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"Local remote" collaboration: Applying remote group awareness techniques to co-located settings

Abstract:

Co-located environments have long been considered ideal for many types of group work, such as planning, decision-making, and design, since they provide a rich communication environment (e.g. delay-free voice communication, face-to-face interaction, eye gaze, and non-verbal communication), as well as promote awareness and coordination through the use of shared artifacts. However, the recent move towards multi-device ecologies in co-located settings, such as the use of multiple personal devices (e.g., laptops, tablets) or multiple personal devices in conjunction with larger, shared displays, such as digital walls or tabletops, can interfere with these common co-located communication and collaboration strategies, as various group members mentally and/or physical shift their focus to their personal devices rather than to their collaborators or to any physically shared artifacts. Group communications and coordination can easily breakdown in these scenarios as the lack of a physically shared group focus of attention can limit awareness of other's activities and task progress. In this workshop, researchers and practitioners will explore design techniques that can be used to address this issue, and improve group awareness in these co-located multi-device ecologies. This will be accomplished through group presentations, brainstorming sessions, and small-group breakout sessions.