CSCW 2012 Presentation Full paper available here: http://web.media.mit.edu/~dharry/tincan.pdf We present a tablet-based system to collaboratively track discussion topics and ideas in a seminar-style discussion classroom. Each student uses his or her own tablet to share text ideas in a synchronized, visual environment. The system is designed to promote diverse participation and increase engagement. Our findings are based on observations of twelve class sessions and interviews with participating students. Instead of simply introducing an additional text-based communication channel into the classroom, we find that the system creates a new “stage” (in the Goffman sense) on which students could perform in ways that the main spoken stage could not support. This stage coexists with spoken communication, and augments how students attend to the material and each other. We conclude that spoken participation alone poses barriers for some participants and the addition of a non-oral, textbased stage can help establish equitable and engaging discussions in the class

1. Setting the Stage for Interaction
a tablet application to augment group
discussion in a seminar class
Drew Harry
MIT Media Lab
Eric Gordon
Emerson College
Chris Schmandt
MIT Media Lab

2. flickr / eston

3. flickr / Tommy Huynh

5. TWITTER
INSTANT MESSAGE
TEXT MESSAGE
EMAIL

7. Front Channel
Back Channel

8. Front Channel
Back Channel

9. Front Stage
Back Stage

10. Front Stage
Back Stage

11. Main Stage
Side Stage

12. Tin Can

14. Not everyone is equally comfortable
participating.
People talk one-at-a-time;
simultaneous speaking is viewed as
impolite.
Power dynamics can diminish
participation.

15. Time
Ideas Topics
Participation
Presence
Archival Artifacts

16. Time
Ideas Topics
Participation
Presence
Archival Artifacts

19. 19 Students
22 Hours
119 Topics
839 Ideas

20. Attention
Promotion
Prioritizing Stages
Tablets

21. Intro Design Study Conclusion

22. Attention
Intro Design Study Conclusion

23. Intro Design Study Conclusion

24. Promotion
Intro Design Study Conclusion

25. Intro
“I feel like [the professor] would be a
speaker for people who couldn’t
Design
speak, you know. The fact that he was
really into Tin Can, so he would read
something that [a student] had
Study
written and be like oh, I want to quote
this or talk about it and [act] as a
spokesman for people who aren’t
Conclusion
really comfortable speaking”

26. Intro Design Study Conclusion

27. Prioritizing Stages
Intro Design Study Conclusion

28. Intro
“I can remember a particular ...
presentation that he was doing a lot of
Design
PowerPoint, I think he was completely
oblivious to the Tin Can conversation
and [the Tin Can conversation] ended
up going in a very good direction ... as
Study
a result, I do not remember anything
he said, because ... the conversation
on Tin Can was a little more
Conclusion
engaging”

29. Intro Design Study Conclusion

30. Tablets
Intro Design Study Conclusion

31. Intro
Design
“[I like to] organize my language a lot
before I actually talk because I want
Study
my thoughts to be systematical and
clear, I want people to get it.”
Conclusion

32. Intro
Design
“gave more people a
chance to say things that
Study
they wouldn’t say”
Conclusion

33. Intro
Design
“something that was on
my side, so to speak. You
Study
know what I mean? ...
Like it was a resource.”
Conclusion

34. Questions?
Drew Harry Eric Gordon Chris Schmandt
MIT Media Lab Emerson College MIT Media Lab
tincan.it
dharry@media.mit.edu
@drewwww

36. Google China Life as a game
Google and Trust Public versus Private Internet
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Confession Ars Erotica
Power of repression Truth about sex Logic of censorship Discussion
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time since class start (m)