In this thesis tools for the coordination support of discussion forums in a distance course are investigated. The research is conducted from the point of view of collaborative learning and the 3C Collaboration Model and uses action research as a method. In a forum carried out as a collaborative activity, learning takes place mainly through the exchange of messages among learners, which demands coordination. Coordination in this thesis is understood as one of the 3 dimensions of collaboration as made evident in the 3C Model: communication, coordination and cooperation. The results of this thesis, which include data, analyzes, procedures, reflections and implementation of the services and functionalities investigated, were obtained in the course of 3 years of action research. In action research the researcher performs successive actions aiming at minimizing a specific problem in a real environment. In this thesis, the real environment is the Information Technologies Applied to Education course at PUC-Rio and the problem identified is a difficulty in the coordination of the course`s forums. The action is the offering of support tools for coordination in the AulaNet, the web-based education and learning environment used in the course. The common characteristic of the tools investigated is the offering of information on the progress of the forum without the need to use the AulaNet`s desktop web interface: with this objective, graphs, statistical data and notifications are presented through PDAs, cell- phone SMSs and pop-up windows in the desktop. An assessment of the tools developed is carried out every semester: through the evaluation of the use of the tools by learners and mediators, improvements or new tools are proposed for the following semester, in a cyclical process.