between divergent and convergent thinking in every step of the problem-solving process (Puccio, Firestien, Coyle, & Masucci, 2006). However, it has been used mostly in face-to-face classroom settings, and the possibility of using the model in an e-learning environment has not been well explored yet.