The emergence of new information and communication technologies (ICT) has provided new opportunities for designing and implementing innovative computersupported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments enabling group members to learn and work independently of time and space. Although very promising, especially in distance education, this new kind of learning has also introduced a number of questions about the effectiveness of collaborative learning through CSCL environments. This chapter is an introduction to this dissertation reporting on the research undertaken to answer those questions. The chapter starts with a short overview of the pitfalls and barriers that accounts for phenomena –the impediment of social interaction and difficulties with achieving group formation and group dynamics– that complicate effective learning in CSCL environments. This is followed by a delineation of the activities of the research including the formulation of a theoretical framework upon which a design of sociable CSCL environments can be based and the presentation of the hypotheses within the research context. The chapter concludes with an outline of the structure of the dissertation and a short overview of the contents of the different chapters.