Social Networking and Culturally Situated Design Teaching Tools: Providing a Socially 
Interactive Computer Supported Collaborative Network Environment for K-12 
 
by 
 
Albanie Tremaine Bolton 
 
 
 
   
A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of 
Auburn University 
in partial fulfillment of the 
requirements for the Degree of 
Doctor of Philosophy 
 
Auburn, Alabama 
May 4, 2014 
 
 
 
 
Culturally Situated Design Tools (CSDTs), educational gaming,  
ethnomathematics, mathematics, culture, Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) 
 
 
Copyright 2014 by Albanie Tremaine Bolton 
 
 
Approved by 
 
Cheryl D. Seals, Chair, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering 
Wei-Shinn Ku, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering 
Sanjeev Baskiyar, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering 
L. Octavia Tripp, Assistant Professor of Elementary Science Education 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ii 
 
Abstract 
 
 
Culturally Situated Design Tools (CSDTs) are web-based software applications that 
allow students to create simulations of cultural arts: Native American beadwork, African 
American cornrow hairstyles, urban graffiti, and so forth; using these underlying mathematical 
principles. CSDTs are the rationale of creating a set of culturally designed games utilizes 
gaming as a teaching tool to attract and instruct students with familiar methods and 
environments. This dissertation will review the development and evaluation of CSDTs, and 
discuss how various activities attempt to navigate through the potential dangers and rewards of 
this potent hybrid of information technology (CSDTs), traditional culture and individual 
creativity.  
Increasing accessibility to Computer Science Technology is essential for a discipline that 
relies on creativity and diverse perspectives. Creating equity in representation of numbers of 
students and their access to Computer Science learning opportunities is also a social justice 
issue. Educational research communities having begun to explore the causes behind the 
underrepresentation of females and students of color in computing courses, outreach efforts 
have commenced to overcome these enrollment discrepancies. The purpose of this dissertation 
is to address issues of under representation. We have created an environment and developed a 
framework to support the creation of computing applications promoting more robust 
educational software to train the next generation of computer scientists. 
 
 
iii 
 
Acknowledgments 
 
I would like to first and foremost thank God for allowing me this opportunity to pursue a 
PhD in Computer Science. I would also like to express my thanks to Dr. Cheryl Seals for being a 
great mentor and advisor over the years. Her guidance has been truly appreciated and helpful 
along my journey at Auburn University. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to my 
committee members Dr. Sanjeev Baskiyar, Dr. Wei Shinn Ku and Dr. L. Octavia Tripp. Your 
time and participation as committee members is greatly appreciated in this study. A special 
thanks to Dr. Eglash for his support on providing material for this research. In addition, thanks to 
Lacey Wright, Cecili Reid, Leretha Childress, Jonathan Johnson, and COMP 6620. Special 
thanks to Curtis Cain and Dr. Wanda Eugene for all their continued guidance and support 
throughout this project.  
 Next, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to my mom, Jeannie Bolton, and my 
immediate family, Antoinette, Antwain, Arabian, and Harry for all their prayers and inspiration 
throughout these years. Next, thanks to my NASA family and friends who stood by me the whole 
time, Ruby Board, Naheerah King, Kiera Spann and April McDaniel. Also, very special thanks 
to my grandmother, Adeline Jackson, for being there and encouraging me while she was here. 
May your soul be at peace. Without them, I know that none of this would have ever been 
possible.  
iv 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 
Abstract.................................................................................................................................... ii 
Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................. iii 
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ viii 
List of Figures......................................................................................................................... ix 
List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. xi 
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 
1.1 Motivation ......................................................................................................................... 1 
1.2 General Area of Research .................................................................................................. 1 
1.3 Goals, Approach, and Contribution of the Research ......................................................... 5 
1.4 Organization of the Dissertation ........................................................................................ 6 
2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 8 
2.1 Using CSDTs as Teaching Aides ...................................................................................... 8 
2.2 What is the approach of CSCW? ..................................................................................... 12 
2.3 Computer Supportive Collaboration Work to Mold Communities ................................. 14 
2.4 Communities of Practice ................................................................................................. 18 
2.5 What Can Educational Games Teach .............................................................................. 19 
2.6 Computer Games as a Part of Children?s Culture ........................................................... 21 
2.7 What Makes a Game Good .............................................................................................. 22 
2.8 Issues Designing Cultural Games .................................................................................... 23 
2.9 Why Do CSDTs Work? ................................................................................................... 24 
v 
 
 
2.10 Human Computer Interaction and Culturally Situated Design Tools ........................... 26 
2.11 Users and User Experiences with CSCW Systems ....................................................... 26 
2.12 Sociability and Usability in Online Communities ......................................................... 27 
3 COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES PROJECT ................................................................... 30 
3.1 Computer Science Principles Project Overview .............................................................. 30 
3.2 Big Ideas of Computer Science ....................................................................................... 30 
4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ......................................................................................... 34 
4.1 Research Problem ............................................................................................................ 34 
4.2 Research Approach .......................................................................................................... 37 
4.3 Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 38 
4.4 Hypotheses ...................................................................................................................... 38 
4.4.1 Hypotheses I ............................................................................................................. 39 
4.4.2 Hypotheses II ............................................................................................................ 39 
4.5 Experiment ...................................................................................................................... 39 
4.5.1 Setup of Experiment ................................................................................................. 41 
4.5.2 Experimental Procedure ............................................................................................ 42 
5 SYSTEM FRAMEWORK IMPLEMENTATION & PROCEDURE ....................................... 44 
5.1 Initial Phase I ................................................................................................................... 44 
5.2 Case Studies: Break Dancer Tool (Phase II) ................................................................... 45 
5.3 CSCW Environment Prototype (Phase III) ..................................................................... 47 
5.3.1 Requirements ............................................................................................................ 50 
5.4 Use Case and Sequence Diagrams .................................................................................. 54 
6 CSDT Framework ...................................................................................................................... 55 
6.1 CSDT Framework ........................................................................................................... 55 
vi 
 
6.2 Interface Services ............................................................................................................ 55 
6.3 CSDT GUI Construction and Maintenance ..................................................................... 56 
6.4 CSCW Interrogation ........................................................................................................ 57 
6.5 Serialization ..................................................................................................................... 57 
7 DEVELOPMENT TOOLS ........................................................................................................ 58 
7.1 Tortoise Subversion Server ............................................................................................. 58 
7.2 Java Programming Language .......................................................................................... 59 
7.3 QT Creator Integrated Development Environment (IDE) ............................................... 59 
7.4 Unity 3D Development.................................................................................................... 61 
7.6 iPhone .............................................................................................................................. 66 
7.7 Break Dancer Tutorial Development............................................................................... 67 
8 EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION AND DATA ANALYSIS ............................................... 72 
8.1 Data from the Usability Testing of Break Dancer ........................................................... 75 
8.2 Experimental Design ....................................................................................................... 78 
8.3 Heuristic Review ............................................................................................................. 78 
8.4 Cognitive Walkthrough ................................................................................................... 83 
8.4.1 Defining the Input to the Walkthrough ..................................................................... 84 
8.4.2 Walking through the Actions .................................................................................... 84 
8.4.3 Features of Success ................................................................................................... 85 
8.5 Experiment ...................................................................................................................... 86 
8.5.1 Experiment Setup ...................................................................................................... 86 
8.5.2 Experiment Design ................................................................................................... 86 
8.5.3 Materials ................................................................................................................... 86 
8.5.4 Informed Consent ..................................................................................................... 87 
vii 
 
8.5.5 Pre-Test & Post Test Questionnaire .......................................................................... 87 
8.5.6 Procedures ................................................................................................................. 87 
8.6 Data Collection & Analysis ............................................................................................. 88 
8.6.1 Performance Data ..................................................................................................... 88 
8.6.2 User Observations ..................................................................................................... 88 
8.6.3 Interviews .................................................................................................................. 88 
8.6.4 Statistics .................................................................................................................... 89 
8.6.5 Experimental Results ................................................................................................ 89 
8.6.6 Participant Background ............................................................................................. 89 
9 FUTURE WORK & CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 92 
9.1 Future Work..................................................................................................................... 92 
9.2 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 92 
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 95 
APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................. 100 
APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................. 101 
APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................................. 102 
APPENDIX D ............................................................................................................................. 103 
APPENDIX E ............................................................................................................................. 104 
APPENDIX F.............................................................................................................................. 105 
APPENDIX G ............................................................................................................................. 106 
APPENDIX H ............................................................................................................................. 108 
APPENDIX I .............................................................................................................................. 109 
viii 
 
List of Tables 
 
 
Table 8.1: The overall groups gender distribution table ............................................................. 72 
Table 8.2: Group age distribution table ...................................................................................... 72 
Table 8.3: Experts elicited comments table CSCW Environment tool ....................................... 74 
Table 8.4: Usability Testing Current Tutorial............................................................................. 75 
Table 8.5: Usability Testing of Revised Tutorial........................................................................ 76 
Table 8.6: Anova Results ............................................................................................................ 77 
Table 8.7: Experimental Instrument Overview ........................................................................... 88 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ix 
 
List of Figures 
 
 
Figure 1: Break Dancer Tool  ....................................................................................................... 4 
Figure 2: U.S. Data Comparison on CIS Degrees Correlation with Job Outcomes  .................... 6 
Figure 3: Cornrow Curves (Transformational Geometry)  ........................................................... 9 
Figure 4: Graffiti Grapher (Cartesian and Polar Coordinates)  ................................................... 10 
Figure 5: Virtual Bead Loom (Cartesian Coordinates)  .............................................................. 11 
Figure 6: Rhythm Wheels (Fractions and Least Common Multiple [LCM])  ............................ 12 
Figure 7: Computer Supported Collaborative Work Matrix  ...................................................... 16 
Figure 8: Experiment Procedure Diagram  ................................................................................. 43 
Figure 9: Educational Game Scenario Diagram  ........................................................................ 45 
Figure 10: Conceptual CSCW Environment Home Page Model ............................................... 48 
Figure 11: Conceptual CSCW Environment Sub Page Model ................................................... 48 
Figure 12: Conceptual CSCW Environment Home Page Model Implemented  ........................ 49 
Figure 13: Conceptual CSCW Environment Sub Page Model Implemented  ............................ 49 
Figure 14: Final CSCW Environment Version ........................................................................... 50 
Figure 15: Use Case Diagram for Game/Scenario System ......................................................... 52 
Figure 16: Scenario Sequence Diagram  ..................................................................................... 53 
Figure 17: QT IDE Window  ...................................................................................................... 60 
Figure 18: Unity 3D Graphical User Interface  .......................................................................... 61 
Figure 19: Wii Gaming Console  ................................................................................................ 66 
x 
 
Figure 20: Online Break Dancer Tutorial  .................................................................................. 68 
Figure 21: Revised Break Dancer Tutorial  ................................................................................ 70 
Figure 22: Group Age Distribution Chart  .................................................................................. 73 
Figure 23: Heuristic Review Chart from CSCW  ....................................................................... 81 
Figure 24: Heuristic Categories at a Closer Look (CSCW)  ....................................................... 82 
Figure 25: Heuristic Review Chart from CSDT  ........................................................................ 82 
Figure 26: Heuristic Categories at a Closer Look (CSDT) ......................................................... 83 
Figure 27: Age Distribution Results  .......................................................................................... 90 
Figure 28: Categories of Participants .......................................................................................... 90 
Figure 29: Work Experience and Computer Usage .................................................................... 91 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
xi 
 
List of Abbreviations 
 
 
CSDT Culturally Situated Design Tools 
CSCW Computer Supported Collaborative Work 
HCI Human Computer Interaction 
CS Computer Science 
Qt  pronounced Q tee 
JVM  Java Virtual Machine 
 
1 
 
1 INTRODUCTION 
1.1 Motivation 
Diversity does not refer only to ethnicity or race. It refers to differences in social class, 
family culture, geographic, religious backgrounds, and learning styles, which are all reflected in 
our classrooms as important components of diversity [6]. Culturally responsive instruction 
addresses the specific interests, concerns, and experiences of students in the classroom. 
Therefore, teaching math and computer science in culturally responsive ways means using 
students? own habits, experiences, and cultural references to connect to real-world experiences 
with numbers, shapes, patterns, chance, and measurement. Successful methods for learning, 
calculating, memorizing, and communicating about math differ across cultures. This is where the 
phrase Culturally Situated Design Tools (CSDTs) comes into play. This area of work also 
focuses on how to incorporate Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) in a way that 
combines relevant factors into a more effective resource for students and instructors.  
The conventional use of CSCW inside various academic fields is wide. This research will 
require participants to converge specific tasks to develop a shared understanding of CSCW 
among members of communities of practice for the purposes of data collection, analysis, and 
evaluation to ascertain the impact of the study on subjects. Justus Nyagwencha is currently 
researching CSCW in parallel with CSDT research.   
1.2 General Area of Research 
For over 25 years, human computer interaction (HCI) researchers and developers have been 
challenged with improving usability of products. More recently, the CSCW community has 
focused on developing collaborative systems, albeit with an emphasis on social interaction at 
work [34]. The widespread use of the Internet by millions of diverse users for socializing is a 
 
