Read the following article: Arias,
E. G., Eden, H., Fischer, G., Gorman, A., & Scharff, E. (2000) "Transcending
the Individual Human Mind—Creating Shared Understanding through Collaborative
Design," ACM Transactions on Computer Human-Interaction, 7(1), pp. 84-113. http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/~gerhard/papers/tochi2000.pdf

More Information about the Envisionment
and Discovery Collaboratory (EDC) can be found at: http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/systems/EDC/
Briefly discuss the following issues for the paper that you have read:

1. what did you find

1.1. interesting about the article?

I think the principles
behind the article and the creation of the EDC is extremely interesting in terms
of human computer interaction. Not only is the software interactive, but it
allows people to participate in something they otherwise have would have no
interest in or knowledge about. In the example of city planning, all of the
bureaucratic processes of designing certain city aspects are abstracted away,
and the real problems and solutions surface. It also lets the people discuss
what options they want to see, and really facilitates participatory design.
In the end, a better and more efficient city will probably result. I found this
concept the most striking piece of the article.

1.2. not interesting about the article?

I actually found
the whole article extremely interesting, and thought all of the content was
relevant.

2. what do you consider the main
message of the article?

The main message
of the article is that we need to address certain challenges for HCI in the
near future. The article gives the example of the EDC to show one possible approach
to solving some of these problems, but leaves the door open saying that there
is still much to do.

3. are themes discussed in the article
which you would like to know more about?

I would like to know
more about motivation and rewards as it relates to this topic. It seems like
that is such a crucial part of the process that it needs to be developed further.

4. what did you find interesting
about the “EDC” system?

I would refer most
of my answer to that of question 1. I have actually seen this system already
in User Interface Design last semester. Hal showed it to our class then. I would
like to add that during our demonstration in the fall, I found the robustness
of it most impressive. It allowed for so many features that it seemed like it
could do real good for a community. For instance, he let us design a bus route,
and then we got to see the bus traveling around the route. It was also good
that you could import different maps into the system for planning purposes.

5. do you know of other papers, ideas,
and systems which are closely related to the article and the “EDC” system?

No.

6. what do the article and the associated
system say about

6.1. design

I think the biggest
thing the article and the system say about design is that it doesn't have to
be done by experts. The whole point of the project is that everyone participates,
even if they don't know anything about planning, their ideas are still important
to its success. Even if a participant has limited traditional design knowledge,
they still bring their own lives and experiences to the table. This will result
in a more complete and usable system.

6.2. learning

Learning is a process
that is important to be engaged in all the time. This project and the article
highly rely on people being motivated to learn and act. Without motivation,
a project like this is useless. People have to want to get involved. Once this
step is passed, the results will be excellent.

6.3. collaboration

This is the most
important piece of the project. It is the foundation of most of its principles.
This idea of participatory design and learning means that collaboration is a
must. It allows people to engage in simulations, cheaply, and collaborate to
build something that is useful and efficient to everyone.

6.4. innovative media to support
these activities?

The project is sort
of a mix between innovative media and traditional objects. The article introduces
the idea of acommon language of design by combining these two.

7. do you have any ideas how this
research could / should be extended (based on your own knowledge and experience)?

I think it provides
some very interesting features on travel (locally in this case). However, it
seems like it could be very useful in planning larger scale travels or routes
as well. It seems like it would be a good tool to analyze efficiency in fastest
route scenarios (ambulances, delivery, travel).