As a compulsory part of the study in Pedagogical Information Science at the University of Bergen and Stord/Haugesund College (Norway) during the spring term of 1999, students participated in a distributed group activity that provided experience on distributed collaboration and use of online groupware systems. The group collaboration process was mediated by information and communication technology, and the work was done on the presumption that each group member had access to his own computer. The groups collaborated through the network by means of a groupware program called TeamWave Workplace, a program that offers the participants a joint workspace and tools that allow users to collaborate, show and exchange files, have common databases, write/draw on the same screen, etc. The assignment was to create a room in TeamWave Workplace that enables learning of a specific subject. This paper presents a theoretical framework of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and findings--both challenges and crucial elements--based on participation in this open, distributed, and collaborative learning environment. (Contains 18 references.) (MES)