2 
 
new phenomenon that raises new issues for researchers and developers. Just designing for 
usability is not enough; we need to understand how technology can support social interaction and 
then design technology for sociability. Sociability is concerned with developing software, 
policies, and practices to support social interaction online. Three key components contribute to 
good sociability [34]: 
? Purpose. A community?s shared focus on an interest, need, information, service, or 
support that provides a reason for individual members to belong to the community. 
? People. The people who interact with each other in the community and who have 
individual, social and organization needs. Some of these people may take different roles 
in the community, such as leaders, protagonists, comedians, or moderators. 
? Policies. The language and protocols that guide people?s interactions and contribute to 
the development of folklore and rituals that bring a sense of history and accepted social 
norms. More formal policies may also be needed, such as registration policies and codes 
of behavior for moderators. Informal and formal policies provide community governance 
[34]. 
Decisions about purpose, people, and policies by community developers help determine the 
initial sociability of an online community. Later, the community evolves and gradually 
establishes an understanding of which social norms and policies are acceptable and which are not 
[34]. This is what the CSDT tool base has taken into account for its framework and design. 
Culturally Situated Design Tools allow students and teachers to explore mathematics and 
computer science with depth and care, using cultural artifacts from specific times, places, and 
cultures. Ethnomathematics is the study of mathematical ideas and practices situated in their 
cultural context. The CSDT website provides free standards-based lessons and interactive 
 
3 
 
?applets? that help students and teachers explore mathematics and knowledge systems using 
ethnomathematics in African, African American, Youth Subculture, Native American, and 
Latino circles. The supporting materials for the CSDTs include lesson plans and evaluation 
instruments to ensure they are integrated into the curriculum through state and national 
standards. Based in K-12 schools with significant numbers of African-American, Latino, and 
Native American students, preliminary evaluations indicate statistically significant increases in 
both math achievement and attitudes toward technology-based careers. Current locations include 
Alaska, California, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Utah.  
Dr. Ron Eglash and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have copyrighted the CSDT 
simulation software and teaching materials. Eglash, a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic 
Institute and the author of African Fractals: Modern Computing and Indigenous Design, 
provides the software on the web at http://www.rpi.edu/~eglash/csdt.html [8]. When instructors 
have a sense of what issues motivate and their students they may want to search various 
culturally effective ways to teach them. This site provides resources for this purpose. Although 
the use of mathematics and computing is universal, math is not culturally neutral. That is why 
this research seeks how to incorporate math and computer science into gaming.  
Eglash recognizes a lack of diversity in these fields that limits what individuals can do to 
hold the attention of students. Therefore, he constructed these tools by researching and 
integrating aspects of ethnomathematics, mathematics, computing, and educational gaming. 
Eglash?s work provided the sole inspiration for this present research project. We initially focused 
on the Break Dancer tool (Figure 1) on the CSDT website. The Break Dancer tool is a software-
simulated game that teaches 3-dimensional space or solid geometry. Real-world objects exist in 
3-dimensions. For example, a cuboid, or a box, is described by three parameters, length, breadth, 
 
4 
 
and height. Corresponding to that, each point in the Cartesian space has three coordinates - x, y, 
and z [2]. The Break Dancer tool integrates the youth subculture, promotes physical activity, and 
makes it into an educational game.  
 
Figure 1: Break Dancer Tool 
 
Studies focused on CSCW after researchers from various academic disciplines realized 
that computers should be designed according to the user?s needs and that various technological 
designs and efforts can greatly benefit from the input of others in the areas of cognitive science 
and humanities. The research has led to a new theory of user-centered design. Emerging from 
previous research, this project focus on: (a) usability of collaboration tools and their effects on 
novice computer users, or HCI of system interfaces; (b) integration of CSDT tools into a 
classroom setting; (c) usage of CSDTs compared to traditional teaching, and (d) effects of 
gaming incorporation into a classroom setting. In this research, a community of instructors and 
students will use and evaluate a CSCW/CSDT tool to determine whether the designed system 
tool will meet minimum online usability standards and integrate easily into a classroom setting. 
 
5 
 
Moreover, the study will incorporate new tools into an online community and test their usability 
in a classroom setting.   
1.3 Goals, Approach, and Contribution of the Research 
The project aims to provide a source for increasing teaching aids in schools. Specifically, 
it seeks to develop a gaming convention that will hold the student?s attention in the field of 
mathematics and introduce computing. In addition, it aims at evaluating and validating a tool or 
framework that can encourage the sharing of best practices within a community of practice. The 
sharing of best practices can enhance members? career aspirations significantly. By tapping into 
CSCW, K-12 teachers can benefit personally and enhance re-use and collaboration using 
technology. Students will benefit as well; mathematics scare most students and keep them away 
from computing and IT jobs because the careers require coursework in mathematics and in depth 
problem solving. 
By collaborating in their use of CSCW tools, K-12 teachers can be encouraged to share 
and re-use best practices as a community to emulate the business industry, which has highly 
benefited from sharing best practices through collaboration. For example, the software 
development industry successfully utilizes code-re-use during software development through 
collaboration. 
 
6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 2: U.S. Data Comparison on CIS Degrees Correlation with Job Outcomes 
1.4 Organization of the Dissertation  
The rest of the dissertation is discussed in the following  into eight chapters. Chapter 2 is 
a literature review that contains a brief history of CSDTs and computer supported collaborative 
environments. Chapter 3 discusses computer science (CS) principles and their relation to this 
project. Chapter 4 addresses the research issues; defines the research problems, and outlines 
approaches that attempt to solve the problems. Chapter 5 gives an outline of the system 
framework. Chapter 6 focuses on the framework for CSDTs. Chapter 7 gives an outline of the 
development tools that are used and will be used for future experiments. Chapter 8 describes the 
 
7 
 
methods and presents the human studies empirical results. Finally, Chapter 9 offers conclusions 
and recommendations for future work. 
 
8 
 
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 
2.1 Using CSDTs as Teaching Aides 
Games reflect a cultural value that provide social contexts for learning. In other words, 
games are one place where the values of a society are embodied and passed on. Although games 
clearly do reflect cultural values and ideologies, they do not merely play a passive role. Games 
also help to instill or fortify a culture?s values system. Seeing games as social contexts for 
cultural learning acknowledges how games replicate, reproduce, and sometimes transform 
cultural beliefs and principles. This way of looking at games forms the basis of a schema known 
as ?Games as Cultural Rhetoric? [10].  
Games contribute to the development of knowledge by having a positive effect on the 
atmosphere in a class that produces a better mental attitude towards math among students. 
Educational games provide a unique opportunity for integrating the cognitive, affective, and 
social aspects of learning [7]. Each CSDT topic comprises a number of resources that enable 
teachers to integrate topics into standards-based math instruction. Resources for each topic 
include:  
? A section on cultural background and history 
? A tutorial on the math topic and its connection to cultural artifacts and systems of 
knowledge  
? Software (applets) that enable teachers and students to simulate the development of these 
artifacts  
? Links to extensive teaching materials -- including lesson plans, pre- and post-tests, and 
samples of student work from a wide variety instructional settings.  
 
9 
 
The following sections describe some of the best examples from the design tools, 
highlighting the ways in which the tools emerged using computing, cultural rhetoric, and math 
education as their teaching foundation.  
African and African American Design Tools  
The tools offered with these were African Fractals, Mangbetu Design, Hexastrip 
Weaving, and Cornrow Curves (Figure 3). They combined African and African American tools 
that went hand in hand. Cornrow Curves, in particular, provide a prime example. Very few 
students knew that cornrows originated in Africa, so on the design tool website there is a 
historical background page. It includes images and information covering the indigenous styles 
and their meaning in Africa. There is also a series of ?goal images:? photos of styles for students 
to simulate, including both professional styles and photos the students took of themselves and 
their friends. This helps students to make the connection from contemporary vernacular identity 
to heritage identity, which then opened up a wide selection of indigenous African fractal patterns 
for additional simulation.  
Transformational geometry is the focus of cornrow curves. Each plait (braid) is given 
some particular rotation, translation (spacing), scaling, and reflection because these 
transformations are part of the standard curriculum. 
 
Figure 3: Cornrow Curves (Transformational Geometry) 
 
 
10 
 
Youth Subculture  
There are two Youth Subculture design tools: Graffiti Grapher and Break Dancer. The 
Break Dancer tool is not completely finished yet. It is still going through the actual design phase. 
Graffiti Grapher (Figure 4) is a tool that reaches out to middle school and junior high school 
students. It gives them a chance to be artistic and express themselves. In turn, they are learning 
about Cartesian and Polar coordinates. This tool also raises the concern about students 
involvement in ?inappropriate? activity: putting graffiti on actual building while enhancing their 
knowledge of subculture practices. We will look at these issues as we examine our game design 
in detail. 
 
Figure 4: Graffiti Grapher (Cartesian and Polar Coordinates) 
Native American Design Tools  
The current Native American design tools include ?SimShoBan? (Eglash 2001), Pacific 
Northwest Basket Weaver, Yupik Star Navigator, Yupik Parka Patterns, Navajo Rug Weaver, 
and the Virtual Bead Loom (VBL, Figure 5). The web-based software allows the user to enter x, 
y coordinates for bead positions; together with color choice, this allows the creation of patterns 
similar to those on the traditional loom. There is also a ?cultural background? section showing 
how the concept of a Cartesian layout can be seen in a wide variety of native designs: Navajo 
 
11 
 
sand paintings, Yuptik parka decoration, Pawnee drum design, and other manifestations of the 
Four Winds? concept [7]. 
 
Figure 5: Virtual Bead Loom (Cartesian Coordinates) 
Latino Design Tools  
There are currently two Latino design tools: Pre-Columbian Pyramids, in which students 
create three-dimensional simulations of architecture from the ancient cultures of Central America 
and Rhythm Wheels (RW).  
The RW software (Figure 6) makes use of the ratios between beats in percussion. There 
are six drumbeats for every eight-clave beats. The two instruments go out of phase, but come 
back into phase after 48 beats. It is this impression of separating and reuniting the rhythms that 
gives the music its ?hook.? The existence of a Least Common Multiple (LCM) is an important 
part of any drummers? understanding. Because ratios and LCM is part of the standard math 
curriculum, this gave students an opportunity to link ethnomathematics to the classroom.  
The RW software allows a student to choose from a variety of percussion sounds and 
drag each sound into a position on a rotating wheel. The students select the number of beats per 
wheel (up to 16), the number of simultaneous wheels total (up to three), the number of times 
 
12 
 
each wheel loops, and the speed of the wheels (all wheels must rotate at the same speed). They 
can also separately vary the volume of each sound for accents. There are wide varieties of 
rhythms that can be reproduced. 
 
Figure 6: Rhythm Wheels (Fractions and Least Common Multiple [LCM]) 
2.2 What is the approach of CSCW? 
By virtue of the first part of its name, the ?CS? part, the professed objective of CSCW is 
to support via computers a specific category of work -- cooperative work. Therefore, the term 
computer support conveys a commitment to focus on the actual needs and requirements of 
people engaged in cooperative work. Of course, new technologies of communication and 
interaction necessarily transform the way people cooperate and CSCW systems are likely to have 
tremendous impact on existing cooperative work practices. Cooperative work can be conceived 
as a specific category or aspect of human work with certain fundamental characteristics common 
to all cooperative work arrangements, irrespective of the technical facilities available now or in 
the future. 
By virtue of its commitment to support cooperative work, CSCW should not be defined 
in terms of the techniques being applied. Computer supported collaborative work is a research 
 
13 
 
area aimed at the design of application systems for cooperative work, in all its forms. Like any 
other application area, CSCW, in its search for applicable techniques, potentially draws upon the 
whole field of computer science and information technology. Accordingly, a technology-driven 
approach to CSCW will inevitably dilute the field. To some extent, the current lack of unity of 
the CSCW field bears witness to that. 
Computer supported collaborative work, in a sense, is an endeavor to understand the 
nature and requirements of cooperative work with the objective of designing computer-based 
technologies for cooperative work arrangements. Because multiple individuals, situated in 
different work settings and situations, with different responsibilities, perspectives and 
propensities, interact and are mutually dependent in the conduct of their work has important 
implications for the design of computer systems intended to support them. 
The objective of social science contributions to CSCW should not be to cash in on the 
new wave and do what they have always done, but rather to explore exactly how insights 
springing from studies of cooperative work relations might be applied and exploited in the design 
of useful CSCW systems. This demand raises the issue of how to use insights already achieved 
in related fields to influence the design process. Moreover, it raises more fundamental issues 
such as: Which are the pertinent questions being pursued in field studies and evaluations for the 
findings to be of use to designers? And how are the findings to be conceptualized? If CSCW is to 
be taken seriously, the basic approach of CSCW research should not be descriptive but 
constructive. 
As a research area devoted to exploring and meeting the support requirements of real 
world cooperative work arrangements, CSCW requires that technologists extend from a strict 
technical focus and investigate how their artifacts are and potentially used in actual settings. In 
 
