Using Web annotations for collaboration

1
Using Web annotations for collaboration

• Henrry Rodríguez (henrry_at_nada.kth.se)
• IPLab / NADA / KTH

2
Content

• Basic concepts
• Brief history of this research
• The DHS
• What is this research about

• Research Methods and Tools
• Collecció
• Collaboració
• Demo

3
Basic concepts

• HCI
• CSCW
• CSCWriting
• CMC
• The writing process Planning, translating,
  revision
• Social Navigation

4
Brief history of this research

• 1996 the Web and the Domain Help system project
• 1997 the first Web-based prototype (DHS) and
  users studies
• 1998 PhD position
• 1999 Collaboració user studies
• 2002 Collecció users studies

5
The DHS ? Collecció

• Index frame
• Document frame
• Content frame
• Comment frame
• Command frame
• The ATP and Designing from inside

6
What is this research about

• Exploring Web annotation for collaboration around
  documents in small groups 2-15 people.
• Design of Web-based collaborative tools
• Testing the approach Designing from inside

7
Research Methods and Tools

• Interviews
• Log files
• Web-based surveys
• The comments posted to the system
• Monitoring
• Filed studies, Longitudinal studies
• Programs to analyse the data
• Problems
• The Web no standard
• To find users

8
Case studies using Collecció

• The Pilot study In a research centre (R-study)
• Collecció used to discuss the content of Web
  documents (D-sample)
• Collecció used to make annotations on Web
  documents (A-sample)

9
Collecció as a discussion tool
Case studies Pilot study 5 issues of a
CSCW 1 issue in a L2 course. Number of
participants 102 Number of Contributions 124 Co
ntribution with comments 121 Duration
(days) 203 Number of comments 510 Number of
words in comments 83865 Number of comments on
ATP 105 Number of words in ATP 7803
10
Collecció as an annotation tool
11
Conclusions of the case studies using Collecció

• It is hard to have on line discussion
• Users might be sensitive to show what they have
  written in public
• When people meet in real world, security issues
  in the virtual world might not be that important
• No threading in the discussion, more focus on
  document
• Visualization tools can provide support for
  coherence
• Social navigation is supported by Web-annotations

12
Collaboració

• The basic idea
• Supporting individual views of the document
• Emails awareness
• The modular document

13
Case studies using Collaboració
14
Case studies that used Collaboració
15
Use of Collaboració

• To make others aware of their current activities.
  
• To ask co-authors to read and comment on their
  text (text ready).
• To share URLs to other Web sites.
• For decision making in relation to the task and
  co-authors activities.

16
Collaboració conclusions

• It is important that co-authors can discuss
  about
• 1) the document content,
• 2) the system and technology they use, and
• 3) the co-ordination of their effort.
• Sending email has been shown to be effective as a
  reminder of the task
• Collaborative writing can be supported by using
  only text-based communication

17
Collaboració conclusions

• Collaborative writing tools should support
  focused discussion on two levels. One level
  taking the document as a whole and the other on a
  particular part of the document
• Collaborative writing tools should not detach
  authors from their working environment and allow
  them to continue to use the word processor they
  are used to.
• Collaborative writing tools should inform about
  co-authors activity and about the writing pace of
  co-authors.

18
Collaboració conclusions cont.

• Collaborative writing tools should allow users to
  have different views of the document in relation
  to his/her interest on the document. During the
  writing process it may happen that one author is
  more coupled to certain parts of the document.
• Collaborative writing tools should let users
  share information that may be relevant for the
  writing task.

19
Collaboració conclusions cont.

• The integration of a co-author should be
  supported so that s/he is integrated smoothly to
  the process by his/her own as far as possible.
• Collaborative writing tools should support
  private work

20
Thank you!

• Comments or questions to
• henrry_at_nada.kth.se