setting the stage for interaction
DESCRIPTION
CSCW 2012 Presentation Full paper available here: http://web.media.mit.edu/~dharry/tincan.pdf We present a tablet-based system to collaboratively track discussion topics and ideas in a seminar-style discussion classroom. Each student uses his or her own tablet to share text ideas in a synchronized, visual environment. The system is designed to promote diverse participation and increase engagement. Our findings are based on observations of twelve class sessions and interviews with participating students. Instead of simply introducing an additional text-based communication channel into the classroom, we find that the system creates a new “stage” (in the Goffman sense) on which students could perform in ways that the main spoken stage could not support. This stage coexists with spoken communication, and augments how students attend to the material and each other. We conclude that spoken participation alone poses barriers for some participants and the addition of a non-oral, textbased stage can help establish equitable and engaging discussions in the classTRANSCRIPT
Drew HarryMIT Media Lab
Setting the Stage for Interactiona tablet application to augment group discussion in a seminar class
Eric GordonEmerson College
Chris SchmandtMIT Media Lab
flickr / eston
flickr / Tommy Huynh
EM
AIL
TE
XT
ME
SSA
GE
INST
AN
T M
ESSA
GE
TW
ITT
ER
Front Channel
Back Channel
Front Channel
Back Channel
Back Stage
Front Stage
Back Stage
Front Stage
Side Stage
Main Stage
Tin Can
Not everyone is equally comfortable participating.
People talk one-at-a-time; simultaneous speaking is viewed as impolite.
Power dynamics can diminish participation.
Ideas Topics
Time
Participation
Presence
Archival Artifacts
Ideas Topics
Time
Participation
Presence
Archival Artifacts
19 Students
22 Hours
119 Topics
839 Ideas
Attention
Promotion
Prioritizing Stages
Tablets
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Attention
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Promotion
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Promotion
“I feel like [the professor] would be a speaker for people who couldn’t speak, you know. The fact that he was really into Tin Can, so he would read something that [a student] had written and be like oh, I want to quote this or talk about it and [act] as a spokesman for people who aren’t really comfortable speaking”
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Prioritizing Stages
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Prioritizing Stages
“I can remember a particular ... presentation that he was doing a lot of PowerPoint, I think he was completely oblivious to the Tin Can conversation and [the Tin Can conversation] ended up going in a very good direction ... as a result, I do not remember anything he said, because ... the conversation on Tin Can was a little more engaging”
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
Tablets
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
“[I like to] organize my language a lot before I actually talk because I want my thoughts to be systematical and clear, I want people to get it.”
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
“gave more people a chance to say things that they wouldn’t say”
Intro
Design
Con
clusio
nStu
dy
“something that was on my side, so to speak. You know what I mean? ... Like it was a resource.”
Questions?Drew HarryMIT Media Lab
Eric GordonEmerson College
Chris SchmandtMIT Media Lab
tincan.it
@drewwww
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Google and TrustGoogle China
Public versus Private InternetLife as a game
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Power of repression Truth about sexConfession
Time since class start (m)
Logic of censorshipArs Erotica
Discussion