14 
 
short, the drive of CSCW should be directed towards designing systems embodying an ever-
deepening understanding of the nature of cooperative work forms and practices. 
While this conceptualization of the general approach of CSCW facilitates an 
understanding the nature of cooperative work that betters supports people in their collaborations, 
it does not prescribe a particular research strategy. Of course, field studies of cooperative work in 
diverse domains with the objective of identifying the research requirements of various kinds and 
aspects of cooperative work is much needed, but the design and application of experimental 
CSCW systems may also yield deep and valid insights into the nature and requirements of 
cooperative work. We thus concur with the drive of Groupware enthusiasts to construct working 
artifacts to support cooperative work processes [36]. 
2.3 Computer Supportive Collaboration Work to Mold Communities 
The phrase computer supported cooperative work was first coined by Greif and Cashman 
in 1984 at a workshop attended by individuals interested in using technology to support people in 
their work[43]. In 1987, Findley presented the concept of collaborative learning-work. Many 
authors consider CSCW and groupware to be the same, but they are different. Groupware refers 
to computer-based systems; CSCW is the study of tools and techniques of groupware as well as 
their psychological, social, and organizational effects. Wilson (1991) expresses the difference 
between these two concepts: ?CSCW is a generic term, which combines the understanding of the 
way people work in groups with the enabling technologies of computer networking, and 
associated hardware, software, services and techniques ? [54]. 
Computer supported collaborative work is a design-oriented academic field bringing 
together social psychologists, sociologists, and computer scientists, among others. Despite the 
variety of disciplines, CSCW is an identifiable research field focused on understanding 
 
15 
 
characteristics of interdependent group work with the objective of designing adequate computer-
based technology to support such cooperative work. 
Over the years, researchers have identified three CSCW core dimensions of cooperative 
work:  
? Awareness: Refers to the need for individuals working together to gain some 
level of shared knowledge about each other's activities [36].  
? Articulation work: Refers to ability of cooperating individuals to partition work 
into units, divide it amongst themselves, and after the work is performed, reintegrate it 
[37, 38].   
? Appropriation (or tailorability): refers how an individual or group adapts a 
technology to their own particular situation; the technology may be appropriated in a 
manner completely unintended by the designers [39].  
These concepts are derived through the analysis of systems designed by researchers in the 
CSCW community or through studies of existing systems (e.g. Wikipedia). Computer supported 
collaborative work designs and builds systems to address core concepts in novel ways. However, 
the complexity of the domain makes it difficult to produce conclusive results; the success of 
CSCW systems are often so contingent on the peculiarities of the social context that it is hard to 
generalize. Consequently, CSCW systems based on the design of successful models may fail to 
be appropriated in other seemingly similar contexts for a variety of reasons that are nearly 
impossible to identify a priori [40]. Computer supported collaborative work researcher Mark 
Ackerman calls this "divide between what we know, what we must support socially, and what we 
can support technically" the socio-technical gap and describes CSCW's main research agenda to 
be "exploring, understanding, and hopefully ameliorating" this gap [41]. 
 
16 
 
In order to implement CSCW effectively, Ackman?s social technical divide must be 
addressed. The gap of what technology can support from a social context introduces the 
challenge of ?how we can replicate the social events virtually.? Bridging this gap will ensure that 
CSCW tools are effective in satisfying the need they are designed to mitigate or solve. To 
address the social-technology divide Kaufmann uses a Time/Space matrix and divides CSCWs 
into groups; same time-same place, different time-same place, and same time-different space, 
and different time-different space. The matrix is a replica of real life social situations that 
CSCWs designers will have to address when creating or refining CSCWs. The Time/Space 
Groupware Matrix shown below, courtesy of Morgan Kaufmann publishers, outlines the 
different ways people collaborate [41]. 
 
 
Figure 7:  Computer Supported Collaborative Work Matrix. (Source: Johansen, R. 1988 
?Groupware: Computer Support for Business Teams? The Free Press.) 
 
Both time and space facets are bipolar (i.e. same time or different time and same place 
different or place). Thus the time space groupware matrix has online communities divided into 
four categories: 
 
17 
 
Same Time, Same Place -- Synchronous Co-located: Characterized by such things as 
face to face interactions in decision rooms, single displays, groupware, shared table, wall 
displays, and room ware [41]. 
Same Place, Different Time -- Asynchronous: A major collaboration between a group 
working on continuous tasks through tea rooms, large public displays, shift work 
groupware, project management and the like [41]. 
Different Place, Same Time -- Asynchronous Remote: Remote interactions 
accomplished through such means as video conferencing, instant messaging, 
charts/MUDs/virtual worlds, shared screens, and multi-user editors [41]. 
Different Place, Same Time -- Asynchronous-Remote: Involves communication and 
coordination with tools such as e-mail, bulletin boards, blogs, asynchronous 
conferencing, group calendars, workflow, version control, and wikis [41].     
The CSCW paradigm provides a framework of what we know we can support socially 
but social-technical mapping still remains the main problem. Many researchers are looking for 
ways to bridge the disparity between social needs and the capability to support the need 
technically from a computer science perspective [45].Communities can be formed to support 
almost every daily activity. This creates a need for CSCW in a multitude of areas that need 
support through computer collaborative work. In real life today, there community supported 
computer-based collaborative services being used by major commercial, social, and academic 
activities around the world. IBM uses the use the term social computing to describe the field of 
computer collaborative work. This is an attempt to infuse the concept with social conventions, in 
opposition to the technological characteristics, that are associated with computer systems and 
software.  
 
18 
 
The outlined tools have been successfully implemented and accepted by many users as a 
way of social life. Many educational and commercial institutions are in the forefront of 
advancing their services using CSCW tools. Some of the major services offered to clients include 
online degrees and online banking services by most major banks in the commercial service 
sector. Various social forums have been implemented to serve communities. The forums are an 
intended meeting ?spot? for individuals to gather and socialize. In the academic world, systems 
are used as pedagogical agents to enhance teaching and sharing knowledge (e.g. blackboard, 
WebCT, and Moodle) [42]. The public has many forums to support social interaction, including 
Facebook, Yahoo Chat, and Twitter. Our goal to leverage Facebook to provide a system where 
members of a community of practice will spend time together and exchange knowledge with 
peers in a user friendly and secure manner through social networking.  
2.4 Communities of Practice 
Schools and districts are organizations in their own right, and they too face increasing 
knowledge challenges. The first applications of communities for practice have been in teacher 
training and in providing isolated administrators access to colleagues. There is a wave of interest 
in these peer-to-peer professional-development activities. But in the education sector, learning is 
not only a means to an end: it is the end product. In schools, changing learning theory is a much 
deeper transformation. This will inevitably take longer. The perspective of communities of 
practice affects educational practices along three dimensions. Our system plans to reorganize 
educational experiences? three dimensions and evaluate the reorganization?s effects through 
surveys:  
 
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? Internally: We will organize educational experiences that ground school learning 
in practice through participation in communities around subject matters within the system 
and receive feedback from members.  
? Externally: We will focus on how to connect the experience of students to actual 
practice through peripheral forms of participation in broader communities beyond the 
walls of the school, through blogs, team pages, and forums within the system.  
? Over the lifetime of students: Our system will also serve the lifelong learning 
needs of students by organizing communities of practice focused on topics of continuing 
interest beyond the initial schooling period in the realms of agriculture and basic science, 
responsibility, and good citizenship. 
 
2.5 What Can Educational Games Teach  
A summit on educational gaming suggested that many game features, combined and 
designed effectively into educational gaming, could teach many things in an engaging and 
motivating manner. Games expand cognitive abilities and serve as a platform for developing new 
or practicing existing skills in the context of real world goals, rules, and situations. Games could 
teach old subjects in new ways. For example, in the civilization-building games, players may 
explore subjects such as math, how computers work, and geography within the rules and 
structure of the game [5].  
There are skills that help with the use of games and simulations: higher order skills, 
practical skills training, responses high performance situations, rarely used skills, expertise, and 
team building skills.  
 
 
 
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Higher Order Skills  
When individuals play many commercial video and computer games, they must employ a 
wide range of higher-order skills. This suggests that games may be effective in teaching these 
skills. For example, in various games players must: [5]  
? Think strategically  
? Master resource management 
? Interact with systems and understand the interaction of variables  
? Multi-task, manage complexity, respond to rapidly changing scenarios, and make 
decisions;  
? Learn compromise and trade-off in satisfying the needs of diverse constituencies  
? Manage complex relationships  
? Exercise leadership, team building, negotiation, and collaboration.  
Practical Skills  
Through games and simulations, learners can exercise practical skills such as operating 
sophisticated aircraft, building a bridge, performing surgery, or controlling scientific equipment. 
This allows learners to move up the learning curve, without risking life, limb, or damage to 
expensive equipment in the early part of training and practice. If learners fail in the tasks they are 
learning, little harm is done, and they can try repeatedly to gain mastery of the required 
knowledge and skills.  
High Performance Situations  
Games and simulations show promise in training individuals for high-performance 
situations that require complex and multi-component decision-making.  
Rarely Used Skills  
 
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Simulations are particularly important for reinforcing skills that are seldom used. For 
example, it can allow managers to practice their responses to a terrorist attack, school shooting, 
and natural disaster scenarios.  
Developing Expertise  
Games offer a way to ?walk in the shoes? of experts and learn how experts approach 
problems. Knowledge is compiled over time and organized in the minds of experts, creating 
mental models, or templates that they apply to different situations in their work.  
Team Building  
Some elements of multiplayer games foster information sharing, goal-directed 
cooperation, and the spontaneous formation of networks -- all of critical importance in business 
today. Games and simulations hold promise for training team members to work effectively as a 
team, especially in decision-making, exercising judgment, and solving problems under pressure.  
2.6 Computer Games as a Part of Children?s Culture 
 The cultural and social significance of electronic games is pedagogically relevant because 
any educational or teaching effort that aims at mediating so-called "media competency," 
computer literacy, or ICT skills is preceded by informal and non-formal learning processes of 
children within their "computer gaming culture." A better knowledge about informal learning 
processes and their background is necessary to avoid a "clash of media cultures." This 
metaphoric notion implies the following: teachers, parents, and others engaged in education and 
tuition are members of a generation, which during its primary socialization, has grown up in a 
different media culture and has different media experiences than the young generation of today. 
These experiences do not only influence their private values and attitudes towards new media, 
but they also have an impact on their educational concepts and actions [24]. 
 
22 
 
 In most cases, parents or other adults do not participate in children's gaming cultures in 
an active or interactive way. Some may regard this as something that should be accepted or even 
supported, because children want and need to have their own spheres. However, in the view of 
this paper, the pedagogical task remains to accompany actively and critically the children's 
process of growing up and developing their relationship to the cultural world. Moreover, the task 
remains to secure a plurality of resources and challenges they can use to develop their cognitive, 
social, and physical abilities [24]. 
2.7 What Makes a Game Good  
According to Kramer, the perceived value of a game depends greatly on the individual 
preferences of those who play it. When constructing CSDTs, designers should consider some of 
these characteristics. For instance, some players prefer games of luck, others prefer games of 
tactics, and still others enjoy communicating with fellow players. Then there are those who like 
games based on reaction, manual skills, or memory. The following are some items Kramer felt 
important in the designing of a ?Good Game? [8]:  
? Originality  
? Freshness and replayability  
? Surprise  
? Equal Opportunity  
? Winning Chances  
? No ?Kingmaker? Effect  
? No early Elimination  
? Reasonable Awaiting Times  
? Creative Control  
 
23 
 
? Uniformity  
? Quality of Components  
? Target groups and Consistency of Rules  
? Tension  
? Learning and Mastering a Game  
? Complexity and Influence  
2.8 Issues Designing Cultural Games  
Most teachers think that designing cultural games is a waste of time that takes away from 
the actual verbal teaching time. In 2006, the Federation of American Scientists hosted a Summit 
on Educational Games: Harnessing the Power of Video Games for Learning in Washington D.C. 
The final Summit report addressed the reluctance involved in developing videogames for 
educational use. The reasons for such reluctance include [23]:  
? High development costs in an uncertain market makes investment in educational 
gaming innovations too risky for the commercial video game producers and even the 
educational materials industries.  
? Change in schools comes slowly in terms of adopting any innovations and 
incorporating the necessary organizational and instructional changes that allow use of 
new learning technologies.  
? There is reluctance on the part of schools to give up textbooks in order to 
purchase educational gaming products.  
? The specific educational values tied to state standards have not been proven 
through in-depth research, which is a requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act.  
 
