We review a representative selection of systems that support the management of collaborative
learning interaction, and characterize them within a simple classification framework. The framework
distinguishes between mirroring systems, which display basic actions to collaborators, metacognitive tools,
which represent the state of interaction via a set of key indicators, and coaching systems, which offer
advice based on an interpretation of those indicators. The reviewed systems are further characterized by the
type of interaction data they assimilate, the processes they use for deriving higher-level data
representations, the variables or indicators that characterize these representations, and the type of feedback
they provide to students and teachers. This overview of technological capabilities is designed to lay the
groundwork for further research into which technological solutions are appropriate for which learning
situations.
