Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Distance Education

1. Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Distance Education Class 11 LBSC 690 Information Technology

2. CSCW and Distance Ed Agenda • Questions • CSCW - Computer Supported Cooperative Work CMC - Computer Mediated Communications • Dimensions/Modalities • Collaboration and network realities • Guest lecture by Clifford Stoll • An example of teaching with technology • Computers in education • Distance education

3. Technology and People • Interface perspective (User interfaces) • Collaboration / Interaction perspective • People produce information for other people • Organizational information systems • Community information systems

4. CSCW - the acronym • Computer supported • Really “information technology” supported • Cooperative • Assumes a shared objective (what about competitive interaction?) • Work • Grounded in the study of work processes (why not play?)

5. Dimensions of CSCWLike dimensions of Internet Services • Synchronous vs. Asynchronous • Telephone is synchronous • Email is asynchronous • Local vs. remote • Meetings are local • Chat rooms are remote • Structured vs Unstructured Interaction

6. Synchronous Local • Support for face-to-face meetings • Brainstorming • Online review • Annotated minutes • Voting as feedback

7. Synchronous Remote • Shared whiteboard • Multimodal interaction • Example: NetMeeting • Launch NetMeeting, select • Double click on the meeting you wish to join • Glass wall (CVEs) • Facilitates unplanned interactions • Supports informal communications

8. Asynchronous Remote • Voice mail • USENET news • Mailing lists • Example - threaded discussions • Go to http://www.chem.hope.edu/discus • Pick a board to look at • Describe how it is organized

9. Effects of Modality • Establish initial contact face-to-face then later remote interaction is easier • In terms of task completion, audio is satisfactory for most interactions. • People often prefer video interactions (Rosen reading)

10. Organizational Information Systems • From MIS to Knowledge Management • Supporting roles in an organization environment • What is the impact of information technology on organizations • email “flattens” hierarchies • productivity gains?

11. Collaboration and Networked Realities Standards • Internet tools are based on “open standards” • Routers, servers, browsers, streaming video, … • Easily used to build private networks • Typically known as “intranets” • Proprietary standards offer better integration • Lotus Notes is a well known example • Customized to a particular business process • Expensive and difficult to modify

12. Example of IT Supporting Collaboration • Organizing a research symposium • Co-chair in France (6 hour time difference) • Five organizing committee members • Spread from California to Zurich • Worldwide participants • Some cannot come to the physical symposium • All have different computing environments • How to organize it, run it, and report results?

13. “Guest Lecturer” • Clifford Stoll • Educator, UC Berkeley • Author • Cuckoo’s Egg, Silicon Snake Oil, HighTech Heretic • Pundit (misguided?)

14. What’s the Point? • Why are we putting computers in schools? • Are computer jobs the “jobs of the future?” • What’s so great about information? • How does it differ from data? • What about understanding & wisdom? • If he’s right, why are we studying this?

15. Educational Computing • Computer-Based Training (CBT) • Just another filmstrip machine? • Computer-Assisted Education • What most people think of first • Computer-Managed Instruction • What most people really do first!

16. Rationales for Computers in Schools • 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

17. 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

18. Alternatives • Facilities • Computer classrooms (e.g., teaching theaters) • Computers IN classrooms (e.g., HBK 0108) • Objectives • “Computer Literacy” is the most common class • Not so in the Maryland teaching theaters • Comparatively few technology classes

19. Computers as Educational Media • Books • Stable - you can read them at your own pace • Video • Transient, dynamic, multi-sensory • Computers • Interactive, process-based • Plus salient characteristics of video and books

20. Distance Education • Correspondence courses • Focus on dissemination and evaluation • Instructional television • Dissemination, interaction, and evaluation • Ordinary television supports only dissemination • Computer-Assisted Instruction • Same three functions • Goal is to be better, cheaper, or both • Asynchronous Learning • Primarily Web-based

21. “Intelligent” Computer Aided-Instruction • Computer as tutor • Assessment - Collect observations of student. • Evaluation - build “student models” -- what a student knows about the task. Compare student model to “expert model” -- how an expert would solve the problem. Try to determine the “root cause”. • Remediation - What strategy to adopt in fixing the student’s misunderstanding.

22. Project Test Plan • Two key issues • Test types • Sampling strategies • Black box tests • Assumes no knowledge of the design • For example, test every link on every page • White box (or “glass box”) tests • Use design knowledge to test likely failures • For example, run queries that exercise joins

23. Methodology - 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