The CAMPWS Collaboratory: A Space for Research, Teaching, Learning, and Problem-Solving Bertram C. Bruce Library & Information Science U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Roles for the CAMPWS collaboratory Develop tools to support individual research as well as collaborative research (III.2) Enhance opportunities for minorities and women in research and science learning (III.2.1) Support the education mission (III.2.2) Provide a platform for knowledge transfer (III.2.3)

Outline 1)Why collaboratories? a)What is a collaboratory? b)Human-computer interaction (a history) 2)Overview of plans a)CAMPWS collaboratory b)Community inquiry labs c)Research on collaboratory use 3)Your questions and suggestions

1a) What is a collaboratory? Today's challenges require large, multidisciplinary teams complex instrumentation vast amounts of data from multiple sources in multiple formats addressed by new information & communication technologies

A center without walls… in which the nation's researchers can perform their research without regard to geographical location – interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, and accessing information in digital libraries –Kouzes, Myers, & Wulf (1996)

Examples Windows to the Universe – SPARC instruments, computer models, real-time data, and theoriesWindows to the Universe Collaborate! – alternative to the "adversarial academy"Collaborate! The Collaboratory Project – enables schools, museums, libraries and other cultural institutions to share informationThe Collaboratory Project Inquiry Page – Inquiry Unit Generator, contacts with other teachersInquiry Page Urban Legends Reference Pages – track unlikely stories that appear in the mediaUrban Legends Reference Pages

Attributes of collaboratories Shared inquiry – common goals, problems, issues Intentionality – recognized as a joint venture Active participation/contribution Access to shared data, articles, and tools Technologies – instruments; symbol systems Boundary-crossings – bridge across geography, time, institutions, disciplines –Lunsford & Bruce, "Collaboratories: Working Together on the Web"

Questions about collaboratories How can new technologies reduce coordination costs and provide more effective ways to collaborate? How do new modes of collaboration support inquiry in diverse communities? How do knowledge, technology, and community co-evolve?

1b) Human-computer interaction (a history)

New digital tools

Computer-mediated work

Ubiquitous computing

Collaboratory model

2a) CAMPWS collaboratory Access to… tools (data aggregation & visualization, remote instrumentation, …) information (digital libraries, e-publishing, curricula, databases, images, …) people ( , blogs, teleconferences, groupware, …) Profiles (people, groups, projects, …)

Repository model contribution via web form URL of stored entry database of entries

Stone soup (Robins, 1999)

Next steps: Collaboratory tools Lab notebook for water purification device Water quality simulation tool Digital library Bibliography tool Profile management; social agent system Extended search: VisIT, VIBE, IKNOW Web logs (blogs) Distributed Inquiry Page

Collaboratory in context

A cycle of asking, investigating, creating, discussing, and reflecting; each question leads to further questions Dialogue (two-way communication) Connect to life Active learning based on the learner's purpose 2b) Community inquiry labs

Resources for inquiry teaching & learning Support for communities Tools for everyday problem-solving (personal websites, to- do lists, events calendars, …) A cycle: The Inquiry Page

Dialgue: Two-way communication Cholera kills tens of thousands of people/year Rita Colwell: copepods harbor the bacterium; x larger a folded sari cloth can remove the plankton 65 Bangladesh villages; cholera reduced by half effective as nylon filters less diarrhea, cheap and convenient, easily adopted

Connected to life

Active learning Inquiry involves people as active learners. Students in inquiry classrooms may experience anything from running a business, to writing stories, to growing and hatching chickens.

Example partners Living on the Prairie Paseo Boricua Sisternet Corrales, New Mexico East St. Louis Action Research Project Urbana Middle School Marshall Islands U Chicago Lab School K-12 and college courses National Science Digital Library Distributed Knowledge Research Collaborative

Surface water quality unit

2c) Research & evaluation Design through use or participatory inquiry aims to respond to human needs by democratic processes. Through creation of content, contributions to interactive elements, and incorporation into practice, users are not merely recipients of technology, but participate actively in its ongoing development.

User groups researchers university faculty university students teachers K-12 students science & nature centers librarians community members people in industry policy makers

Design through use techniques User interviews Workshops Inquiry group meetings Retreats /bboard discussion Feedback forms

Evaluation methods Front-end evaluation (needs assessment) User and usability research Participatory design Situated evaluation Online evaluation tools Social network analysis Summative evaluation

Co-evolution Knowledge Technology Community

3) Your questions and suggestions