"Hand
gestures can be used to accomplish any of the three drawing space
functions." There were several examples where gestures express ideas by
enacting a simulation of them. "Hand gestures are also used to mediate the
group's interaction. Pointing to a location often directs the group's attention
to a common location, and subtle cues from hand gestures (e.g. waving a hand to
take a turn of talk) can help the group negotiate the use of shared drawing
space." Furthermore, spatial relatively plays an important role in
gesturing, as gestures are often relative to specific objects within an
environment.
One major
drawback of software design is even if you have a video link, you loose this
spatial relativity. Telepointers simulate gesturing but we need to look into
better ways to accomplish what gesturing accomplishes in face-to-face
collaboration. The spatial location of people also helps members of a group
identify who is making what changes. That is often not as clear in a groupware
tool.
The
ability of all members of a group to participate actively in the shared drawing
is important in that the act of drawing is often accompanied by a explicative
dialog and or gestures. Timing and data throughput therefore becomes and issue
in groupware design since you want members to see the drawing, be able to draw,
and to be able to observe any communication of the active agent in the group.
The group also might need to help in the advancement of a drawing and thus the
concept behind it. Having the full group participate is integral to expressing
ideas. In fact, most drawings don't even serve as storage as what's left over
makes no sense unless in the context of the group interaction. Concurrency is
therefore also a major issue in groupware design.
Most
software applications enforce strict boundaries between the actions and
functions i.e. in any paint application you have to first click on a drawing
tool to draw, and then if you wish to type some text you have to click on
another icon then click a location on the frame. In real collaboration members
of a group mix the actions and functions together very fluidly, often drawing a
picture and labeling quickly in the same move. In face-to-face collaboration
actions can also accomplish more than one function easily, such as a member of
a group drawing a picture and talking not only commands a turn in interaction
and presents and idea but also captures the focus of the group. In most
software, the there are separate actions to achieve each function, and the
fluidity is lost in the interaction.