Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Pattern-Based Tool Design for
Shared Knowledge Construction
Stephan Lukosch
Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
AbstrACt
Shared knowledge construction aims at supporting the creation and gathering of new knowledge. It relies
on tools for computer-mediated interaction. The design and development of these tools is difficult, as not
only the interaction of one user with the tool but also the interaction among the users themselves has to
be taken into account. For designing and developing successful tools, it is crucial to involve end-users in
the development process and to create shared understanding of the requirements as well as the solutions
among the end-users and developers. In this chapter, the author analyzes the problems when developing
tools for computer-mediated interaction in general and present a novel pattern-based approach for sup-
porting developers as well as integrating end-users in the development process. The author shows the
applicability of this approach by introducing tools for shared knowledge construction and describing
their pattern-based design. The author concludes by giving an outlook on future research directions.
introduCtion
ity of the Internet is largely due to the influence
of the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is
the fastest growing segment of the Internet and is
now accepted as the standard information support
system in many important sectors of life activities
such as finance, education, travel, business, sci-
ence, health care, art etc. Nowadays, the WWW is
the platform for all kinds of information sharing
and cooperation as well as communication forms.
Furthermore, the WWW is currently performing a
shift from the single-user-centered usage to support
The rapid evolution and development of comput-
ing systems and networking technologies resulted
in the use of the Internet as a global communica-
tion infrastructure. Every day new computers or
local area networks are connected via gateways
and Internet service providers to the Internet and
contributes to its exponential growth. The popular-
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