Abstract
Single Display Groupware (SDG) supports face-to-face collaborators working over a single shared display, where all people have their own input device. Although SDG is simple in concept, there are surprisingly many problems in how interactions within SDG are managed. One problem is the potential for interference, where one person can raise an interface component (such as a menu or dialog box) in a way that hinders what another person is doing i.e., by obscuring another person’s working area that happens to be underneath the raised component. We propose transparent interface components as one possible solution to interference: while one person can raise and interact with the component, others can see through it and can continue to work underneath it. To test this concept, we first implemented a simple SDG game using both opaque and transparent SDG menus. Through a controlled experiment, we then analysed how interference affects peoples’performance across an opaque and transparent menu c ondition: a solo condition (where a person played alone) acts as our control. Our results show that the transparent menu did lessen the effect of interference, and that SDG players overwhelmingly preferred it to opaque menus.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benford, S., Bederson, B., Akesson., K., Bayon, V., Druin, D., Hansson, P., Hourcade, J., Ingram, R., Neale, H., O’Malley, C., Simsarian, K., Stanton, D., Sundblad, Y., and Taxen, G. (2000)’ Designing storytelling technologies to encourage collaboration between young children’, Proc ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’00), pp. 556–563, ACM Press.
Bier, E. and Freeman, S. (1991) ‘MMM: A user interface architecture for shared editors on a single screen’, Proc 4th annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pp. 79–86, ACM Press.
Bricker, L., Baker, M., Tanimoto, S. (1997) ‘Support for cooperatively controlled objects in multimedia applications’, Extended Abstracts of the ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’97), pp.313–314, ACM Press.
Cox, D., Chugh, J., Gutwin, C. and Greenberg, S. (1998) ‘The usability of transparent overview layers’, Summary Proc ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’98), pp. 301–302, ACM Press.
Druin, A., Stewart, J., Proft, D., Bederson, B. and Hollan, J. (1997) ‘KidPad: a design collaboration between children, technologists, and educators’, Proc ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’97), pp. 463–470, ACM Press.
Greenberg, S., Boyle, M. and LaBerge, J. (1999). ‘PDAs and shared public displays: making personal information public, and public information personal’. Personal Technologies, vol. 3,no. 1, March, pp. 54–64.
Greenberg, S., Gutwin, C. and Cockburn, A. (1996) ‘Using distortion-oriented displays to support workspace awareness’, In A. Sasse, R. Cunningham and R. Winder (eds.): People and Computers XI, pp. 299–314, Springer-Verlag.
Gutwin, C. and Greenberg, S. (1998) ‘Design for individuals, design for groups: tradeoffs between power and workspace awareness’, Proc ACM Conf Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW’98), pp. 207–216, ACM Press.
Harrison, B. and Vicente, K. (1996) ‘An experimental evaluation of transparent menu usage’, Proc ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’96), pp. 391–398, ACM Press.
Harrison, B., Ishii, H., Vicente, K. and Buxton, W. (1995) ‘Transparent layered user interfaces: an evaluation of a display design to enhance focused and divided attention’, Proc ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’95), pp. 317–324, ACM Press.
Hourcade, J. and Bederson, B. (1999). ‘Architecture and implementation of a Java package for multiple input devices (MID)’, Report HCIL-99-08, Computer Science Dept, University of Maryland, MD USA.
Hourcade, J., Bederson, B. and Druin, A. (2000) ‘QueryKids: a collaborative digital library application for children’, Workshop on Shared Environments to Support Face-to-Face Collaboration, held at ACM CSCW’00. http://www.edgelab.sfu.ca/CSCW/shared_environments.html
Inkpen, K., Ho-Ching, W., Kuederle, O., Scott, S and Shoemaker, G. (1999) ‘This is fun! We’re all best friends and we’re playing’, Proc ACM Conf Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL’99), pp. 252–259, ACM Press.
Inkpen, K., McGrenere, J., Booth, K., and Klawe, M. (1997). ‘The effect of turn-taking protocols on children’s learning in mouse-driven collaborative environments’, Proc Graphics Interface (GI’97), pp. 138–145, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
Myers, B., Stiel, H. and Gargiulo, R. (1998) ‘Collaboration using multiple PDAs connected to a PC’, Proc ACM Conf Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW’98), pp. 285–294, ACM Press.
Nunamaker, J., Dennis, A., Valacich, J., Vogel, D. and George, J. (1991) ‘Electronic meeting systems to support group work’, Communications of the ACM, vol. 34,no. 7, July, pp. 40–61, ACM Press.
Rekimoto, J. (1998) ‘A multiple device approach for supporting whiteboard-based interactions’, Proc ACM Conf Human Factors Computing Systems (CHI’98), pp. 344–351, ACM Press.
Scott, S., Shoemaker, G. and Inkpen, K. (2000) ‘Towards seamless support of natural collaborative interactions’, Proc of Graphics Interface (GI’00), pp. 103–110, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
Shoemaker, G. (2000) ‘Supporting private information on public displays’, Extended Abstracts ACM Conf Human Factors and Computing Systems (CHI’00), pp. 349–350, ACM Press.
Stefik, M., Foster, G., Bobrow, D., Kahn, K., Lanning, S. and Suchman, L. (1987) ‘Beyond the Chalkboard: computer support for collaboration and problem solving meetings’, Communications of the ACM, vol. 30,no. 1, pp. 32–47, ACM Press.
Stewart, J., Bederson, B. and Druin, A. (1999) ‘Single display groupware: a model for co-present collaboration’, Proc ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’99), pp. 286–293, ACM Press.
Stewart, J., Raybourn, E., Bederson, B. and Druin, A. (1998) ‘When two hands are better than one: enhancing collaboration using single display groupware’, Extended Abstracts of the ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’98), pp. 287–288, ACM Press.
Tang, J. (1991) ‘Findings from observational studies of collaborative work’, In S. Greenberg (ed): Computer support cooperative work and groupware, pp. 11–26, Academic Press.
Whittaker, S. and O’Conaill, B. (1997) ‘The role of vision in face-to-face and mediated communication’, In K. Finn, A. Sellen and S. Wilbur (eds): Video-Mediated Communications. LEA Press.
Zanella, A and Greenberg, S (2001) ‘Avoiding interference through translucent interface components in single display groupware’, Extended Abstracts of the ACM Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’2001), pp. 375–376, ACM Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zanella, A., Greenberg, S. (2001). Reducing Interference in Single Display Groupware through Transparency. In: Prinz, W., Jarke, M., Rogers, Y., Schmidt, K., Wulf, V. (eds) ECSCW 2001. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48019-0_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48019-0_18
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-7162-5
Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48019-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive