Abstract

In this paper, we describe our work on producing physical tools for people doing collaborative text interpretation of conversational texts. Recognizing that although there is a linearity to conversation, we nonetheless believe that in many cases the content might better be represented as a physical, spatial object, where parts of the discussion can be modified out of their initial sequence, other parts can be added or subtracted, and gaps can be identified and filled. We prepared a series of functional prototypes of a toolkit consisting of a set of separate elements, which could be assembled into large spatial structures. While addressing research questions on how the artifacts facilitate cooperation, interaction and communication, we found the significant advantage of this kind of modeling is its ability to facilitate shared collaborative understanding without compromising individual perspectives. It also prompted discussion on the metalevel of conversation.

Keywords

conversational model, collaboration, hermeneutics, social media

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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Jun 17th, 12:00 AM

A Physical Modeling Tool to Support Collaborative Interpretation of Conversations

In this paper, we describe our work on producing physical tools for people doing collaborative text interpretation of conversational texts. Recognizing that although there is a linearity to conversation, we nonetheless believe that in many cases the content might better be represented as a physical, spatial object, where parts of the discussion can be modified out of their initial sequence, other parts can be added or subtracted, and gaps can be identified and filled. We prepared a series of functional prototypes of a toolkit consisting of a set of separate elements, which could be assembled into large spatial structures. While addressing research questions on how the artifacts facilitate cooperation, interaction and communication, we found the significant advantage of this kind of modeling is its ability to facilitate shared collaborative understanding without compromising individual perspectives. It also prompted discussion on the metalevel of conversation.

 

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