itrctor@csri.toronto.edu (Ron Riesenbach) (12/22/89)
C O M P U T E R S U P P O R T E D C O O P E R A T I V E W O R K
The State of the Art
a lecture series presented by:
The Information Technology Research Centre
and
The Department of Computer Science
University of Toronto
January-March 1990
University of Toronto
Galbraith Building
35 St. George Street, Rm.244
Toronto
What is Computer-Supported Cooperative Work?
Imagine an accountant in Toronto working with a client in Northern Ontario.
The client, a small businessman, has prepared a spreadsheet that represents
the financial forecast for his business for the coming year, and wants to
review it with the accountant prior to submitting it to the bank.
In the past, he would have to travel to Toronto to do this effectively. Now,
thanks to a revolutionary mix of computer and communications technologies
known as a system for Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), this is no
longer necessary. A single command to his computer causes it to dial and
establish a connection with his accountant's computer. Simultaneously, the
two are placed in telephone contact using their hands-free speakerphones, and
in live video contact through images of each other which appear in windows
in their workstations. Furthermore, their screens are linked so that any
change to the spreadsheet made by either party is visible in the other's
version with no perceptible delay.
Available today? No. Science fiction? Definitely not. All the individual
elements needed to paint this picture are technically feasible today. Given
the anticipated developments in technology and systems integration, reductions
in the cost of high bandwidth telecommunications, and results of human factors
investigations designed to explore how such visions can be translated into
useful, useable systems, this scenario can be a reality in under 5 years.
Furthermore, the same system can help doctors in remote locations consult with
specialists in distant medical centres, managers in branch offices communicate
and coordinate with their counterparts and supervisors in the head office, and
programmers at distributed locations work together to write or maintain large
software systems.
Coverage
The lecture series will survey and introduce the state-of-the-art and the
potential of this exciting new field. It will attempt to answer such questions
as: What are the roles of computer, audio, and video technology is supporting
distributed coordinated work? How does software for CSCW, sometimes known as
groupware, need to differ from that designed for individual users? What needs
to be done in order for such technology to become viable? What is the impact
of social and organizational factors? What are the major stumbling blocks
hindering the successful development and deployment of effective CSCW systems?
Who Should Attend?
This technology is of particular relevance to Canadians. MIS managers and
others concerned with monitoring, adopting, and managing new technology will
find CSCW particularly relevant to communication among individuals and
coordination of resources in a country with a widely dispersed population base.
Computer and communications researchers in Canada, leveraging upon the country's
strengths in communications technology, software, media, and interface design,
will find CSCW a particularly fruitful area for the development and marketing
of innovative new products.
The Lecture Series
Tuesday, January 9, 1990
4:00 p.m. - An Introduction to CSCW.
Ronald Baecker, Professor of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and
Management at the University of Toronto, will survey and introduce key concepts
and issues in computer supported cooperative work, including computer support
for face-to-face meetings, meetings at a distance, and asynchronous
communications.
Tuesday, January 23, 1990
3:00 p.m. - Video and Demonstrations
4:00 p.m. - Tools for Informal Communication
Dr. Robert Kraut, Research Scientist and manager of the Interpersonal
Communications Research Group at Bellcore, the research arm of the Bell
operating companies, will motivate the need for improving collaboration at a
distance, will review some successes and failures in video conferencing, and
will describe current work at Bellcore including the facilitation of casual
video meetings.
Tuesday, February 6 1990
4:00 p.m. - Modalities of Interaction and Shared Space
Mr. Bill Buxton, Research Scientist and consultant to Xerox PARC and Commodore
Business Machines, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Computer Science,
University of Toronto, will examine some of the relationships that exist
between sensory modalities of communication, the information that is passed
down those channels, and the tasks being performed. Using examples, he will
explore this space, and discuss how insights can be gained that help in the
design of improved collaborative tools.
Tuesday, February 13, 1990
3:00 p.m. - Video and Demonstrations
4:00 p.m. - Computer-Aided Meeting Environments
Marilyn Mantei, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Library and
Information Science at the University of Toronto, will demonstrate, through
recorded video examples, recent developments in computer-aided meeting rooms,
and will discuss key factors that affect the success of such environments.
Tuesday, February 27, 1990
4:00 p.m. - Media Spaces
Dr. Sara Bly, Research Scientist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC),
will review an experimental system developed at PARC and other Xerox laboratory
sites which employs coordinated computer, audio, and video connections to
enable individuals in remote locations to meet and work together.
Tuesday, March 13, 1990
3:00 p.m. - Video and Demonstrations
4:00 p.m. - Desktop Teleconferencing: A Systems Perspective
Dr. Keith Lantz, Principal Engineer at Olivetti Research California, will
discuss the hardware and software requirements for desktop teleconferencing,
with particular emphasis on support for application sharing including tools
(e.g. shared window systems) that enable the sharing of single-user,
collaboration-transparent applications and tools that make it easier to develop
multi-user, collaboration-aware applications from scratch.
Tuesday, March 20, 1990
4:00 p.m. - Beyond Electronic Mail
Thomas W. Malone, Patrick McGovern Professor of Information Systems at the
Sloan School of Management, M.I.T., will show how artificially intelligent
agents, hypertext, and object oriented user-interfaces can help users build
powerful tools for information sharing and cooperative work.
Monday, March 26, 1990
4:00 p.m. - Problems and Prospects for CSCW Systems
Dr. Jonathan Grudin, Research Scientist at the Microelectronics Computer
Corporation, currently visiting at Aarhus University, Denmark, will review and
analyze past successes and failures in systems for computer supported
cooperative work.
Details
All lectures will be held in Galbraith 244. Preceding the lectures on January
23, February 13, and March 13, Ms. Ilona Posner and Mr. Gifford Louie of the
Department of Computer Science will show CSCW video tapes and demonstrate
groupware products in the adjoining building, the Sandford Fleming Building,
Room 2103, from 3:00 to 4:00. Following each lecture the speaker will be
available to answer questions over tea and coffee.
PLEASE NOTE: All lectures but the last one will be held on Tuesdays. The March
26 lecture is on a MONDAY.
Registration
The lecture series is free to interested computing and communications
professionals, researchers, and technical managers. Attendees are requested
to register by phoning or e-mailing Rosanna Reid at the ITRC's Toronto Site
office [ph.(416) 978-8558, rosanna@itrchq.itrc.on.ca] at least one-week prior
to the lecture(s) they wish to attend.
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This lecture series is supported by funds from the Information Technology
Research Centre, from the Department of Computer Science at the University of
Toronto, and from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada under a Strategic Grant.
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