Using VCR to Support Different Styles and Types of Group Collaborations in Virtual Universities

Jianhua Ma; Runhe Huang; Timothy K. Shih

doi:10.6180/jase.1999.2.2.03

Using VCR to Support Different Styles and Types of Group Collaborations in Virtual Universities

Computer Science and Information Engineering

Jianhua Ma This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.¹, Runhe Huang¹ and Timothy K. Shih¹

¹Department of Computer Software The University of Aizu Aizu-Wakamatsu City, 965-8580 Japan

Received: May 28, 1999
Accepted: July 5, 1999
Publication Date: July 5, 1999

Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.6180/jase.1999.2.2.03

ABSTRACT

To support many different group activities such as computer and network based meeting, seminar, conference, tele-lecturing, group project, team work, student instruction and club in a virtual university, a general framework based on a room metaphor or model is used to develop a desktop groupware system, called virtual collaboration room (VCR) that enables teachers and students to flexibly and naturally conduct their collaborative teaching/learning/working over the Internet without constraints on collaboration type, working style, group scale and system platform. As important component in our integrated educational system, University21, the VCR is discussed how to be employed and managed in a virtual university. With the use of Java applets for system implementations, users can enter the VCR from any standard Java enabled Web browser. VCR consists of user panel, object cabinet, object panel, a variety of objects in workspace, workspace panel. An object in VCR has a life cycle from birth, alive to death, and attributes such as owner, state, access mode, handler, and persistence. To further improve the quality of collaborations, natural object control and rich awareness function are fully supported.

Keywords: collaboration, groupware, virtual university, VCR, object, space, awareness

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