Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Distance Education

1. Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Distance Education Class 4 LBSC 690 Information Technology

2. CSCW and Distance Ed Agenda • Questions • CSCW - Computer Supported Cooperative Work and 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 • Work • Grounded in the study of work processes • Cooperative • Assumes a shared objective • Computer supported • Really “information technology” supported

5. Dimensions of CSCW • Synchronous vs. Asynchronous • Telephone is synchronous • Email is asynchronous • Local vs. remote • Meetings are local • Chat rooms are remote

6. Synchronous Local • Meeting support systems • Brainstorming • Online review • Annotated minutes • Example • Support for face-to-face meetings

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

8. Asynchronous Remote • Voice mail • USENET news • Mailing lists • Example - web chat boards • 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 • Audio satisfactory for most interaction • People often prefer video (Rosen reading)

10. Other CSCW Concepts • Structured/Unstructured interaction (Media Spaces, e.g., parties by video) • Archived meeting reviews • Negotiation and organizational information systems • CVE’s (Collaborative Virtual Environments) • Avatars representing participants • Nomadic Radio

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. Security • Firewalls • Screen the Internet traffic reaching an intranet • Access control • Prevent impersonation of authorized users • Encryption • Prevent snooping by outsiders

13. Replication • Information may be needed in many places • Faster than the network can get it there • By more users than a single server can handle • By users which disconnect from the network • Making multiple copies is easy • But maintaining their consistency is hard • Lotus Notes does this well • But standard Internet applications presently don’t

14. Example • 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?

15. The Real Example • Project team coordination • Different tasks • Different schedules • Different locations • Different equipment • Single task

16. “Guest Lecturer” • Clifford Stoll • Educator • UC Berkeley • Author • Cuckoo’s Egg • Silicon Snake Oil • Pundit

17. 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?

18. Educational Computing • Computer Assisted Education • What most people think of first • Computer Managed Instruction • What most people really do first! • Computer-Based Multimedia • Just another filmstrip machine?

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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