Organisation: CEIT at The University of Queensland
Supervisor: Mark Schulz
Title: Technology-supported activities through realtime, distributed, and collaborative interfaces
Abstract: Traditionally user interfaces have been designed for a single user using one common device type---e.g. someone on a computer visiting a website. With the internet and mobile devices now being commonplace, interfaces could take advantage of being distributed across devices and working collaboratively with others in real-time. While there have been attempts to handle this (e.g. Google Docs), they have so far been in a limited, prescribed manner. A proposed concept is put forward to design and build a new approach for a distributed and real-time collaborative user interface focusing on the concept of having a workspace with components that the user is able to freely use in a real-time manner. It is based upon existing web browsers and devices. Parts of the UI can be distributed across separate platforms. A prototype of a workspace for education is included and user testing of the prototype shows positive experiences and results for the users.