Colloquia

Taken from here:

Colloquia is a Java-based P2P collaboration tool with a built-in network browser interface designed to support and encourage self-organizing groups. Users primarily interact through P2P text messaging, and can share local files or resources downloaded from the Web. Originally developed with the aid of grants for UK Higher Education, the program was inspired by theories of the importance of conversation in human activities, and the importance of context to conversations. Colloquia was designed as a tool for distributed learning, for activities such as teachers providing assignments then directing the resulting conversations, peers setting up study circles, or groups using the software as a project management tool.

Colloquia is free to non-profit educational establishments. It supports Windows 95/98/98SE/ME/NT/2000/XP, Mac OS X, AIX, Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, Unix and other Java-enabled Platforms. The program requires Java 2 (included in the download package), a processor speed of 200 MHz or better, 64 Mb of RAM (128 Mb recommended) and 40 Mb of free space. A dedicated email account for the program is also recommended.