24 
 
? Some parents and teachers have very negative attitudes about the use of 
videogames in the classroom.  
? Games are especially good at teaching higher order skills, which are not typically 
assessed in standards examinations.  
? Access to computers in many schools is so low that they cannot play a 
mainstream role in student learning.  
Besides these reluctances, other barriers also raise second thoughts on designing 
educational games. First, students have limited access to computers at their schools. If a student 
is going to use an educational game, it does require computer access. Second, the majority of 
games are not designed to be played in a short or specific time. Most games cannot be played in 
the typical 50-minute class period of most middle and high schools. Therefore, the effective use 
of educational games requires changes in pedagogy, content, and a re-thinking of the role of 
teachers. Game design must eliminate the many hours it currently takes to learn to play a game 
[23].  
Finally, some teachers and parents have negative attitudes about videogames and are 
often unfamiliar with the games. This brings up the issue that they will not willingly motivate 
their children to do the work and participate accordingly. If they can get the teachers and parents 
motivated then this will open a door to get the students? attention.  
2.9 Why Do CSDTs Work? 
Studies of CSDTs are limited and only have some suggestive results with no wide-scale 
testing. However, assuming that using CSDTs in the classroom may raise minority student math 
achievement and improve their technological aspirations, it may be simply because they use a 
flexible computational medium, which allows students to pursue inquiry and discovery learning 
 
25 
 
in a context in which the cultural component is irrelevant. However, this study believes that the 
flexibility and discovery learning aspects are critical to not only to CSDT success, but are just as 
integral to cultural identity [11].  
Eglash (2006) identifies and explains different conflicts between cultural identity and 
mathematics. He begins with the ?acting white? phenomenon. It is difficult to accuse someone of 
?acting white? if they are using materials based on black culture -- difficult but not impossible. 
Such pedagogies always risk the accusation of being patronizing or illegitimately appropriating 
minority culture, and in some cases, those accusations are correct [4].  
Next, there is identity conflict. Ethnomath examples can decrease the perceived cultural 
distance between math and cultural identity whether such an identify is an experienced home 
culture, an imagined heritage culture, or some hybrid. The distance can be diminished from 
either end -- that is, students might change their perception of the minority culture as more 
mathematical, or change their perception of mathematics as being more cultural [4].  
Social irrelevance is another conflict. Ethnomathematics is particularly effective in the 
context of class discussions of colonialism, primitivism, racism, and other histories of 
stereotypes. Its relevance is thus in its ability to provide alternative portraits. There are also 
practical applications of ethnomathematics to design. Here the challenges are commensurate with 
any such discussion. The myths of genetic determinism also raise conflict. Ethnomathematics 
offers strong counterevidence to primitivist and ethnocentric portraits of ?simple? cultures. In 
addition to these conflicts between cultural identity and mathematics education, we must be 
aware of the role of perceived poor mathematics performance within certain minority groups [4].  
In summary, these four cultural features -- the ?acting white? accusation, identity 
conflict, social irrelevance, and myths of genetic determinism -- create cultural barriers to high 
 
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academic performance by minority students in subjects associated with science and technology 
careers. We suspect that CSDTs can ameliorate these barriers. Further studies will be needed to 
determine which barriers are most affect and to what degree [4].  
2.10 Human Computer Interaction and Culturally Situated Design Tools  
Understanding how users experience technologies raises concerns about social and 
cultural meaning. What does the product mean to the user? What does it mean in the context of 
particular cultures? And, what does it mean in terms of its broad impacts on the social and global 
environment [8]? Culturally situated design tools can address these concerns.  
This inquisitive thinking has led the HCI community to turn its attention from the 
workplace and productivity tools towards domestic design environments. While usability is still 
central to the field, HCI is beginning to address other considerations such as pleasure, fun, 
emotional effect, aesthetics, the experience of use, and the social and cultural impact of new 
technologies [8].  
The HCI community is concerned with the user experience and the ways in which 
technology can take on social meaning. It draws on non-engineering disciplines such as 
ethnography and design to understand better experience and aesthetics in technology design. 
Their study will explore the extent to which these disciplines can help develop innovative 
approaches to design through deeper understandings of the social and cultural meanings of 
domestic technologies [8]. In turn, the studies will contribute to the foundation of CSDTs.  
2.11 Users and User Experiences with CSCW Systems 
In the spring of 2010, researchers associated with Social Networking Teaching Tools: A 
Computer Supported Collaborative Interactive Learning Social Networking Environment for K-
12  conducted a preliminary study that surveyed 33 teachers in North Carolina city schools with 
 
27 
 
different backgrounds and levels of education. The researchers used a forum based prototype 
system. The surveyed group completed the usability survey to express their experiences of the 
system. The results were encouraging since 70% of those surveyed felt that a forum type virtual 
tool would be good for K-12 education and expressed confidence in using the proposed tool to 
teach if it were available [25] .  
To confirm and validate the preliminary results, this study extends the previous study and 
focuses on creating a secure and user friendly environment for a community of practice to share 
best practices. The proposed system will ensure the safety and privacy of the community 
members while online. For the success of the system, the stakeholder?s opinion will weigh 
heavily on the adoption and usability of the system. As stakeholders evaluate the system, they 
will give their opinions and suggestions to improve chances for the future adoption and improved 
usability of the system. To verify the usability, the study will conduct a survey based on 
Norman?s seven usability principals as it relates to the enhanced system, i.e. visibility, simplicity, 
designing for error, etc. The results will be published as part of the contribution of this 
dissertation.  
2.12 Sociability and Usability in Online Communities 
Various techniques exist for evaluating sociability and usability, but little focus has been 
directed towards identifying and measuring the determinants of success for online communities. 
This article begins to fill this gap by identifying key determinants of sociability and usability for 
online communities [34]. Measures of sociability include numbers of participants, amount of 
reciprocity, trustworthiness, and other factors. Measures of usability include numbers of errors, 
productivity, user satisfaction, and other factors.  
 
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The dissertation describes how usability is the nature of human-computer interaction, 
whereas sociability describes the nature of social interaction in an online community. A 
community?s focus, the people who belong to it, and the policies that guide social interaction are 
key components of sociability. Dialogue and social interaction support, information design, 
navigation support, and accessibility are key components for good software usability. Usability is 
concerned with how intuitive and easy it is for individuals to learn to use and interact with a 
product. Various definitions of usability have been proposed. For example, ?usability means that 
people who use the product can do so quickly and easily to accomplish their own tasks? [34]. 
While sociability closely relates to usability and could be considered a new genre of usability, it 
also has significant differences. In theory, usability is primarily concerned with how users 
interact with technology and sociability is concerned with how members of a community interact 
with each other via the supporting technology. The focus of usability is therefore interaction 
across the human computer interface. The focus of sociability is human interaction supported by 
technology [34]. 
The main usability issues for online communities are similar to those for most other web-
based software, but the following four components are particularly important because they are 
concerned with the software?s role as a medium and a place for social interaction. 
? Dialogue and social interaction support. Includes such aspects as the prompts and 
feedback that support interaction, the ease with which commands can be executed, the 
ease with which avatars can be moved, spatial relationships in the environment, etc. 
? Information design. Relates to how easy to read, how understandable, and how 
aesthetically pleasing the information associated with the community is. 
 
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? Navigation. Refers to the ease with which users can move around and what they 
want in the community and associated websites. Many online community users have 
suffered from the inconsistencies of data transfer and differences in interaction style 
between imported software modules and the website housing the community. 
? Access. Pertains to the requirements to download and run online community 
software. Thes requirements must be clear. In addition, if high bandwidth and state of the 
art technology is needed to run the community, there should be low bandwidth text only 
versions and clear instructions about how to obtain it [34]. 
 
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3 COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES PROJECT 
3.1 Computer Science Principles Project Overview 
The Computer Science Principles project is part of a national effort to reach a wide and 
diverse audience of students and share with them the deep, rich intellectual, and practical 
contributions of computing. Members of the CS principles community are building a new course 
designed to be an introductory college level course for everyone a course rich in computer 
science content and exciting in its pedagogy. The course provides an academic foundation for 
understanding these contributions. It emphasizes the intellectual, practical, and creative aspects 
of the field of computer science. 
A set of Computational Thinking Practices and Big Ideas specifies the CS Principles 
curriculum by identifying the content, practices, thinking, and skills central to the discipline of 
computing and computer science. This current research project has developed a course focused 
on the concepts of the Big Ideas and how they relate to cultural aspects within computer science. 
3.2 Big Ideas of Computer Science 
I. Computing is a creative activity. (CREATIVITY) 
Creativity and computing are prominent forces in innovation; the innovations enabled by 
computing have had and will continue to have far-reaching impact. At the same time, 
computing and computer science facilitate exploration and the creation of knowledge. 
This course will emphasize these creative aspects of computing. Students in this course 
will create interesting and relevant artifacts with the tools and techniques of computing 
and computer science. 
II. Abstraction reduces information and detail to facilitate focus on relevant concepts. 
(ABSTRACTION)  
 
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Everyone uses abstraction on a daily basis to cope effectively with our world. In 
computer science, abstraction is a central problem solving technique. It is a process, a 
strategy, and the result of reducing detail to focus on concepts relevant to understanding 
and solving problems. This course will include examples of abstractions used in 
modeling the world, managing complexity, and communicating with people as well as 
with machines. Students in this course will learn to work with multiple levels of 
abstraction while engaging with computational problems and systems. 
III. Data and information facilitate the creation of knowledge. (DATA) 
Computing enables and empowers new methods of information processing that have led 
to monumental change across disciplines, from art to business to science. Managing and 
interpreting an overwhelming amount of raw data is part of the foundation of our 
information society and economy. People use computers and computation to translate, 
process, and visualize raw data, thereby creating information. Computation and computer 
science facilitate and enable a new understanding of data and information that contributes 
knowledge to the world. Students in this course will work with data using a variety of 
tools and techniques to understand better the many ways in which data is transformed 
into information and knowledge.  
IV. Algorithms are used to develop and express solutions to computational problems. 
(ALGORITHMS) 
Algorithms are fundamental to even the most basic everyday tasks. Algorithms realized 
in software have affected the world in profound and lasting ways. The development, use, 
and analysis of algorithms are some of the most fundamental aspects of computing. 
Students in this course will work with algorithms in many ways: they will develop and 
 
32 
 
express original algorithms, they will implement algorithms in some language, and they 
will analyze algorithms both analytically and empirically.  
V. Programming enables problem solving, human expression, and creation of knowledge. 
(PROGRAMMING) 
Programming and the creation of software have changed our lives. Programming results 
in the creation of software, but it facilitates the creation of more general computational 
artifacts including music, images, visualizations, and more. In this course, programming 
will enable exploration as well as being the object of study. This course will introduce 
students to the concepts and techniques used in writing programs and to the ways in 
which people develop and use programs. The focus of the course is not programming per 
se, but on all aspects of computation. Students in this course will create programs, 
translating human intention into computational artifacts. 
VI. The Internet pervades modern computing. (INTERNET) 
The Internet and the systems built on it have had a profound impact on society. Computer 
networks support communication and collaboration. The principles of systems and 
networks that helped enable the Internet are also critical in the implementation of 
computational solutions. Students in this course will gain insight into how the Internet 
operates, will study characteristics of the Internet and systems built upon it, and will 
analyze important concerns such as cybersecurity. 
VII. Computing has global impacts. (IMPACT) 
Computation has changed the way people think, work, live, and play. Our methods for 
communicating, collaborating, problem solving, and doing business have changed and 
are changing due to innovations enabled by computing. Advances in computing have 
 
33 
 
fostered many innovations in other fields. Computational approaches lead to new 
understandings, new discoveries, and new disciplines. Students in this course will 
become familiar with many ways in which computing enables innovation, and will 
analyze the potential benefits and harmful effects of computing in a number of contexts.  
These Seven Big Ideas discussed above are designed to specify the set of student learning 
objectives for the course. Refinements to the curriculum framework and learning objectives are 
ongoing, aided by data from a series of pilot offerings. 
 
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4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 
4.1 Research Problem 
Culturally Situated Design Tools allow students and teachers to explore mathematics and 
computer science with depth and care, using cultural artifacts from specific times, places, and 
cultures. The tool that we explored in our preliminary investigation was the Break Dancer tool. 
The design of this tool is to teach the sine and sine function. In the current version of the tool it 
presents a somewhat complicated introduction to the concept and tutorial. So, our initial 
objective is to make a few changes to the current version. This will allow it to be more user 
friendly and give teachers a better way to get the information across to students. We were 
concerned whether the current state was sufficient to instruct complex mathematical concepts 
and computing and wondered whether we should change the interface and try designing it in 
Unity 3D or other environments.  
We would like to have a Scratch-like "drag and drop" interface. Drag and drop is the 
action of clicking on a virtual object and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual 
object. In general, it can be used to invoke many kinds of actions, or create various types of 
associations between two abstract objects. As a feature, support for drag and drop is not found in 
all software, though it is sometimes a fast and easy-to-learn technique for users to perform tasks. 
However, the lack of affordances in drag-and-drop implementations means that it is not always 
obvious that an item can be dragged. In this tool, drag and drop refers to codelets, which are 
dragged into a scripting area. We based the GUI on MIT's Scratch ?http://scratch.mit.edu.? This 
is why the new version of the tools are called pCSDTs -- for programmable CSDTs. Most of the 
tools that Eglash?s team are using with CSDTs have this feature and he would like to integrate 
this into this tool. This would offer more user friendliness because users would not have to 
 
35 
 
remember textual syntax. If the users are not an expert programmer, having a drag enabled script 
allows them to interact more with the tool and easily implement what they want to do. In 
addition, it allows the user to have a more iconic syntax that is useful in visual programming 
environments.  
The next thing considered is that the tool, as a whole, needs more clarity and stepwise 
introduction on what it is trying to express. The concept has a wonderful application, but we 
have found that there needs to be a clearer and direct mapping to the desired educational content. 
For example, it is not clear how to use it to teach 3D coordinates. It is also not clear how to use 
the rotations to teach angles, nor is it clear on how to use the sine wave option to teach phase and 
frequency. Eglash suggested that it would be valuable for our team to examine that from an HCI 
perspective would be creating improved lessons, lesson plans and evaluations that are very 
important in teaching the students the concepts. In addition, suggestions of applications that 
more clearly conveys the intended concepts. 
Finally, with this tool, there was a need for a better tutorial. Tutorials are sometimes 
where critical learning takes place. Eglash also suggested that we improve the tutorial, and 
perhaps introduce some of the math concepts using games or even better diagrams. 
This chapter introduces the study?s research problem, hypotheses, and research questions. 
It also introduces the characteristics of the empirical/experimental research that are general to all 
studies. These characteristics will be dealt with in detail in subsequent chapters. In this project, 
study questions and hypotheses will be investigated and further benefits of using an online tool 
for education using CSDT. The analytic and empirical methods used for requirements analysis 
appear in later chapters.  
 
