Connecting eye to eye: The Challenge of Computer Supported Contact

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is used a framework for supporting online and blended learning in educations. Online communication and collaboration are fostered by prior face-to-face social contact (Dau, 2015). Correspondingly, social collaboration is to a significant extent based on the establishment of direct eye contact (Khalid, Deska and Hugenberg, 2016), but direct eye contact is challenged by the position of the digital devices and thus CSCL. Lack of eye contact is the chief contributor to the negative effects of online disinhibition (Lapidot-Lefler and Barak, 2012) and the problem is the location of the web camera on the computer. Eye contact is challenged by the displacement between the senders´ and receivers´ focus on the screen picture and the camera's location at the top or bottom of screens on all digital devices. The aim of this paper is accordingly to investigate the influence of the displacement in eye contact using CSCL. The research question address the impact of the displacement of eye contact in the collaborative problem-solving process and the consequences for the design of a CSCL environment. Based on the epistemology of social constructivism and the theory of communities of practice, the paper adds a theoretical framework for the investigation made. The research method is based on the principles of interaction design. Lecturers and students from graphic design technology, computer science, software development and web-development are included in the study. The study is part of the development of a cross-border digital commuting learning environment in the Baltic Sea Nordic countries. It is revealed that eye contact is essential for collaboration in the problem-solving process. Moreover, it is stressed that there is a need for adding new visual representations in computer supported collaboration. Based on the results, recommendations for prototyping and further research are suggested.