Genre structuring in a web-based groupware medium: the evolution of a project progress report

Abstract

Information Technology supported teaching and learning typically borrows many teaching practices and instruments from previous contexts. These typical practices or instruments can be classified into recognizable types or "genres". There are different ways in which these genres cross the boundaries of action, voice or paper based techniques to their electronically provided alternates. This study applies the framework of "genre structuring" to explore the evolution of a project progressreporting mechanism, re-implemented in a web-based groupware application, and used in several different Information Technology courses over the last three years.