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In the current educational systems, K-12 teachers as a community of practice have no 
time, desire, or motivation to learn new tools, let alone develop and refine tools that serve their 
community. Thus, there is need to develop a tool to serve their needs as a community and help 
them share and re-use best practices. An easy way to provide a secure and trustworthy 
community of practice tool in virtual space is by adopting an existing collaboration tool/system, 
tailor it, and evaluate it with users. Many of these applications have very little evaluation of the 
user experience with novices. In this study, we will focus on communities of practice comprised 
of K-12 teachers and students, who in some instances will be novice computer users. This 
research project focuses on K-12 education teachers as a community of practice to understand 
the need for a virtual space tool to share best practices, build a new a tool that addresses those 
needs, and evaluate the effectiveness of the tool in comparison with the existing tools or 
traditional methods. 
There are some empirical studies of supporting K-12 teachers collaborating and sharing 
best practices in virtual space [49] [34]. However, many studies have focused in higher education 
support content managers like Moodle, Blackboard and WebCT that support both teachers and 
students in the learning process [47][48]. Although there are a number of tools that support 
collaboration, most do not encourage the sharing of best practices among K-12 teachers. This 
study will primarily focus on providing a secure tool for K-12 teachers to share best practices 
with a capability to keep private information within the community, thereby improving cyber 
trust among the community of practice. This project will leverage an environment that supports 
educational learning in partnership with traditional learning. We want the application to be easy 
to use, user friendly, and robust enough for students, teachers, and groups that may report as 
computer illiterate but are able to use the environment intiutively with little to no training. 
 
37 
 
We will conduct surveys and query the stakeholders on the usability and learnability of 
this type of application. The study will survey the potential stakeholders -- K-12 teachers, 
students, and colleagues -- to see if they will accept this concept as a noble idea of collaboration 
and sharing the community?s best practices in virtual space. After the system is fully developed 
with features and user interfaces, what will be the users? response to its usability? How will the 
usability of this computer based collaborative environment affect the user?s motivation in using 
the tool for future educational purposes? The answer to these questions, we will provide the 
framework for implementing a successful environment for supporting a community of practice. 
4.2 Research Approach 
The three main goals of the study are to (a) enhance technical skills of novice users, (b) 
encourage users to adopt the use the technology for collaboration instead of traditional methods, 
and (c) introduce new technical skills to novice computer users.  
The study?s main target is to encourage the learning of a new environment for 
collaboration within groups of communities of practice. The study will also produce a tool that 
can be used with Android, Internet, or Wii. The study will focus on the usability of the tool and 
by perform a comparative study of its usefulness. The data will be gathered from the K-12 
teacher population in the initial stages of this study to find out if the project is suitable for the 
intended participants. We will also gather information from students ranging from middle school 
to high school. A broad array of questions to be answered by the experimental participants has 
been created to gather data for the research through a survey. The survey requires users to 
identify themselves as a novice or has having advanced computer skills for the purpose of 
assessing the impact of the tool on subjects.   
 
38 
 
To gather more data on the usability and effectiveness of the environment, experimental 
participants will perform a series of tasks to test the usability of the environment. At the end of 
series, users will be required to complete a detailed survey questionnaire to provide feedback on 
their experiences with the system.  
4.3 Research Questions 
In the first phase of the study, we plan to investigate the security and usability hurdles 
facing communities of practice in virtual space as well as explore the suitability of user 
interfaces of existing tools to the specific community of practice -- K-12 teachers meeting the 
requirements for enlistment. In the next chapter, the findings will lead to a comprehensive focus 
on the usability and problems for users to learn, interact easily, and trust the current tools 
appropriately. What key usability issues face communities of practice (e.g. K-12 teachers) when 
trying to share best practices in virtual space? What are the key security concerns for 
communities of practice (e.g. K-12 teachers) in virtual space?   
4.4 Hypotheses 
For K-12 teachers and students to collaborate successfully in virtual space, they must 
share information. The CSCW environment will provide a framework for community members 
to express their ideas realistically in real time and through various types of media. The CSCW 
environment has incorporated features that are paramount for sharing quality information with 
ease through the use of templates. To validate the CSCW feature?s ease of use, we will conduct a 
series of survey studies with participatory design, scenario-based design, qualitative evaluation, 
and usability analysis.   
With the use of example templates to create successful best practices, users receive with a 
simple task of sharing best practices by simply clicking icons on the screen. The environment 
 
39 
 
will offer standard templates that will be used for sharing information. The empirical study will 
focus on the effectiveness of user interface and the usability of the forms -- CSCW templates-in 
comparison with the traditional methods of sharing best practice among the selected research 
groups.  
This research is based on the two research hypotheses listed above to test the hypotheses 
at the end of the study. The empirical study compares the traditional method and the virtual 
community of practice methods. It will examine the usability, trust, and analysis of the user 
interface by experts and other test group participants. The data collected during the experiment 
and through qualitative observations and surveys will be presented in consecutive tables and 
other statistical methods.  
4.4.1 Hypotheses I 
I. H01: There is no learning difference when using CSDTs compared to the CSCW 
environment. 
II. H0A: There is a learning difference when using CSDTs compared to the CSCW 
environment. 
4.4.2 Hypotheses II 
I. H02: There is no difference in misconceptions that learners have when using CSDTs 
compared to traditional environments. 
II. H0A: There is a difference in misconceptions that learners have when using CSDTs 
compared to traditional environments. 
4.5 Experiment 
Traditionally, members of communities of practice collaborated through traditional 
means: word of mouth, conferences, lectures, and hand written notes. With the emergence of 
 
40 
 
online environments, many groups have resorted to e-mails and other web based tools like 
dedicated websites and blogs to collaborate.   
However, most communities of practice have members with a variety of different 
technological skills and varied access to technology based upon the location and focus of the 
community. Due to the variety of collaboration tools available, there is debate on which 
environment will be more suitable for these communities of practice to share best practices 
easily. Most existing educational collaboration environments were created to satisfy the need for 
content management and cater to structured learning situations. None of these tools have been 
tailored to cater to novice users or designed with a loose structure that allows novice users to 
express themselves comfortably despite their limited technological skills. 
Although there are many ways of collaborating between members of communities of 
practice in virtual space, many of them have not fully ascribed to the available technological 
tools to share and re-use best practices because of the time required to acquire the skills. 
Therefore, encouraging the use of technology to share and re-use best practices among members 
of various communities of practice requires an environment that is easy to use, user friendly, 
easy to learn, and does not require any programming or advanced technological skills. 
In this experiment, we designed new user interfaces for virtual space aimed at fostering 
educational communities of practice. We are considering three styles of login wireframes (i.e. 
design dashboards) to be rated and evaluated by user interface design experts and members of 
the targeted community of practice. The basic design will be the current interface: the version 
that we will be comparing for improvement will be the next design version of this system with 
added features.  
 
41 
 
Our methodology will be to gather demographics from user groups before they begin this 
experiment to find their level of computer efficacy, general educational background, and 
technophobia levels. The experimental portion of the work will begin with a list of tasks that 
provides design experts an opportunity to evaluate usability, usefulness, and aesthetics of design. 
At the conclusion of the experiment, the users will complete a post -- questionnaire.  
4.5.1 Setup of Experiment  
 
To perform the experimental tasks, participants must have access to the Internet through a 
web browser. The specifications of the machines will not be considered, but the latest browsers 
are recommended. The system can also be accessed through hand held devices, iPad, iPod, 
Blackberries, web accessible cell phones, and the Android. We will use hand held devices; smart 
phones, iPods, Androids, Blackberries are prevalent in most rural areas for Internet connectivity. 
We will take into account that there is limited fast Internet connection of most rural areas. 
Nevertheless, with available satellite communication, a majority of the areas have fast Internet 
accessible through hand-held devices. 
The experiment has pre-selected as the first group of participants usability experts because they 
will give reliable feedback from a designer point of view. The group is considered highly 
technical and with a minimum of four years of professional usability testing experience -- HCI 
graduate students.  The second group will comprised of K-12 teachers who are certified to teach 
in their respective states in the United States. A pre-survey questionnaire will categorize the 
teacher group further into computer novices and advanced computer skills groups. The third 
group of participants will be students. For the purposes of this research, the individuals in this 
group are considered novice users.  
 
 
42 
 
4.5.2 Experimental Procedure  
 
The research experiment is web based. The subjects who have agreed to participate will 
be sent a link through e-mail or given one on site with the details of the study. They will be able 
to complete the study at the own convenience. Before taking part in the study, participants will 
be provided with an Institutional Review Board (IRB) form to inform them of their rights. The 
IRB also notes that their participation is purely voluntary and that they can withdraw from the 
study at any time without any giving any reason. The experiment process will have three phases: 
(a) Pre-questionnaire, (b) Visiting website (or using tools) (c) Post-questionnaires (see Figure 8).  
 
43 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 8: Experiment Procedure Diagram 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CSCW Tasks: Students complete a 
proposed outline of tasks. 
 
Post-Questionnaire: Students complete 
post questionnaire on experiment. 
 
Pre-Questionnaire: Student complete 
questionnaire before starting experiment. 
 
 
44 
 
5 SYSTEM FRAMEWORK IMPLEMENTATION & 
PROCEDURE 
This chapter outlines in detail the refined requirements for the development of the system 
based on the initial requirements analysis and system implementation. It also includes the details 
of the scenario system in phase I to the prototype system in phase III. The implementation has 
been outlined with Unified Modeling Language (UML) as an object-oriented (OO) design 
standard to capture requirements.  
5.1 Initial Phase I 
We approached the project by first identifying a number of tools that were suitable for a 
CSDT environment and CSCW community of practice with which to collaborate. We needed 
scenarios for each Big Idea for games that would be built into our CSCW environment. For more 
feedback and insight, we conducted a few case studies with physicists, whose perspective would 
benefit our project. For the CSCW portion of the project, we decided to use an evolutionary 
prototyping. It is quite different from regular prototyping and its main goal is to build a robust 
prototype in a structured yet dynamic manner. Thus, an evolutionary prototype is the foundation 
of the main system whereas the new system is a product of improvements on the initial system 
based on new requirements and changes from users [30]. This process allows a continuous 
refinement of the system and is based on an acknowledgement that designers do not necessarily 
understand all the requirements initially. They will build on the system, adding features as they 
understand the requirements more. 
 
 
45 
 
 
Figure 9: Educational Game Scenario Diagram 
5.2 Case Studies: Break Dancer Tool (Phase II) 
The case studies provided useful information. One interviewee offered this conceptual 
idea for teaching break dancing: 
?If I [R. Jones] were to teach breakdancing to middle/high school students from a physics 
background, I would define breakdancing (give background history), describe the various 
moves in breakdancing, and explain how the moves are maneuvered using physics and 
laws of physics.  
 For example, we use physics in our everyday lives and breakdancing is no 
exception. Physics is in effect in every movement of the body in breakdancing. 
 
46 
 
Breakdancing may seem to defy the laws of physics but they are really displaying and 
using the laws with great control. Some of the common moves of breakdancing are flares, 
float, spins, and windmills. Windmills display the laws of physics. One of the most 
common used moves among breakdancers, the windmill requires the dancer to propel his 
or her legs in the air, preventing their contact with the ground. The legs are spread and 
move around the body in a circular fashion, resembling the blades of a windmill pivoting 
around one point. The windmill involves many aspects of the laws of physics such as 
friction, Newton's Law of Inertia, centripetal motion and uniform circular motion:  
Friction: In order for the dancer to move, he or she must first overcome the force of 
friction between their clothes and the floor. Friction is a force that involves two surfaces 
moving against each other. The rubbing of the two substances causes them to pull at each 
other and thus absorbing some of the force applied to the substance. That's why dancers 
dance only on smooth surfaces such as linoleum or a cardboard box to reduce the friction 
between their clothes and the floor, thereby maximizing their speed. The windmill looks 
better when it is done at high speed.  
Newton's Law of Inertia: In addition to friction, the windmill also demonstrates the laws 
of motion. When the windmill is executed, the legs are moving in a circular motion. The 
legs want to remain in their state of motion (a straight path); however, since the legs are 
attached to the body, the legs swing in a circular motion. This motion demonstrates 
Newton's First Law of Motion, a body at rest or motion will remain at rest or motion 
unless an outside force is acted upon it. Therefore, the legs will remain in motion until an 
outside force is acted upon them.  
 
 
47 
 
Centripetal Force and Uniform Circular Acceleration: The windmill also demonstrates 
the centripetal force: any motion in a curved path represents accelerated motion and 
requires a force directed toward the center of curvature of the path. Centripetal force 
means "center seeking" force. The force has the magnitude F=mv^2/r, where m is mass, v 
is velocity, and r is radius. During a windmill, dancers use their legs to drive their bodies 
in a circular motion. During this movement dancers are constantly accelerating as they 
spin. As the dancers spin in a uniform circular motion, their legs act as their radius and 
their feet are the points where velocity is tangent to the circle they are creating.? 
This overall idea was a great concept and will be implemented in a future version of 
Break Dancer. In addition, the user found a few weakness in Break Dancer that will have to be 
considered. The user felt that it would be better received if the application was in modules. The 
modules would allow the user review the function of each module in the application. The user 
could then assess understanding by requiring each student to create a similar module to create a 
different executable.  
5.3 CSCW Environment Prototype (Phase III) 
We designed multiple wireframes and outlines to capture the essence of what we thought 
would be attractive and appealing to the user. In addition, we considered usability when focusing 
on our environment design. The initial versions are shown in Figures 10, 11, 12, & 13. Figure 14 
shows the final product. 
 
