1. Datacloud: Expanding the Roles and Locations of Information
Johndan Johnson-Eilola
Clarkson University

2. Preview: The Sims Complex interactions Lack of structure
Variations and plug-ins
Move toward social
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

3. A Brief History of Interfaces
interface
location of working/learning
50s-60s
hardwired
outside interface: education, training (few manuals)
60s-70s
punch cards
outside interface: education, training, manuals, courses
70s-80s
command-line interface
outside interface or at second-level deep in interface: education, training, manuals, courses, man pages
80s-90s
graphical interface
into interface: shifting toward limited interface (surface)
90s-00s
spatial online (begin datacloud)
interface expands beyond physical boundaries to allow social (online) communication
00s and beyond
spatial/hybrid, information- saturated workspaces
boundaries of interface break apart to support movement (including arrangement, eddies, flows) not only social/online but also local microcontext
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

4. Hardwired Learning Working/learning outside of system
Working/learning is social, over time, local
Computer as simple, isolated tool
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

5. Manual Learning External to computer Over time
In distributed, local (usually) contexts
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

6. Online Help 1 (Buried) Work/learn move into computer
Information buried
Requires separate learning to bootstrap
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

7. Online Help 1 (cont.)
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

8. Online Help 2 (Surfaced)
Learning/working pushed to surface
Social aspects disappeared
Complex situations decontextualized, fragmented
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

9. Online Help 2 (cont.)
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

10. Collaborative (Tunneling Out)
Integrates collaboration into interface
Contextualizes working and learning
Sometimes hard to reconcile training v. education
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

11. Surfacing Reality
Collapsing distinctions between hyper-realism and ubiquitous computing
Movement across surfaces
Information work
Three overlapping areas:
Interface
Microcontext
Macrocontext
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

12. Working the Datacloud Workspaces supporting information work
From industrial to corporate
From production to configuration
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

13. Out of the Interface: ProTools
Interface: dense, surfaced
Breakdown of boundaries to interface (information work moves out)
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

14. Out of the Interface: Office Space
Localized, functional spaces
“Work with … stuff.”
Spaces connect, overlap
Information moves from space to space
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

15. The Politics of Space: Student Work
Information struggling to break out of interface
Routines developed for managing information
Constraints on environment
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001

16. From Modern to Postmodern Architectures
Attempts at control failing
Attempts at containment failing
Move toward postmodern information architecture
18 November 2018
SIGDOC 2001