Transcript Computer Supported Cooperative Work

Computer Mediated Communications
Week 12
LBSC 690
Information Technology
Agenda
•
•
•
•
•
Questions
Computer mediated communications
Computer-supported cooperative work
Educational computing
Project testing
Computer Mediated Communication
• CMC refers to human communication via
computers--including computer network
communication on the Internet and the
World Wide Web. People interested in CMC
study a range of phenomena--from the
dynamics of group communication in
Usenet news articles to how people use
hypertext to shape meaning.
from http://www.ibiblio.org/cmc/center.html
Describing CMC Applications
• How many participants?
– One or many
• When?
– Synchronous or asynchronous
• Where?
– Local or remote
Cooperative systems
Same
place
Same Time
(synchronous)
face to face
(classroom tools)
Different
synchronous
distributed
places
(distributed) (IM, IRC,
Netmeeting)
Different Times
(asynchronous)
asynchronous
interaction
(bulletin board)
asynchronous
distributed
(email, USENET
news, BBS)
Inspired by the table in Shneiderman’s “Designing user interfaces”
Electronic Mail (email)
• Asynchronous and distributed
• A great start for Internet communication
– Available even beyond the Internet
• Many email providers
– AOL, MSN, Yahoo, universities
• Mailing lists provide simple way to talk to
many people at once
– listservs
USENET News and BBS
• Asynchronous and distributed
• USENET are similar to a large set of mailing
lists
– Hierarchical organization
• Most general appears first (comp., soc., alt. …)
• Most specific appears last (comp.edu.languages.natural)
• Google groups keeps all the news
• Bulletin Board Systems are Web extension
– Not through emails, but web pages
– More popular than USENET now
– An example: http://www.bianca.com/
Hands on point: try online BBS
•
•
•
•
Go to http://discus.hope.edu/f03/
Pick up a board to read
Describe how it is organized
Powered by discusware at
http://www.discusware.com/
Threads in emails and news
• Many ways to organize messages
– Chronologically
– Same sender
– Same receiver
• Threads provides another way
– under the same subject, in the same topic
– Easy to retrieve a set of topic related messages
Instant Messenger (IM)
•
•
•
•
Synchronous and distributed
“talk” on UNIX in old days
Popular for similarity to human talking
A common space shows dialogue history
– Both people can type at the same time
• Must has a screen name
– e.g., atouchofwind
– both sides have to use the same provider
Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
• Synchronous and distributed
• Like IM, but with lots more people
– Same thing as a chat room on AOL
• Whole lines are sent at a time
– Each line is labeled with the sender’s screenname
• Still not allowed in open labs at UMD?
– Was simply too popular!
• Yahoo chat: http://chat.yahoo.com/
Netmeeting
• The idea of real-time communication
between pairs or groups over the internet or
intranet using audio, video and data
communication.
• Also refers to Microsoft software
• Popular in corporations
– Especially in economic downturns
Successful Story: Glass wall
• Glass wall at PARC
– Facilitates unplanned interactions
– Supports informal communications
Hands on Point:
Shared White Board
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Open a browser
Go to http://products.figleaf.com/
Login with a screen name
Click “draw” if it is available
Draw a circle or add things
Click “release” once you are down
Another example: Coccinella:
http://hem.fyristorg.com/matben/
Tools inside class/meeting room
• Synchronous and Local
• Support face to face communication
• Meeting support systems
– Brainstorming
– Online review
– Annotated minutes
• Example
– Multichat, one minute paper
Computer Supported Cooperative
Work (CSCW)
• Also known as “groupware”
• Work
– Grounded in the study of work processes
• Cooperative
– Assumes a shared objective, task
• Information technology supported
– Computers are just one type of tools used
Key factors in CSCW
• Combined, integrated technologies
• Communication and coordination within the
group,
• Main challenges are from social, not
technical or economic
Key Issues in CSCW
•
•
•
•
group awareness,
multi-user interfaces,
concurrency control,
communication and coordination within the
group,
• shared information space and
• the support of a heterogenous, open
environment
Case Study: Virtual Reference
• Reference and virtual reference
• Is virtual reference CSCW?
• What are the required functions of virtual
reference systems?
Case Study: Virtual Reference and
CMC tools
• Pros and cons of using each CMC
techniques in virtual reference?
The Real Example
• What about your project team coordination?
– Face to face meetings
– What about other means of CMC?
Educational Computing
• Computer Assisted Education
– What most people think of first
• Computer Managed Instruction
– What most people really do first!
• Computer Mediated Communication
– All that CSCW stuff applied to education
• Computer-Based Multimedia
– Just another filmstrip machine?
Rationales
• Pedagogic
– Use computers to teach
• Vocational
– Computer programming is a skill like typing
• Social
– Computers are a part of the fabric of society
• Catalytic
– Computers are symbols of progress
Conditions for Success
• Most prerequisites are not computer-specific
– Need, know-how, time, commitment, leadership,
incentives, expectations
– In one study, only one addressed resources
• The most important barrier isn’t either
– Teacher time is by far the most important factor
Alternatives
• Facilities
– Computer classrooms (e.g., teaching theaters)
– Computers IN classrooms (e.g., HBK 3108)
• Objectives
– “Computer Literacy” is the most common class
– Not so in the Maryland teaching theaters
• Comparatively few technology classes
Discussion Point: Computers as
Educational Media
• What are the most salient characteristics
– Books
– Video
– Computers
Distance Education
• Correspondence courses came first
– Focus on dissemination and evaluation
• Instructional television was next
– Dissemination, interaction, and evaluation
• Ordinary television supports only dissemination
• Computer Assisted Instruction
– Same three functions
– Goal is to be better, cheaper, or both
Discussion Point: distance
education vs face-to-face teaching
• What we gain from distance education?
• What we lose from distance education?
Case Study: How WebCT was
selected
• Course Management System
– CT stands for Course Tools
• Integrated set of education tools for
– Facilitating learning, communications
– Organizing course and admin materials
• Face-to-face to online distance learning
Evaluating a Web course
management tool
Features
Backend
• FeaturesBack-endOther
Others
Annotation, Browser support
Bulletin Board, Calendar,
Chat, E-mail, File uploads
Graded Assessment, HTML Links
Import/Export Capabilities,
Instructor Customization,
Listserv support, Login Security
Multimedia, Multiple Security
Levels, Online grading, Online
help,Progress Tracking , Self
Assessment, Setup wizards,
Student Groups, User Interface,
Whiteboarding
CGI Scripts
Course Archive/Backup
Database Access
Development Platform (OS,
Web)
EXE file support
Java
Logging
Security
Server Type (Unix, NT)
SSL Compliance
Student data batch input
Cost
IMS Compliance
Site License
Training
Upgrades
Vendor Partnerships
From Sunil Hazari http://www.sunilhazari.com/education/webct/oldstuff/default.htm
Project Evaluation
• Review:
– Informal colleague review
– Formal expert review
• Usability testing
– Study the usefulness of the system
– Informal or formal
• Survey
– Clear goal first, then focused items next
Usability Testing
• Two key issues
– Test types
– Sampling strategies
• Black box tests
– Assumes no knowledge of the design
• For example, test every link on every page
• Glass box tests
– Use design knowledge to test likely failures
• For example, run queries that exercise joins
Sampling Strategies
• Systematic tests
– Broad tests
• Web page example: test every link from the top page
• Database example: Run each query once
– Deep tests
• Web page example: follow a full sequence of links
• Database example: Run a query with different data
• Ad hoc tests
– Specify how users are selected, give them a task
Golden rules
• Test often
– During the development stage
– After completion
• Select the right tester
– Anyone but the developer