Scripting at the Tabletop to Improve Collaboration

Interactive collaborative tabletops are promising devices that can help collocated people collaborate because they augment natural round-table discussions with a shared digital space that offers equal opportunities of actions and access to resources available. We propose collaborative scripts for enhancing tabletop collaboration in the form of: guidance and structure; advice on how to do the task; and control over constraints afforded by the tabletop. After studying the ways people have used tabletop interfaces, we concluded that it is valuable to define scripts that will help people collaborate more effectively in co-located, technology-enhanced scenarios [3]. Different from scripts investigated so far, our work allows learners to negotiate over the scripts – initially explored in the domains of brainstorming, concept mapping, and collaborative poster creation. Brainstorming – a technique to encourage creativity in small groups. Our method separates the technique into three stages: idea generation; idea organisation and reflection [1]. Each stage is scripted through the use of negotiation elements that alter a stage. The system presents a choice between users leading negotiation or a facilitator making choices, for example: whether to enable touch input; whether to colour ideas (to show authorship); etc. Concept Mapping – a technique to help learners represent knowledge about a given topic in a graphical format, making use of meaningful propositions to link concepts in a domain of interest. Building a concept map at the tabletop can help students visualise different perspectives of the same topic and trigger discussions towards agreement on main ideas that describe the knowledge domain [4]. Collaborative scripts are set to drive groups of students to produce better quality concept maps, for example: the layout of concepts according to different theoretical principles. Collaborative Poster Creation – designed for small groups to build a joint artefact from personal collections [2], consisting of an individual collection stage, and then collaborative stages of sharing and building. The collaborative stages have potential for scripting, for example: enforcing viewing of content – before being permitted to advance in the task.