Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
videoconferencing. As such, synchronous collaboration necessarily incorporates technologies that
provide a virtual common workspace, such as an electronic whiteboard, and a means of working with
applications and data interactively.
Synchronous collaboration draws upon many of the technologies and processes developed in the field
of knowledge management. For example, the creation and acquisition of data benefit from
technologies such as data mining, text summarizing, a variety of graphical tools, and a variety of
information-retrieval methodologies. Similarly, archiving and access are facilitated by databases and
database management tools. In addition, virtually all of these technologies require an infrastructure
that is not only capable of supporting moderate to high-speed connectivity, but that provides privacy,
security, and fault-tolerance as well.
As an example of the technologies supportive of synchronous collaboration, consider the options
available for working with applications and data interactively. Three popular synchronous or real-time
collaboration technologies are peer-to-peer screen sharing, commercial online conferencing services,
and application-specific integrated collaboratories, as illustrated in Figure 10-3 . Each of these
technologies allows collaborators to see and control, either directly or indirectly, an application
running on a remote workstation.
Figure 10-3. Collaborative Application Sharing Options. Popular methods of
synchronous collaboration range from point-to-point screen sharing over
the telephone network (top), to Internet-based commercial online
conferencing services (middle) and application-specific integrated
collaboratories (bottom).
Peer-to-peer screen sharing allows a user with the appropriate access privileges to connect to and
take control of a remote workstation. This form of screen sharing is especially popular in training and
troubleshooting situations, where a collaborator can demonstrate how to perform an operation in an
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