Around the Table: Studies in Co-located Collaboration

This video illustrates how pervasive technology can be designed to support more effectively collaborative working. To begin, it shows what hap- pens when small co-located groups try to work together using a single PC or whiteboard: it can be frustrating and encourage one person to dominate. The video then explains our 'multiple entry points' framework, intended to inform the design of shared workspaces, that can facilitate numerous and natural ways of taking control and contributing to the ongoing work by all group members. Two set-ups are presented with increasing number of entry points; (i) a shared touch screen tabletop and (ii) a large physical-digital space comprising a table- top interlinked with tagged physical objects. The findings from two user studies are outlined; the tabletop was found to facilitate more collaborative decision- making for a simple design task while the extended version, with a larger num- ber of entry points, promoted more fluid and diverse collaborative interactions. Furthermore, it was found that the quiet group members participated considera- bly more in the physical design activities.