Transcript Computer Supported Cooperative Work

Computer Mediated Communications
Week 9
LBSC 690
Information Technology
Agenda
• Questions
• Computer mediated communications
• Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
• Educational computing
• Project presentations
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
(local)
Different
places
(remote)
Same Time
(synchronous)
face to face,
classroom tools
Different Times
(asynchronous)
postit notes, meeting
support systems
IM, Chat Rooms, Email, Usenet news
NetMeeting,
VTC, Access Grid
Inspired by the table in Shneiderman’s “Designing user interfaces”
Asynchronous Remote
• Email: centralized storage
– Individual
– Mailing lists
• Usenet: distributed storage
– Hierarchical organization
• comp.edu.languages.natural
– Archive: groups.google.com
– Analysis: research.microsoft.com/~masmith/
• Threaded discussion lists
– Example: http://discus.hope.edu/f05
Synchronous Remote
• Instant Messaging (IM)
– e.g., AIM, MSN Messenger
• Chat Rooms
– Whole lines are sent at a time
– e.g., chat.yahoo.com
• NetMeeting
– IM+audio+video+whiteboard+shared applications
– MSN Messenger now includes these capabilities
Glass Wall
• Unplanned interactions
• Informal communication
Synchronous Local
• Meeting support systems
– Brainstorming
– Online review
– Annotated minutes
• Example
– Teaching theater student tools
Computer Supported
Cooperative Work (CSCW)
• Work
– Grounded in the study of work processes
• Cooperative
– Assumes a shared objective, task
• Technology-supported
– Computers are just one type of tools used
– “Groupware”
Key Issues in CSCW
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Shared information space
Group awareness
Coordination
Concurrency control
Multi-user interfaces
Heterogeneous environments
Case Study: Virtual Reference
• Required functions
• System architecture
• Adoption
Case Study 2:
Your Project Team!
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Face to face meetings
Teleconferences
Shared workspace on WAM
IM-synchronized work sessions
NetMeeting?
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
• The most important barrier is time
– Teacher time is by far the most important factor
Alternatives
• Facilities
– Computer classrooms (e.g., teaching theaters)
– Computers IN classrooms (e.g., HBK 2119)
• Objectives
– “Computer Literacy”
– 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
– Focus on dissemination and evaluation
• Instructional television
– Dissemination, interaction, and evaluation
• Computer-Assisted Instruction
– Same three functions w/ubiquitous technology