Last Sunday, I had a meeting with my group from INFO 230 to write up a proposal for our final project. There were four members in the group, and although some of them had laptops, the majority of work was done on a single computer screen. The writing was done collaboratively, and we used the single screen to interact with each other and the document.
The first issue the group faced was the inability to perform simultaneous actions. One person had complete control over the document, and it was his job to clearly reflect the ideas of the group. However, editing minute details, such as word choice or the phrasing of a particular sentence, became difficult to the point that group members often switched roles in using the computer. As Scott states, teamwork often includes working in parallel, and when this is not supported, users are forced to share.
Another issue that the group discovered was the difficulty in editing the document after it was written. In writing the initial draft, coordination was relatively easy because user actions were less focused on the document and more focused on generating ideas. The flashing cursor also served as a common reference, or “mechanic of collaboration”, which helped to increase workspace awareness (Scott, Gutwin/Greenberg). However, when it came to editing, group members needed to reference separate parts of the document and dictate their own adjustments. This became difficult with regard to interpersonal interaction, because it required communicative gestures to guide the scroll bar as well as point to the related section.
The last issue arose from the need view other documents while the proposal was being written. Here, the group resorted to the use of physical objects to share additional information, which allowed the screen to maintain focus on the project proposal. The group printed the proposal requirements, as well as sample proposals, and they were passed amongst the group without disrupting the group’s main activity. This also allowed members to transition between individual and group tasks without disrupting the rest of the group – they could read the printed documents at their leisure without affecting the computer screen.
To improve the system, adjustments would have to be made to allow for simultaneous action, keeping in mind the effects this would have on interpersonal interaction. Perhaps giving each member a cursor, and allowing them to navigate without being able to edit, would help collaboration.
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Have you considered transferring your document to Google Docs? While everyone's control would not be exactly simultaneous, it would allow control to switch without having to physically adjust so that one person can be directly in front of the computer screen. This would also solve the issue of having to open other documents- each person could focus on the necessary document and allot screen space that is appropriate to their needs. However, if all you want is a cursor, I might recommend Adobe ConnectNow- you'll get more information about it during my group's presentation. :)
ReplyDeleteGenerating ideas using a single computer screen generally works. In our final project group, our group members focus on communicating and working on the project while one person takes note of the conversation. What I noticed is that members can be so focused in each moment that they forget what they talked about previously. Then, other members have to move their chairs to view the note-taker's file to talk more about it in depth. To generate and discuss ideas, having a single, big screen would help other members to view notes at all times, and go back to previous topics if the current topic relates to them.
ReplyDeleteAfter generating the initial, it would be helpful to put it onto Google Docs, just as Brianne said, so that any member can freely edit content in a short amount of time.