Opening a forum, starting a video call, or sharing documents does not, by itself, turn a virtual environment into a collaborative space. Interaction emerges when these tools are integrated into an approach that gives participants reasons to converse, compare ideas, review one another’s work, and construct shared responses.
The article by Nathalia Mesa-Rave, Alexandra Gómez Marín, and Sandra Isabel Arango-Vásquez examines how these dynamics were promoted on the University of Medellín’s UVirtual Académica platform during the transition to technology-mediated, in-person education. To do so, the authors combined a literature review, an analysis of virtual environments, and interviews with faculty members, considering not only the cognitive dimension of communication but also its social and emotional components.
The findings reveal a platform used extensively to assess students, distribute content, and maintain communication, although there were significant differences in how its resources were utilized. Forums played a central role among asynchronous tools, while text-based and audiovisual materials were the formats most commonly used to present content.
However, what mattered was not how frequently each resource was used, but the relationships it enabled participants to build: exchanges among students, instructor support, academic discussion, and feedback capable of integrating knowledge, emotions, and social presence. Among the strategies observed, the combination of classroom projects, tutoring, and peer assessment proved particularly effective in fostering collaboration and expanding opportunities for dialogue.
The study encourages us to stop viewing the digital campus as merely a repository for materials. With appropriate pedagogical planning, it can become a community in which communication supports both learning and emotional well-being, and where students are no longer confined to the role of spectators.
The study was conducted in a specific institution and within a context shaped by the pandemic, so its conclusions should be understood in light of that experience. Even so, it offers an insight that remains applicable beyond the emergency: collaboration does not depend on accumulating tools, but on designing situations in which people need to listen to one another, respond to one another, and assume shared responsibilities.
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How to Cite: Mesa Rave, N., Gómez Marín, A., & Arango Vásquez, S. I. (2023). Collaborative Technology-Mediated Teaching-Learning Scenarios to Promote Communicative Interactions in Higher Education. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 26(2), 259–282. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.26.2.36241
