Shared interfaces for co-located interaction

Abstract

Co-located, collaborative work around shared surfaces has become a major topic of the research agenda in the fields of teamwork and collaborative learning. In this chapter, we introduce the difference between multi-touch and multi-user interfaces and we present three cases of co-located interactions on shared interfaces. The first two cases present examples of multi-user applications: StoryTable is a multi-user application for children to practise their narration skills in a collaborative way; the NNRT table is a multi-user application to foster a shift in the attitudes of participants via a narration task (it is used in peace-education programs). Finally, we describe a new approach to shared interfaces explicitly aimed at influencing immediate behavior in an informal, non goal-oriented co-located small group. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.