48 
 
 
Figure 10: Conceptual CSCW Environment Home Page Model  
 
 
Figure 11: Conceptual CSCW Environment Sub Page Model  
 
 
49 
 
 
Figure 12: Conceptual CSCW Environment Home Page Model Implemented 
 
Figure 13: Conceptual CSCW Environment Sub Page Model Implemented 
 
 
50 
 
 
 
Figure 14: Final CSCW Environment Version 
http://spider.eng.auburn.edu/bjc/homepage/index.php 
 
 
5.3.1 Requirements 
 
In considering functional requirements, we thought that the website itself should provide a 
gateway for users to find information about computing. The website will contain lectures and 
games that have been designed increase the user?s knowledge of a specific computing aspect. It 
will provide a safe and reliable medium for the stimulation learning computing ideals. We 
created this website with the purpose of making the overall topics in computing easily accessible 
to students who in most cases would not have access to this information. 
I. Homepage Interface Requirements 
a. The home page should contain the tabs to the other parts of the site in a tiled-app 
format. 
b. Each tile should contain links to different information throughout the site. 
 
51 
 
c. After logging into the website, professional users should have certain options: 
upload a new game or lecture, post, or comment inside of the community blog 
about a specific teaching topic. 
II. Security Requirements 
a. Users should create an account to access the full site. 
b. A user is defined as a teacher, parent, or student. 
c. Any unregistered user of the website can access the homepage. 
III. Computing Content Pages Requirements 
a. After selecting an area they would like to explore, unregistered users may then 
choose to play a game or lecture. After that game or lecture has finished, the user 
will be prompted to either create an account or log into an existing account if they 
wish to continue to use the site. 
b. Student users have full access to all games and lectures with no time limitations. 
IV. User Registration in Pages 
a. Users should indicate if they are a professional or not. 
b. Each professional user will be verified by system administrators. 
c. A user will be prompted to enter certain information to determine the 
demographic using the website. 
V. Data Requirements 
a. The content pages should contain games and videos related to the page topic. 
VI. Interface Requirements 
a. The information should be easily visible for users so they can select what they are 
interested in. 
 
52 
 
b. The information should be shown in a rotational manner that offers brief 
descriptions of what the lecture or game is about 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 15: Use Case Diagram for Game/Scenario System 
 
 
Read INFO on 
online/Lesson Plans 
VIEW GAME 
MENU 
LOAD 
LESSON/GAME 
LOAD LEVEL 
SELECT AVATOAR, 
CREAT E PROGLIE, 
SELECT SCENARIO 
CONTINUE UNTIL 
LEVEL COMPLETE 
FINISH 
53 
 
 
 
 
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                          
Figure 16: Scenario Sequence Diagram
USER INPUT GAME LEVEL SCENARIOS I - VII 
LAUNCH GAME 
TYPE PLAYER NAME 
SELECT AVATAR 
PLAYER STARTS LEVEL 
SELECT SCENARIO 
SCENARIO LEVEL LOADS 
LOOP UNTIL LEVEL 
COMPLETES 
STARTS 
FINISHES 
54 
 
5.4 Use Case and Sequence Diagrams 
As Figures 15 and 16 display, we designed a use case diagram to have a set of usability 
requirements to support our game design among novice users and expert groups. This will allow 
for the sharing of best practices in implementing the software and getting the most out of the 
system. Our research plans are to provide a user-friendly means for novice computer users to 
create, adapt, and re-use existing best practices for such items as artifacts, videos, and curriculum 
examples. System requirements serve as our guide in building design cases that support the 
functionality and usability of the system. 
To accomplish a detailed analysis and design of the system, we will use Unified 
Modeling Language (UML) for object modeling and as a specification language to state the 
system requirements and functionality. In addition, we employed use cases and user scenarios to 
analyze, capture, and document specifications in relation to novice users, who are the potential 
users of the system.   
Members of the CSCW community (i.e. K-12 teachers and students) will interact with the 
system directly. Teachers and System administrators will be responsible for content generation. 
They will create and modify lessons plans, tests, and tutorials on an ?as-needed? basis. The 
system will also allow guests to view content, but not provide guests the level of permission to 
access restricted member functions such as editing, creating, and downloading unless they are 
enjoined as members of the community by the administrator.  
 
55 
 
6 CSDT Framework 
6.1 CSDT Framework  
In general, the CSCW framework used here will resemble much of what is used in 
CSDTs. It is reflective and interface-light. The interfaces tend to have only a few methods, and 
abstract classes tend to provide default implementations for methods that should be overridden. 
Methods that may be automated are marked with the @PropertyMethod annotation. Primitive 
member variables that may be automated are marked with the @PropertyPrimitive annotation. 
Events that may be fired must be explicitly constructed and made available to the framework. 
The framework itself provides a variety of services to the CSCW tool. The primary services are 
as follows:  
? Interface services  
? GUI construction and maintenance  
? CSCW interrogation  
? XML serialization and deserialization [33]  
6.2 Interface Services  
The framework is able to manage most of the housekeeping needed to mediate 
automation via a set of abstract classes that the consumer must extend. These classes are loosely 
hierarchical in nature. These classes are documented in more depth in the JavaDocs, but the most 
important classes are described here. The top-level class is the PEngine. The consumer provides 
a list of classes to the PEngine through PEngine's constructor. The user may create and possibly 
automate all of these. The classes must extend the PObject abstract class. The PEngine may 
specify its own primitive properties with the @PropertyPrimitive annotation such as, for 
example, a gravity parameter for CSDTs involving physics simulators. PEngines can also specify 
 
56 
 
events, to which the user may attach scriptlets to be invoked at relevant times during execution. 
The PObject has a HitTest method, into which an X and Y coordinate is passed. Hit testing 
allows the framework to determine which object a user is clicking on in order to present the user 
with the properties and codelets for that object. In addition to properties, a PObject may also 
specify events that are fired by the CSDT at relevant times during the execution of a codelet. A 
PObject may only fire an event during runtime, never during design time. If, for instance, an 
event exists that is fired every second, this event must stop firing when the user stops codelet 
execution.  
A PObject can specify a collection of member methods that may be invoked on the 
PObject. For instance, a PObject for a physics-aware skateboarder may support a SetVelocity 
method that sets the skateboarder's velocity. The CSDT can also pass primitive parameters into 
an event, which is then passed to the codelet. For instance, an OnGoingVeryFast event could 
pass in a dx and dy parameter that represents the current speed of an object when an object is 
going very fast. There is currently one built-in event for the PEngine and PObject classes that 
serves as a hardpoints for user codelets, and it is OnStart. With it, users can programmatically set 
things in motion.  
An important design note is that, internally, the PVariant class wraps all datatypes. If the 
consumer intends to use a datatype for a property, method, or event that is not one of these 
datatypes, a runtime exception will be thrown. The supported datatypes are int, float, Boolean, 
and String [33].  
6.3 CSDT GUI Construction and Maintenance  
The framework namespace contains a master GUI class, helpfully named GUI, which a 
consumer is expected to extend and implement. The GUI class is abstract due to one method, 
 
57 
 
GetEngine. GetEngine recovers a PEngine instance that will be automated. Note that GUI 
extends JApplet, so any extension of GUI may be embedded in a webpage in the same way as 
anything else that extends JApplet [33].  
6.4 CSCW Interrogation  
After acquiring the single PEngine, GUI queries the PEngine for its list of supported 
objects, properties, and events, and then queries the known objects for their list of properties, 
methods, and events [33].  
6.5 Serialization  
Serialization is the smallest service provided by the framework. For the sake of 
compatibility, the serialization format is XML. Unless otherwise necessary, consumers are 
encouraged to use XML formats. The consumer must not serialize any of the following:  
? Any property marked with @PropertyPrimitive. The framework will serialize these, and 
will internally handle string conversion and format validation.  
? Any state whose value is not available before codelet execution. These states are 
generated by the codelets and therefore should not be assigned except by codelet 
execution.  
? Any property present in a CSDT base class. Properties present in a base class are 
serialized if they are relevant. If they are not serialized there is a good reason for it.  
? Any codelets or event bindings. The framework is responsible for managing relationships 
between codelets and events. In most cases, consumers will find that they do not have to 
write any serialization code at all [33].  
 
58 
 
7 DEVELOPMENT TOOLS 
7.1 Tortoise Subversion Server  
TortoiseSVN is easy to use revision control / version control / source control software for 
Windows. It manages changes to documents, programs, and other information stored as 
computer files. Based on Subversion. TortoiseSVN provides a nice and easy user interface for 
Subversion. It is developed under the GPL, which means it is completely free, including the 
source code. However, just in case users do not know the GPL too well: they can use 
TortoiseSVN to develop commercial applications or use it in their company without any 
restrictions. Since it is not an integration for a specific IDE like Visual Studio, Eclipse or others, 
they can use it with whatever development tools they choose.  
As a Subversion client, TortoiseSVN has all the features of Subversion itself, including:  
? Most current CVS features.  
? Directories, renames, and file meta-data are versioned.  
? Commits are truly atomic.  
? Branching and tagging are cheap constant time operations.  
? Efficient handling of binary files [32].  
The main reason for using any tool is its ease of use. All commands are available directly 
from Windows Explorer. Only commands that make sense for the selected file/folder are shown. 
Users will not see any commands that they cannot use in their situation. They can see the status 
of their files directly in Windows Explorer. The descriptive dialogs are constantly improved due 
to user feedback. It allows moving files by right dragging them in Windows Explorer. 
 
 
 
59 
 
7.2 Java Programming Language 
Java is the language of choice for this project. Java will also work great with the selected 
development environment. It is a general-purpose, concurrent, class-based, object-oriented 
computer programming language specifically designed to have as few implementation 
dependencies as possible. Java is intended to let application developers "write once, run 
anywhere" (WORA), meaning that code that runs on one platform does not need to be 
recompiled to run on another. Java applications are typically compiled to bytecode (class file) 
that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM) regardless of computer architecture [37]. 
One characteristic of Java that will be beneficial to this project is portability. Computer 
programs written in the Java language must run similarly on any hardware/operating-system 
platform. This is achieved by compiling the Java language code to an intermediate representation 
called Java bytecode, instead of directly to platform-specific machine code. Java bytecode 
instructions are analogous to machine code, but they are intended to be interpreted by a virtual 
machine (VM) written specifically for the host hardware. End-users commonly use a Java 
Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on their own machine for standalone Java applications, or 
in a Web browser for Java applets [37]. 
7.3 QT Creator Integrated Development Environment (IDE)  
Qt (pronounced Q Tee or Cute) Creator is a cross-platform C++ integrated development 
environment that is part of the Qt SDK. It includes a visual debugger and an integrated GUI 
layout and forms designer. The editor's features include syntax highlighting and auto completion, 
but not tabs. Qt Creator uses the C++ compiler from the GNU Compiler Collection on Linux and 
FreeBSD. On Windows, it can use MinGW or MSVC with the default install and can use 
Microsoft Console Debugger (cdb) when compiled from source [35]. 
 
60 
 
Qt Creator includes a code editor and integrates Qt Designer for designing and building 
GUIs from Qt widgets. The code editor in Qt Creator supports syntax highlighting for various 
languages [35]. In addition, the code editor can parse code in C++ and QML (QT Model/Meta 
Language) languages and as a result provide code completion, context-sensitive help, and 
semantic navigation. 
Qt Designer is a tool for designing and building GUIs from Qt widgets. It is possible to 
compose and customize the widgets or dialogs and test those using different styles and 
resolutions directly in the editor. Widgets and forms created with Qt Designer are integrated with 
programmed code, using the Qt signals and slots mechanism. 
Qt Creator provides support for building and running Qt applications for desktop 
environments (Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, and Mac OS) and mobile devices (Android, 
Blackberry, Maemo, and MeeGo). Build settings allow the user to switch between build targets. 
For mobile device targets, Qt Creator can generate an installation package, install it to a mobile 
device attached to the development computer, and run it there. 
 
 
Figure 17: QT IDE Window 
 
61 
 
 
There are multiple range bindings for Qt. The one we want to focus on is the Java binding 
language. To implement this in Qt we would use Qt Jambi. Qt Jambi is a Java binding of the 
cross-platform application framework Qt. It enables Java developers to use Qt within Java 
programming language. In addition, Qt Jambi generator create Java bindings for other Qt 
libraries and future versions of Qt. Unlike GTK, there are no Swing LAF implementations that 
use Qt for rendering [36]. 
7.4 Unity 3D Development 
Unity 3D is an integrated authoring tool for creating 3D video games or other interactive 
content such as architectural visualizations or real-time 3D animations. Unity is similar to 
Director, Blender game engine, Virtools, or Torque Game Builder in the sense that an integrated 
graphical environment is the primary method of development. The editor runs on Windows and 
Mac OS X and can produce games for Windows, Mac, Wii, or iPhone platforms. Linux support 
may be introduced in the future, but it is not currently a priority. There are no plans to port the 
authoring tool to Linux, as "the cost/benefit ratio is simply not there.? It can also produce 
browser games that use the Unity web player plugin supported on Mac and Windows. The tool 
consists of a fully integrated editor, graphics, asset importing, and deployment [28]. It also 
supports shaders, advanced physics, scripting, terrains, unity asset servers, audio, and video.  
 
