Wayne Hamilton <hamilton@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu> (12/23/89)
> 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 ...... > 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 ....... With the exception of the windowed video images, we were doing all that on tenex systems back in 1974! even with the shift to PCs, it sounds like Carbon Copy (or one of the work-alikes) and a seperate voice line. what's so revolutionary about it? Wayne Hamilton U of Il and US Army Corps of Engineers CERL UUCP: {att,iuvax,uunet}!uiucuxc!osiris!hamilton I'net: hamilton@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu Lowtek: Box 476, Urbana, IL 61801; (217)384-4310(voice), -4311(BBS) , ,
TELECOM Moderator <eecs.nwu.edu> (12/23/89)
Dear TELECOM Digest Readers,
The following is a special mailing I am passing along which was sent
to me a couple days ago. Because of its size, it is almost too big to
be included in a regular issue of the Digest, yet it is too small to
make up a special edition..... PT]
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From: Ron Riesenbach <itrctor@csri.toronto.edu>
Subject: Lecture Series on Computer Supported Cooperative Work
Organization: University of Toronto, CSRI
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 89 16:41:03 EST
Message-Id: <89Dec21.164148est.5438@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
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, or send e-mail to
rosanna@itrchq.itrc.on.ca] at least one-week prior to the lecture(s)
they wish to attend.
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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End of Forwarded Message.
Patrick Townson
TELECOM Digest Moderator
December 22, 1989