Abstract
In this paper we discuss issues related to communication and social dynamics characterizing remote collaboration between distant communities. These observations emerge from ethno-graphic researches conducted in collaborative workshop involving MIT -Massachusetts Institute of Technology students with other universities or private companies. The focus of the paper is the notion of presence. This notion is analyzed through three different related aspects: the presence of information, the presence of communication tools and, finally, the presence of people. These analysis give indications on how better design space for learning and remote collaboration using interactive multimedia communication tools.
Highlights
New communication technologies radically change our relationship with knowledge, alter the access to information and the communication processes between people and cultures
We are not going into details in the description of the workshops, design projects, media environments or communication technologies but we present some observations derived by the direct participation in these workshops
In complex environments like those shaping during remote collaborations, it is important to differentiate the availability of information and the participants’ actual use of it
Summary
New communication technologies radically change our relationship with knowledge, alter the access to information and the communication processes between people and cultures. We discuss hereafter some aspects that concern these emerging dynamics These observations are the result of research I have been carried out mainly focusing on communication forms within remote collaborative learning environments These results are based upon empirical studies through ethnographic observations and semi-direct interviews during collaborative workshops between students from MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other universities (Miyagi University, Japan, IST Lisbon, Portugal) or with private companies (Forsters and partners, London). These workshops took place in remote collaborative learning environments; in order to carry out common design projects students and teachers used a dedicated Web Site, chat-lines, Instant Messaging, email, as well as videoconferencing via Netmeeting or Picturetel. We are not going into details in the description of the workshops, design projects, media environments or communication technologies but we present some observations derived by the direct participation in these workshops
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