Figure 18: Unity 3D Graphical User Interface 
 
62 
 
Fully Integrated Editor 
? Play, pause, and step: Click the Play button to run your game instantly. Pause and Step 
forward to analyze complex behavior in detail. While the game is running (or paused), 
you can alter values, assets, or even scripts. This means you can do more experimentation 
and more testing for a better final game. 
? Easy Editor Customization: Streamline your workflow using simple, Editor-specific 
scripts. We wrote the Editor using Unity?s own scripting, so anything we can do in the 
Editor, you can do as well. 
? Customizable Editor Layout: Choose from one of many built-in application 
arrangements, or create and save your own. Different tasks might benefit from different 
arrangements, so use easy hotkeys to switch arrangements as needed. 
? Drag and Drop: Visually drag assets and objects in the editor to assign Textures, Audio, 
Behaviors, and script variables. Create logical GameObject hierarchies to manage and 
maximize your game's functionality. 
? Prefabs: To streamline the repeated use of complex GameObjects, you can turn one or 
more of them into a prefab. This prefab can then be easily placed throughout the game or 
initiated at runtime. Any changes to the original prefab are propagated to all dependents, 
so both major and minor adjustments can be made very quickly to a large number of 
GameObjects. [28] 
Graphics 
? Incredible Speed: Unity defines fast. Rendering is sorted to minimize state changes, 
taking lights and shadows into account. On beefy hardware, Unity renders millions of 
polygons per second. 
 
63 
 
? Particle Systems: Visual creation and manipulation of particle systems is simple. Create 
rain, sparks, dust trails -- anything that you can imagine. 
? Direct 3D 9 and Open GL: Unity makes sure that your games run everywhere. It includes 
a full DirectX and an OpenGL renderer. In our testing lab, we test Unity across hundreds 
of graphics hardware and driver combinations. 
? Flexible Pipeline: Hook into the rendering pipeline to create special effects. Use low 
level rendering commands to achieve exactly what you want [28].  
Asset Importing 
? Instantaneous, Automatic Importing: When any asset file is saved, it is seamlessly 
imported without exception. Each asset's import settings are remembered, so you can set 
them once and never worry again. 
? Incredible 3D Packages support: Unity can import 3D models, bones, and animations 
from almost all 3D applications. 
? Just Hit Save: Hit Save in Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Cheetah3D or Blender, and Unity 
will pick up all changes across your entire project. 
? True Type Font Support: Unity handles pixel-perfect rendering of TrueType fonts. Drop 
in any TTF font and start making great-looking text. When localization time rolls around, 
Unicode fonts are supported, as are Unicode strings. 
? Texture Handling: Save your multi-layer Photoshop files normally and let Unity 
automatically compress your images with high quality DXT texture compression. It's all 
automatic without a single required click. 
 
64 
 
? Height-map to Normal-map Conversion: Any texture can be converted into a Normal-
map. This process is automatic and instantaneous, even when you later change your 
image files. 
? High-quality Mipmap Generation: Unity supports several different mipmap generation 
methods: Detail Fade, Kaiser Filters, Gamma Correction, and more. 
? Audio Support: Unity can import any audio format that is supported by QuickTime. 
Audio can be internally converted and distributed as Ogg Vorbis for keeping down your 
game's published file size [28]. 
Deployment 
? Standalone Mac & Windows: Publish standalone builds for Mac OS X (Universal Binary, 
or specific, smaller Intel/PPC-only builds) and Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7.    
? Support for Old Hardware and Drivers: Many potential players are using outdated 
graphics hardware and drivers. Even many common computer configurations are much 
less than ideal for games. Unity has built-in fallbacks and workarounds for compatibility 
problems. Unity has support for almost all hardware/software combinations, in both 
DirectX and OpenGL. Unity has undergone extensive compatibility testing, which means 
you do not need to effort into making users can run their games.  
? Web Deployment: Unity-made games can be played inside a web browser thanks to the 
Unity Web Player Plug-in. The plug-in download is small (about 3 MB); auto-installs 
without a browser restart, and already has an 8-digit distribution. It works on all modern 
browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and most Mozilla-based browsers. 
You can publish a web game that is identical to a standalone in visual fidelity from the 
same project. Auto-streaming web players and additional WWW streaming all work 
 
65 
 
together to reduce load times. It is also possible to customize the loading screen colors, 
progress bar, and graphics to make the short wait a pleasant one. 
? Mac OS X Dashboard Widgets: Still using the same project as your standalone, you can 
create a 3D Dashboard Widget. Using a Dashboard Widget is a great way to advertise 
your content, give a pick-up-and-play preview, or extend your game's functionality [28]. 
There are two main licenses: Unity and Unity Pro. The Pro version has additional features, 
like render-to-texture and post-processing effects. The free version also displays a splash screen 
in standalone games and a watermark in web games. Both Unity and Unity Pro include the 
development environment, tutorials, sample projects and content, support via forum, wiki, and 
future updates in the same major version.  
At the time of writing, Unity Technologies, the company behind the multiplatform 
engine, has updated Unity for iPhone to v1.5. With this release, the development team has 
implemented a number of enhancements and new features. The biggest of these is a major 
performance gain, which can be as much as three-times what was possible with the previous 
engine release [31]. 
7.5 Wii 
Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation 
console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. 
Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others. As of 
February 2010, the Wii leads the generation over the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide 
sales and in December 2009 broke the record for best-selling console in a single month in the 
United States. 
Unity?s game engine allows developers to create, modify and iterate on Wii game 
functionality with several features optimized for the console, including Live Preview for instant 
 
66 
 
previews regardless of the development phase; Scriptable Controller scripting class for reading 
data from the Wii Remote, Nunchuk controller and Classic Controller; Optimized Character 
Animation for creating characters without required exports, imports, or modifications; Scriptable 
Shaders for built-in shaders optimized for Wii or custom shaders; and Click to Publish for 
running a game on a Wii development kit, building it with one click [29]. 
 
Figure 19: Wii Gaming Console 
 To evaluate or license Unity 3D engine for use on the Wii console, developers must meet 
the following requirements: 
? They must own Unity Pro 2.x. 
? They must be a an Authorized Developer for the Wii console and obtain a Wii 
development kit. 
The Unity engine is licensed for use on the Wii console on a per-title basis and the 
licensing fee will depend on intended distribution. The retail price is $30,000 per title and for 
WiiWare it is $15,000 per title [28]. 
7.6 iPhone 
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smart-phones designed and 
marketed by Apple Inc. The iPhone functions as a camera phone including text messaging and 
visual voicemail, a portable media player equivalent to a video iPod, and an Internet client with 
 
67 
 
e-mail, web browsing, and Wi-Fi connectivity. It uses the phone's multi-touch screen to provide 
a virtual keyboard in lieu of a physical keyboard. 
When it comes to developing applications, and in particular games, for the iPhone, there 
are two different roots developers can choose to follow. The first is to acquire the iPhone SDK 
and start learning to code in Objective C. The other is to use a commercial engine and build an 
app on top of the functionality it offers. Unity falls into the latter category and is widely regarded 
as one of the best engines for developing games both on iPhone and across other platforms [31]. 
The Unity engine is available for a 30-day unlimited free trial, after which an iPhone 
Basic license costs $399 and the advanced license costs $1,499. Cheaper licenses are available 
for those not needing iPhone developments. The Unity website displays all the license prices and 
a comparison of features [28, 31]. 
7.7 Break Dancer Tutorial Development 
 We further developed the tutorial to incorporate improvements to the existing tutorial. 
The existing tutorial (Figure 8) needed more information to offer a better understanding of what 
was being taught.  
 
 
68 
 
 
 
Figure 20: Online Break Dancer Tutorial 
 
The current tutorial has the following outline: 
? 3D Geometry 
? Rotation in the human body 
? Software Tutorial 
- All Joints  
- Adjusting Speeds and Frames 
- Rotation and Translation 
- Software Functions 
 
69 
 
- Pointers 
 In revising the tutorial, we extensively researched the Break Dancer tool and contacted 
math teachers to get an understanding of what would be needed to compile a lesson plan. The 
previous version of Break Dancer?s tutorial only highlighted a few of the topics discussed in the 
tutorial.  
 In the new tutorial, we talked about every topic in extensive detail, including examples 
with each explanation (Figure 18). 
 
Y ou are probably fam iliar with 2 - dim ensional Cartesian
g eom etry by now ,  i. e.  planar g eom etry .  W ith this
software,  you will learn about 3 - dim ensional space,  or
solid g eom etry .
Th r ee - d im e n si on al sp ace is a g eom etric m odel of the 
Physi cal  univ ers e in whic h we liv e.  The thr ee 
dim ensions are com m only called leng th,  width,  and 
depth (or heig ht),  althoug h any three m utually 
Perpen dicula r direc tions can serv e as the three
dim ensions.
Real - world objects exist in 3 dim ensions.  For exam ple,
a cuboid ,  or a box,  is com pletely described by three
param eters,  length , br eadth ,  and height .  Corresponding  to
th at,  eac h po in t in  th e Ca rte sia n sp ace  ha s 3 co ord in ate s 
x , y ,  and z .
For this tutorial,  the x axis is along  the leng th of the
screen,  the y axis is along  the heig ht of the screen,  and
the z axis will be the one com ing  out of the com puter
screen!
 
 
70 
 
Y aw ,  p i t ch ,  an d  ro l l ,  al s o  k n o w n  as  T a i t ? B ry a n
a ng l es ,  n amed  af t er Pet er G u t h ri e T ai t an d
G eo r g e Bry an ,  are a s p eci f i c k i n d  o f  E u l er an g l es  
v ery o f t en u s ed in aero s p ace ap p l i cat i o n s to
d ef i n e t h e rel at i v e o ri en t at i o n  o f  a v eh i cl e 
res p ect  a ref eren ce f rame.  T h e t h ree an g l es
s p eci f i ed  i n  t h i s  f o rmu l at i o n  are d ef i n ed  as  t h e
ro l l  an g l e,  p i t ch  an g l e,  an d  y aw  an g l e.
T h es e an g l es  are p art i cu l arl y  s een  w h en  l o o k i n g
at  t h e ro t at i o n  o f  an  o b j ect  i n  3 D  s p ace.  T h e
ro t at i o n s  can  b e s p l i t  i n t o  t h ree p art s .  T h i s  w i l l
b e f u rt h er d i s cu s s e d  u n d er t h e T ran s f o rmat i o n s
h ead i n g .
 
Figure 21: Revised Break Dancer Tutorial 
 
 
71 
 
The revised tutorial has the following outline: 
? Introduction to 3D Geometry & Space 
? Tait-Bryan Angles 
? Cartesian Coordinates in 3D Space 
? Transformations (Translations & Rotations) 
? Sine Function  
The revised lesson plans should be equally if not more beneficial to the students and the 
teachers. The tool we used to design the new tutorial is PowerPoint and Captivate. We also 
created lessons plans (Appendix B &C) and mini tests (Appendix D & E). We conducted data 
analysis on the tutorial, lesson plans, and mini tests. The next chapter presents the results. 
 
 
 
 
72 
8 EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION AND DATA ANALYSIS 
As mentioned previously, we modified validated versions of the Computer 
Understanding and Experience - Potosky & Bobko, Computer System Usability Questionnaire 
(CSUQ) -- Lewis, 1995 IBM and Perceived Usefulness and Ease of Use to collect data from 
usability experts, teachers, and students. This helps ensure a better usability experience with each 
user. 
The experimental procedure included a pre-questionnaire, a task list, and post-
questionnaire to collect data from the experts for the second phase of the study. The phase 
surveyed 100 participants. The outcome results of the study led to the recommendation of the use 
of CSCW to support communities of practice to share best practices.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 8.1: The overall groups gender distribution table 
 
 
The survey collected gender distribution data to ensure that the expert feedback data was 
not biased, was representative of both genders and could be considered valid and credible. The 
survey group was a collection of students and teachers. 
 
Gender % Response Count (n) 
Male 55% 57 
Female 45% 43 
 
 
 
 
73 
 
Age Group % Response Count(N) 
17 or younger  0.00% 0 
18-20 0.00% 0 
21-29  41.67% 42 
30-39  8.33% 10 
40-49 8.33% 10 
50-59 33.33% 28 
60 or older 8.33% 10 
   
  
Table 8.2: Group age distribution table 
 
 
 
 
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
17  o r
y o u n ge r
18 - 20 21 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 - 59 60  o r
o ld e r
% Re s p o n s e
Cou n t(N )
 
Figure 22: Group Age Distribution Chart 
 
 
 
 
 
74 
We used a benchmark to assess the CSCW environment. The benchmark is necessary to 
evaluate the time involved performing collaborative tasks. If the benchmark revealed that tasks 
were tedious or unappealing for a participant, we ascertained that this function was too difficult 
to use or needed improvement. The maximum benchmark time of a task for a novice user was set 
by doubling the average time an expert took to perform the task. 
We queried users to assess the need to modify the feature before a final testing and 
acceptance test. Table 8.3 shows the comments elicited from the group on the positives and 
negatives of the system.  
Positives 
?Website was wonderful? 
?Very well setup, updates are visible. Games are needed to take a break. Found it very 
enjoyable.? 
?Great idea. Website is user-friendly.? 
?Very interaction, looks, and works great. 
?Concept is great? 
?Website was helpful? 
?Nice, clean, and modern layout. I like that there are multiple routes to access the same data.? 
?Interface is good and great choice of colors.? 
Negatives 
?Colored Background makes it hard to read text at times? 
?Contrast between the background colors? 
?No pictures.? 
?BJC menu should be visible when navigating from page, easier to revert back to home page.? 
 
