Transcript Chapter 14 Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

Chapter 14
Computer-Supported Cooperative
Work
Ezekiel Cuttino
John Middleton
Christopher Myers
14.1 Introduction
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Online communities have emerged
that utilize the internet as an
environment used for both
entertainment and business
purposes
Electronic communication benefits
long-distance cooperation
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CSCW – Computer Supported
Cooperative Work
Groupware – team-oriented
commercial products
14.2 Goals of Cooperation
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The analysis of cooperative systems is
governed by the goals and tasks of the
participants:
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Focused partnerships – users who need each
other to complete a task
Lecture/demo – one person sharing info with
remote users
Conferences – allow remote groups to
communicate at the same time
Structured work processes – people with
distinct roles cooperate on a task
14.2 continued
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Electronic commerce – short-term
collaborations to inquire about and
order a product (can lead to long-term
negotiations)
Meeting and decision support – users
utilize computers during meetings with
shared windows and other aids
Teledemocracy – allows gov’t to
communicate with constituents
14.2 continued
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Using a time-space matrix, cooperative
systems can be decomposed to allow
designers to specify their tasks:
Same
place
Same
time
Face to
face
Different times
Asynchronus
interaction
Different Synchronu Asyncrhronus
places
s
distributed
distributed
14.2 continued
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Decomposing cooperative systems
guides designers and evaluators
The multiplicity of users makes
controlled experiments difficult due
to multiple-users data
The determinants of a successful
cooperative system are still unclear
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E-mail is widely used, but may hinder
productivity
14.2 continued
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Public officials will be using these
systems more to become more
effective
Online communities continue to
grow, facilitating communication
among like-minded people.
However, these communities may
be less committed than face-to-face
meetings of organizations
14.3 Asychronous Interactions:
Different Time, Different Place
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Electronic mail is widely appreciated but
can be loosely structured, overwhelming,
and too transient
Structured methods have been
implemented by programs such as COSY
and FirstClass for conferencing, and
Eudora and Lotus for email
Many web browser such as internet
explorer and CompuServe provide email
handling as well
14.3.1 Electronic Mail
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Email allows users to send
messages to one or hundreds of
people in a short period of time
Many programs now allow you to
incorporate graphics, spreadsheets,
and other structured objects in the
message as well as text, some also
include sound and video
14.3.1
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Malone and colleagues helped show
benefit of semi-structured messages with
their system Information Lens
Lotus Notes allows users to incorporate
email, newsgroups, call-tracking,
document sharing and more into
applications
This has been challenged by the Web but
lotus notes allows for better security
The Electronic Mail Association has helped
push for standards in Electronic mail
14.3.2 Newsgroups and Network
Connections
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When focused discussion is needed
email is inefficient
Popular alternatives are newsgroups
and listservs and online
conferencing
Newsgroups allow user to retrieve
past information as well as new
information on a particular topic
14.3.2
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Listservs allow individuals to subscribe to
a group and receive current information
Subscription must be a serious
commitment because you can be flooded
with messages
System operators must monitor topics
and determine whether to make them
more specific as not to overwhelm user
with information
14.3.2
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Newsgroups and listservs are
usually open to anyone while
conferencing are for known users
Online magazines have also become
popular, such as Wired and C|Net
Network communities have become
controversial due to hacking and
posting of illegal material
14.3.2
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Many network users do not use it
for conversation, but to download
useful materials
Many download shareware,
freeware, public access, or honor
system software
14.4 Synchronous Distributed: Different
Place, Same Time
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With synchronous distributed applications,
multiple users can edit the same
document at once
Applications like this allow users to work
on different, or even the same, section of
a document at once
It does allow for users to lock a section,
so only one person may edit at a time
14.4
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IBM’s CVIEW allowed the user and a
technician to see the same screen
at once to allow walkthroughs
This is used in interactive flight
reservations, internet chat rooms,
and IRC’s
MUD (multi-user dungeons or
dimensions) allow text based
fantasy
14.4
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Many users see this as a way of being
able to take on a different persona
Video Conferencing allows users to be at
their own workstation while
communicating with others
CAVECAT (Computer Audio Video
Enhanced Collaboration) was an early
system used by the University of Toronto
14.4
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CU-SeeMe a system used by Cornell
is free and can be run on many
personal computers without any
special software
A study by Chapanis showed that
tasks done with only video and no
audio took twice as long than either
using both or just audio
14.4
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Video Conferencing allows users
enriched communication without the
disruption of taking a trip while
keeping successful communication
and emotional contact
14.5 Face to Face: Same Place, Same
Time
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Newer applications in office and
classroom environments are
becoming attractive:
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Shared display from lecturer
workstation
Audience response units
Text-submission workstations
14.5 continued
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Brainstorming, voting, and ranking
File sharing
Shared workspace
Group activities
14.6 Applying CSCW to Education
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Combinations of cooperative
working environments must be
used; no single one will fit
everybody’s needs
Virtual classrooms allow students
who could not travel to a traditional
class environment to interact
cooperatively with other students
14.6 continued
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DTVC (desktop video conferencing)
can create a livelier interaction than
traditional distance education
Small-group collaborative learning
often helps students learn better
than on an individual basis
These methods are also used to
simulate hostage negotiations with
terrorists
14.6 continued
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Some faculty who have used
electronic classrooms find them
more appealing than traditional
class environments
Some professors find the limited
workspace constricting
Students have displayed higher
grades after learning in electronic
classrooms