Prototype development towards hybrid peer-to-peer framework of distributed environment for cooperative and collaborative work

This paper presents a conceptual framework of new type of hybrid peer-to-peer distributed groupware and its prototype implementation in a simple scenario of learning case study as a prove of concept. The CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) tool developed, demonstrates a typical virtual classroom scenario with scheduled workflow among participants. The key architecture of the prototype involves at least three main components, namely: session-synchronization component, authentication component, and document sharing component. These components are extendable and implemented using pluggable service connectors which allow integration of multiple web services that are available in the internet to support the designed scenario. This paper also discusses several web services technologies that are supported in the prototype, on policies of how to consume such services, on their underlying protocols, and on strategies to embed them to form a simple groupware scenario.