Where? - Collaborative Web Search: Who, What, Where, When, and Why - page 44

4.2.2 EXAMPLE: WESEARCH
The WeSearch system ( Morris et al. , 2010b ) provides an example of how a collaborative search tool
can support co-located collaboration in a system with a single, shared device. WeSearch was designed
to support face-to-face collaborative search on tabletop displays, an emerging form factor operated
by touch input. Based on a review of the challenges of using tabletop systems for productivity
tasks, Morris et al. designed WeSearch in order to mitigate the challenges of cluttering the shared
display, reading text at odd orientations, and typing on virtual keyboards. Additionally, WeSearch
was designed not only to support the process stages of collaborative Web search but also subsequent
collaborative sensemaking.
WeSearch supports up to four group members, gathered around a four-foot-wide by six-
foot-long standing-height, top-projected tabletop, shown in Figure 4.20. Each group member has
Figure 4.20: WeSearch ( Morris et al. , 2010b ) supports co-located collaborative search around a shared
multi-touch display.
a color-coded toolbar located on his side of the table (Figure 4.21), into which he can type query
terms using a virtual keyboard. The toolbar also contains a marquee region, which provides awareness
of others' activities by slowly scrolling past color-coded keywords and page titles based on group
members' actions. Dragging terms from the marquee onto the search box enables text reuse, in order
to reduce typing.