Assignment 4
Type your name(s) here:
Malte Winkler
Briefly discuss the following issues for the paper that you have read:
1. what did you find
1.1. interesting about the article?
I found it interesting how the "Need for Externalizations in Collaborative Design" was stated. The problem in getting people to collaberate with one another is tracking the progress made in a physical way. Storing this information in a way that will allow us to revisit it in a coherient way is key to progress and a problem in which technology can be utilized.
1.2. not interesting about the article?
The Renaissance scholar may no longer exist or may never have really existed. However there is a noticable difference in people's abilities given certain tasks. I wonder if there is a design for a collaboration tool that is better suited for certain people than other given their learning styles. Or is one tool general enough to encompass all individuals?
2. what do you consider the main message of the article?
There is a way to utilize technology to get all collaborator's ideas on the table. A good understanding of what another person is invisioning is key to being able to collaborate on an project.
3. are themes discussed in the article which you would like to know more about?
I would like to know more about the current thinking about how to "utilize externalizations"
4. what did you find interesting about the “EDC” system?
I would like to see how the EDC came to be and the forms it took along the way to its current form.
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
Designing complex systems like urban layouts are too complex for one individual to be able to consider all requirements and possiblities. A design will be more mature if many people can add their piece.
6.2. learning
Learning can be expedited through collaberation. Working with one another allows individuals to learn subject matters faster than through their own efforts in isolation.
6.3. collaboration
Solving complex problems requires more knowledge than any individual has. Technology can be used to harness more than one persons domain expertise to solve a problem.
6.4. innovative media to support these activities?
Media that support these activities must be able to evolve with the problem domain space. Users will need to be able to extend the system they are working on as they delve into their design process. A "seed" can be planted but no restrianed.
7. do you have any ideas how this research could / should be extended (based on your own knowledge and experience)?
My understanding of the EDC is a bit too primitive to make an comment.