Augmenting the field experience: a student-led comparison of techniques and technologies

In this study we report on our experiences of creating and running a student fieldtrip exercise which allowed students to compare a range of approaches to the design of technologies for augmenting landscape scenes. The main study site is around Keswick in the English Lake District, Cumbria, UK, an attractive upland environment popular with tourists and walkers. The aim of the exercise for the students was to assess the effectiveness of various forms of geographic information in augmenting real landscape scenes, as mediated through a range of techniques and technologies. These techniques were: computer-generated acetate overlays showing annotated wireframe views from certain key points; a custom-designed application running on a PDA; a mediascape running on the mScape software on a GPS-enabled mobile phone; Google Earth on a tablet PC; and a head-mounted in-field Virtual Reality system. Each group of students had all five techniques available to them, and were tasked with comparing them in the context of creating a visitor guide to the area centred on the field centre. Here we summarise their findings and reflect upon some of the broader research questions emerging from the project

Physicality and Cooperative Design

CSCW researchers have increasingly come to realize that material work setting and its population of artefacts play a crucial part in coordination of distributed or co-located work. This paper uses the notion of physicality as a basis to understand cooperative work. Using examples from an ongoing fieldwork on cooperative design practices, it provides a conceptual understanding of physicality and shows that material settings and co-worker’s working practices play an important role in understanding physicality of cooperative design

Introduction to location-based mobile learning

[About the book] The report follows on from a 2-day workshop funded by the STELLAR Network of Excellence as part of their 2009 Alpine Rendez-Vous workshop series and is edited by Elizabeth Brown with a foreword from Mike Sharples. Contributors have provided examples of innovative and exciting research projects and practical applications for mobile learning in a location-sensitive setting, including the sharing of good practice and the key findings that have resulted from this work. There is also a debate about whether location-based and contextual learning results in shallower learning strategies and a section detailing the future challenges for location-based learning

Gaze and Gestures in Telepresence: multimodality, embodiment, and roles of collaboration

This paper proposes a controlled experiment to further investigate the usefulness of gaze awareness and gesture recognition in the support of collaborative work at a distance. We propose to redesign experiments conducted several years ago with more recent technology that would: a) enable to better study of the integration of communication modalities, b) allow users to freely move while collaborating at a distance and c) avoid asymmetries of communication between collaborators.Comment: Position paper, International Workshop New Frontiers in Telepresence 2010, part of CSCW2010, Savannah, GA, USA, 7th of February, 2010. http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/events/nft2010

Co-ordinating distributed knowledge: An investigation into the use of an organisational memory

This paper presents an ethnographically informed investigation into the use of an organisational memory, focusing in particular on how information was used in the performance of work. We argue that understanding how people make use of distributed knowledge is crucial to the design of an organisational memory. However, we take the perspective that an ‘organisational memory’ is not technology dependant, but is an emergent property of group interaction. In this sense, the technology does not form the organisational memory, but provides a novel means of augmenting the co-ordination of collaborative action. The study examines the generation, development and maintenance of knowledge repositories and archives. The knowledge and information captured in the organisational memory enabled the team members to establish a common understanding of the design and to gain an appreciation of the issues and concerns of the other disciplines. The study demonstrates why technology should not be thought of in isolation from its contexts of use, but also how designers can make use of the creative flexibility that people employ in their everyday activities. The findings of the study are therefore of direct relevance to both the design of knowledge archives and to the management of this information within organisations

IT to support knowledge sharing in communities, towards a social capital analysis

Ignoring the informal, non-canonical nature of knowledge sharing, including people's motivation, ability and opportunity to share knowledge, is one of the key causes of resistance to use knowledge-sharing tools. In order to improve knowledge sharing supported by information technology (IT), tools need to be embedded in the social networks of which it is part. This has implications for our knowledge on the design requirements of such socially embedded IT. The paper reviews tools that are designed for the purpose to foster social capital. We will then discuss what is needed for an IS design theory related to knowledge communities and how such a theory could incorporate social capital theory

Collaboration in the Semantic Grid: a Basis for e-Learning

The CoAKTinG project aims to advance the state of the art in collaborative mediated spaces for the Semantic Grid. This paper presents an overview of the hypertext and knowledge based tools which have been deployed to augment existing collaborative environments, and the ontology which is used to exchange structure, promote enhanced process tracking, and aid navigation of resources before, after, and while a collaboration occurs. While the primary focus of the project has been supporting e-Science, this paper also explores the similarities and application of CoAKTinG technologies as part of a human-centred design approach to e-Learning

Community Technology? Issues in Computer-Supported Work

In this paper I wish to discuss a number of issues concerning work practices, especially communication and cooperation among people, and examine how we can use the computer as a tool and/or medium for supporting such group activities. The intent is not to substitute computer-mediated for face to-face or other forms of communication, but rather to discover if there are additional possibilities that may be afforded us through use of computing technology. My emphasis is not with the technology per se, but with people, their needs and activities. My focus is on how we can augment human capabilities through use of the technology, rather than on how to simulate or replace labour processes with machines. I believe, along with Rosenbrock and many others, that our present-day utilization of information technology in work has tended to restrict, rather than expand human potential. This is not due solely to the nature of the technology itself, although it is not a neutral element, but also to the organization of work around the technology, and the general socio-economic and political rationale within our society which develops these machines and industrial systems. The paper does not present a carefully compiled rationale for an alternative technology, or an argument for the construction of new ''widgets'', but consists of a number of observations, reviews of rcsearch, experiences with current technologies, and speculations about possible future uses of technology in promoting communication between people. The intent is to sharpen our understanding of everyday activities, and open up alternative paths for future design of support technology. Reaction in the form of supportive or negative examples of technology use in group settings is particularly welcome from readers