Learning in Networked Communities

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Enabling Technologiesfor Advanced Computingat
Virginia Tech
John M. CarrollDepartment of Computer
Science Center for Human-Computer
InteractionVirginia Tech / carroll_at_cs.vt.edu
( [phone]
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Enabling Technologies

• our success in advanced computing is ultimately
  limited by the accessibility of computational
  processes and results to people
• achieving this involves
• managing information on a large scale
• visualizing complex processes and relationships
• domain-specific interactive support
• directly evaluating our innovations both to
  refine them and to verify what was achieved

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Digital Libraries

• Scaling up applications and infrastructure
• Electronic theses and dissertations (ETD)
• PetaPlex, the building that remembers
• Usability
• Visualizing search results (ENVISION)
• Enhancing learning with DLs
• http//www.dlib.vt.edu/

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Electronic Theses Dissertations

• Virginia Tech
• started spring 1996, reqd 1997, gt200 ETDs
• submission and access software, training
• NDLTD gt60 members
• goal is 200K ETDs per year (US)
• knowledge sharing searches, lit reviews,
  citation links, bibliographies
• now international http//www.ndltd.org/

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Service Machine 1
Service Machine 3
PetaPlex Complex
Service Machine 2
Service Machine 4
FRONT END MACHINE RS/6000, 1G RAM, 4 Proc.
PetaPlex Core
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
Nanoserver
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Visualization

• CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment)
• Broad application
• Architecture, Interior design, Material Science,

• Entomology, Veterinary Medicine, Plant
  Pathology, Physics, Biomechanics, Digital
  Libraries
• NCSA PACI
• http//www.sv.vt.edu/future/

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Problem Solving Environments

• Integrated domain-specific visualization,
  interaction, feedback, and control
• Identify/create generic model/architecture
  common components
• Focus on collaboration, recommendation, and
  usability and on transforming activity
• http//www.cs.vt.edu/pse/

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Examples

• VizCraft aircraft design
• exploration of design space, visualization of
  results, supports optimization
• WBCSim wood-based composite materials
• control/predict manufacturing process
• Virtual School middle and high school physics
• support for collaborative lab activities
• also wireless communications system design,
  materials science, environmental assessment,
  bioinformatics

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VizCraft
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Evaluation

• A broad and continuing process
• hardware/software, formative/summative,
  lab/field, analytic/empirical
• Frameworks - integrating evaluation, design
  rationale, and theory development
• Focus on new technologies
• usability of virtual environments
• effectiveness of dispersed collaboration
• http//www.hci.vt.edu/

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Multifaceted evaluation of CSCW

• Problem collaboration at 2 or more physical
  sites, integrating synchronous and asynchronous
  channels

• Collate/synthesize multiple methods and kinds of
  data
• Observation, video, critical incidents,
  contextual inquiry, surveys, interviews, focus
  groups, artifact collection, email logs, computer
  logs, teacher journals

Distributed Users
Critical Incidents
THEORY
Direct observation field notes
Integrated Event Script
Critical Incident Tool
THEORY
Contextual Inquiry
Interviews
Qualitative Quantitative Data Analysis Tools
Video
Surveys
HYPOTHESIS
ABSTRACTION
DEDUCTIVE
INDUCTIVE
Group Meetings
Computer Logs
Virtual School Artifacts
Coding
Theory
Patterns
GENERALIZATION
PREDICTION