Timelines as mediators of lifelong learning processes

  • Authors:
  • Heiko Hornung;M. Cecilia C. Baranauskas

  • Affiliations:
  • University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas - SP, Brazil;University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas - SP, Brazil

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 11th Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2012

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Abstract

In Web environments for collaborative problem solving or collaborative learning, the process of a collaborative activity can be as important as or even more important than the outcome of the activity. Furthermore, processes need to be flexible to enable free exploration and creativity. Many online systems fail to optimally support those activities, because they are document-centric, or provide not enough flexibility regarding processes and meaning negotiation. In this paper, we propose a timeline metaphor that enables flexible processes and permits users to see the current state of a process "at a glance", i.e. what already has been done and what are possible next steps. We describe how literature and participatory practices informed the design of a low-fidelity prototype. As a first result, we present and discuss the prototype that is contextualized to the domain of lifelong learning among special education teachers.