Ransanz Reyes E, Arana-Cuenca A, Manzanal Martínez AI. Recommendations for designing collaborative activities in online higher education: a systematic review. J Technol Sci Educ. 2025;15(1):4-17. doi:10.3926/jotse.2818.
García Dieguez M. Comment on the Online Collaboration Is More Than “Putting Students into Groups”: Keys to Designing Effective Virtual Learning Activities. [Internet]. Pan American Health Organization. Bibliographic Repository. Cited on 07/10/2025. Available at: https://campus.paho.org/en/repo/online-collaboration-more-putting-students-groups-keys-designing-effective-virtual-learning
García Dieguez M.
CEEProS Universidad Nacional del Sur
This article is valuable for educators, instructional designers, and leaders of online programs who aim to transform group activities into authentic collaborative learning experiences. Its strength lies in going beyond the simple assertion that online collaboration "works" by identifying concrete design conditions, including clear learning objectives, appropriate group organization, explicit interaction rules, active faculty facilitation, careful selection of digital tools, and process evaluation. Although the review focuses on higher education in general, its findings are highly transferable to the continuing professional development of health professionals, where online collaborative learning can support case discussions, problem-solving, communities of practice, and the development of transversal competencies.
The review included 46 articles published between 2018 and 2023, following a PRISMA-based methodology. The authors organized the findings into three main dimensions: contextual factors, pedagogical strategies, and information and communication technologies (ICT). Among the contextual factors, previous teaching experience, students' willingness to collaborate, and institutional assessment systems were identified as major determinants of successful collaborative activities. Regarding pedagogical strategies, the review emphasizes that online collaboration requires intentional instructional design, including careful group formation, clearly defined objectives, structured learning guides, continuous monitoring of communication, and timely feedback. Concerning ICT, the authors describe tools that support communication, knowledge management, and collaborative work, including discussion forums, chats, social media, wikis, Linoit, Microsoft Teams, Blackboard Collaborate, virtual reality, avatars, and artificial intelligence.
As a limitation, the review excluded theoretical papers and previous review articles, which may have omitted relevant conceptual contributions. Furthermore, not all included studies were conducted in health professions education, so transferring these findings to medical education or continuing professional development should be done with caution. Nevertheless, the article provides a practical and well-organized synthesis for designing online collaborative activities that are more likely to promote meaningful interaction and learning.
- Form groups based on pedagogical criteria rather than randomly.
- Provide clear instructions and explicit rules for collaboration.
- Faculty should assume an active facilitator role throughout the activity.
- Select digital tools according to the learning task.
- Assessment should combine evaluation of both the final product and the collaborative process.
- Technology should be viewed as a means to support learning, not as the educational goal itself.