Table 8.3:  Experts elicited comments table CSCW Environment tool 
We addressed the negatives by paying close attention to the color issues that seem to 
trouble a few people. We chose to do multiple runs to assess whether it was an issue that could 
eventually lead to more issues in future situations. In general, the general responses from the 
self-reported feedback approved the suggested that the overall CSCW environment was very 
usable.  
 
 
 
 
75 
To validate our model, we based our analysis on the current solution, which is intractable. 
We used the older version of Break Dancer to test what users felt was more visually effective, 
user-friendly, and gave better explanation of the lessons.  
8.1 Data from the Usability Testing of Break Dancer 
The questionnaire used for the testing of the tutorial contained four questions that focused 
on teachability and learnability.There were ten participants who were teachers and not previously 
exposed to the CSDTs. The result showed that the participants particularly liked the tool and how 
the tutorial conveyed the information to the students and teachers.  
 Average General User Satisfaction 
 
Terrible ------------------Wonderful 
 3.5 
 
Frustrating----------------Satisfying  
 
3.8 
 
Difficult--------------------------Easy 
 
3.5 
 
Boring------------------------------Fun 
 
2.0 
Strongly Agree = 5, Agree =4, Neutral = 3, Disagree = 2, Strongly Disagree = 1 
 
Table 8.4: Usability Testing Current Tutorial 
 Table 8.5 represents data taken on the current tutorial on the site. Overall, people did not 
like the initial tutorial d and commented that it needed drastic improvement. The participants 
noted that the current tutorial did not convey enough information to the user and it would be too 
complex to teach lessons. 
 
 
 
 
 
76 
 Average General User Satisfaction 
 
Terrible ------------------Wonderful 
 
4.5 
 
Frustrating----------------Satisfying  
 
4.8 
 
Difficult--------------------------Easy 
 
4.5 
 
Boring------------------------------Fun 
 
5.0 
Strongly Agree = 5, Agree =4, Neutral = 3, Disagree = 2, Strongly Disagree = 1 
 
Table 8.5: Usability Testing of Revised Tutorial 
A moderate percentage of the participants answered that the tutorial was fun and overall 
satisfying in comparison to the older tutorial. The Anova results for the level of boring and fun 
are listed in table 8.7. Our initial null hypothesis was done at a level of significance of 5.0. This 
means that by looking at the P-Value we see that there is a significant different between the two 
results.  
Anova: Single Factor 
   SUMMARY 
 Groups Count Sum Average Variance 
Column 1 (table 
1)  10 20 2 0.222222 
Column 2 (table 
2) 10 50 5 0 
       ANOVA 
      Source of 
Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit 
Between Groups 45 1 45 405 8.65E-14 4.413873 
Within Groups 2 18 0.111111 
          Total 47 19     
        
Table 8.6: Anova Results 
 
 
 
 
77 
The results reveal that the participants found this tutorial conveyed the appropriate 
information to the teacher and student. Therefore, the overall revised tutorial makes it easier for 
the student to learn the suggested lesson with the Break Dancer tool. 
The experimental evaluations will explain evaluations reported in chapter8.4, which 
includes the Experimental Design Sec. 8.2, Data Collection Sec. 8.3, and Experimental Results 
Sec. 8.4. The data collection section will present methods for the work, materials used, 
experimental data (i.e. demographics, user satisfaction questionnaires), procedures, and 
experimental observations. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the experimental 
hypothesis and the implications of the study. The usability results and implications support the 
adoption of CSCW system as suitable tool for a community of practice to share and re-use best 
practices. 
 
 
 
 
78 
8.2 Experimental Design 
We conducted a heuristic review and cognitive walkthroughs study to gain insight and 
understanding of how end users (i.e. potential novice users) would interact and perceive the 
CSCW environment. We sought to ascertain support for our hypothesis that a collaborative 
environment is a useful for forum for user groups to engage through interactive learning. We did 
a comparative analysis with the old CSDT website versus the new CSCW environment. This 
work supports our hypothesis through usability ratings among potential user groups. Our goal 
was to answer the following questions: 
1. Can the students learn better using Culturally Situated Design Tools (CSDTs) when 
compared to using traditional teaching techniques? 
2. Can CSDTs clear up misconceptions students typically have when listening to the 
instructor? 
3. Do students retain knowledge better from using the CSDT? 
4. When students use CSDTs, what is the reaction from interacting with the environment? 
5. How satisfied are the students and instructors with using CSDTs? 
In answering these questions, we provide data on the feasibility of the CSCW tool as a 
collaborative tool supporting for enhancing the learning experience. These results can serve as a 
general guideline for choosing and developing online collaborative tools for future groups. 
8.3 Heuristic Review 
The main goal of heuristic evaluations is to identify any problems associated with the 
design of user interfaces. We used our five expert users in this area. Usability consultant Jakob 
Nielsen developed this method based on several years of experience in teaching and consulting 
about usability engineering. 
 
 
 
 
79 
Nielsen's heuristics are probably the most-used usability heuristics for user interface 
design. He developed the heuristics based on work together with Rolf Molich in 1990. The final 
set of heuristics still used today were released by Nielsen in 1994. The heuristics as published in 
Nielsen's book Usability Engineering are as follows: 
A. Visibility of system status: 
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through 
appropriate feedback within reasonable time. 
B. Match between system and the real world: 
The system should speak the user's language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar 
to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making 
information appear in a natural and logical order. 
C. User control and freedom: 
Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked 
"emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended 
dialogue. Support undo and redo. 
D. Consistency and standards: 
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the 
same thing. Follow platform conventions. 
E. Error prevention: 
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from 
occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and 
present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action. 
 
 
 
 
80 
F. Recognition rather than recall: 
Minimize the user's memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The 
user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. 
Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever 
appropriate. 
G. Flexibility and efficiency of use: 
Accelerators?unseen by the novice user?may often speed up the interaction for the 
expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. 
Allow users to tailor frequent actions. 
H. Aesthetic and minimalist design: 
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every 
extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information 
and diminishes their relative visibility. 
I. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: 
Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the 
problem, and constructively suggest a solution. 
J. Help and documentation: 
Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be 
necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to 
search, focused on the user's task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too 
large. 
Below are the results emerging from the heuristic review. There were 80 
questions that ranged from how the home paged look to the writing and content quality of 
 
 
 
 
81 
the sites. The experts were given time to review the CSDT site and the CSCW site before 
taking this survey. The ratings for the heuristic review were based on a 10 point scale as 
follows: 
A. 0 points if it falls short of a metric 
B. 3 points if it is halfway there 
C. 5 points if it does the job 
D. 10 points if it is ?out of this world awesome? 
 
 
Figure 23: Heuristic Review Chart from CSCW 
 
 
 
 
 
82 
 
Figure 24: Heuristic Categories at a Closer Look (CSCW) 
 
 
Figure 25: Heuristic Review Chart from CSDT 
  
 
 
 
 
83 
 
Figure 26: Heuristic Categories at a Closer Look (CSDT) 
The review reveals that the majority of the experts in the group found the CSCW site 
more aesthetically pleasing and that the content quality better than the CSDT ssite. We received 
feedback that the CSDT site was overall confusing and typically hard to navigate. This leads into 
the next phase of the experiment of doing a cognitive walkthrough. 
8.4 Cognitive Walkthrough 
The cognitive walkthrough method is a usability inspection method used to identify 
usability issues in interactive systems, focusing on how easy it is for new users to accomplish 
tasks with the system. Cognitive walkthrough is task-specific, whereas heuristic evaluation takes 
a holistic view to catch problems not caught by other usability inspection methods. The method 
is rooted in the notion that users typically prefer to learn a system by using it to accomplish 
tasks, rather than, for example, studying a manual. 
The cognitive walkthrough used a group of evaluators inspecting a user interface by 
going through a set of tasks and evaluating its understandability and ease of learning. The user 
interface is often presented in the form of a paper mock-up or a working prototype, but it can 
 
 
 
 
84 
also be a fully developed interface. We conducted our walkthrough using a working prototype. 
The evaluators included engineers, software developers, and teachers.  
8.4.1 Defining the Input to the Walkthrough 
 
? Who will be the users of the system? This included specific background experience or 
technical knowledge that could influence users as they attempted to deal with a new 
interface. We considered the users' knowledge of the task and of the interface.  
? What tasks will be analyzed? The tasks were limited to a reasonable but representative 
collection of benchmark tasks. Task selection was based on the results of concept testing 
and requirements analyses.  
? What is the correct action sequence for each task? For each task, there must be a 
description of how the user is expected to view the task before learning the interface. A 
description of the sequence of actions should aid in the accomplishment of the task with 
the current definition of the interface. Example actions are "Click on one of the Big 
Ideas," and "Move to Big Ideas block and click to enter.?  
? How is the interface defined? The definition of the interface described the prompts 
preceding every action required to accomplish the tasks being analyzed, as well as the 
reaction of the interface to each of these actions. In the interface that was implemented, 
all information was available from the implementation.  
8.4.2 Walking through the Actions 
 
As the walkthrough proceeded, the evaluators asked the following four questions:  
? Will the users try to achieve the right effect? For example, their task is to play a game but 
the first thing they have to do is get to a big idea and go into the game. Will they know 
how to do that easily?  
 
 
 
 
85 
? Will the user notice that the correct action is available? This relates to the visibility and 
understandability of actions in the interface.  
? Will the user associate the correct action with the effect to be achieved? Users often use 
the "label-following" strategy, which leads them to select an action if the label for that 
action matches the task description.  
? If the correct action is performed, will the user see that progress is being made toward 
solution of the task? This question allows us to check the system feedback after the user 
executes the action.  
The evaluators constructed a success story for each step in the task cases. General conditions 
where a success story can be told is given next in "features of success" section. In the case that a 
success story cannot be told, we would construct a failure story, providing the criteria (one or 
more of the four questions above) and the reason why the user may fail.  
8.4.3 Features of Success 
 
The following are criteria used to construct success stories.  
A. Users may know "what effect to achieve":  
? Because it is part of their original task, or  
? Because they have experience using a system, or  
? Because the system tells them to do it  
B. Users may know "an action is available":  
? By experience, or  
? By seeing some device (like a button) or  
? By seeing a representation of an action (line a menu entry)  
C. Users may know "an action is appropriate" for the effect they are trying to achieve:  
 
 
 
 
86 
? By experience, or  
? Because the interface provides a prompt or label that connects the action to what they 
are trying to do, or  
? Because all other actions look wrong  
D. Users may know "things are going OK" after an action:  
? By experience, or  
? By recognizing a connection between a system response and what they were trying to 
do  
8.5 Experiment 
These sections outline the methodological aspect of the comparative studies.  
 
8.5.1 Experiment Setup 
 
The study was conducted in Auburn University Classroom, Huntsville City Schools? 
District in Huntsville, AL, Perry County School District in New Augusta, MS, and Redstone 
Arsenal Army Base. There was one expert from each area with a minimum of 25 participants 
from each area. 
8.5.2 Experiment Design 
 
 The experimental design for the study involved a comparative study of users looking at 
both sites, CSDT and CSCW, so they can gain insight. The users performed tasks and gave 
feedback on usability. 
8.5.3 Materials 
 The materials for this experiment included the informed consent for users to sign before 
undertaking the experiment and the tutorials that were prepared to guide users through their 
learning and evaluation sessions.  
 
 
 
 
87 
8.5.4 Informed Consent 
The Auburn University Institutional Revise Board requires researchers to have an 
informed consent approval of research designs when conducting any type of research involving 
surveys, interviews, or human factors. The informed consent stated to the participant the purpose 
of the study, justification, procedures, benefits, and risks of the project. It guarantees the 
participants that all responses will be held confidential and will only be used anonymously. 
8.5.5 Pre-Test & Post Test Questionnaire 
 
The pre-questionnaire gathered general information about the participants to assess 
whether they met the criteria established for classification as both novice and content area 
experts. It also grouped them into age sets.  
The post questionnaire gathered detailed information about how participants assessed 
their performance and the system. It also judged on a qualitative level the extent to which users 
learned more about using the system for personal purposes. 
8.5.6 Procedures 
The experiment began by informing participants of Auburn University Institutional 
Review Board approval for the experiment and affirming the informed consent. This familiarized 
participants with the experiment and allowed them the opportunity to either sign the informed 
consent and become a participant or decline to participate.  
Following the consent, participants completed an online background pre-questionnaire. 
This helped to identify that our expert users were capable of completing the tasks at the rate we 
assumed. In addition, it determined if other users they met the minimum qualifications and were 
suitable for the experiment. After completing the tasks, the users completed a post questionnaire 
survey. 
 
 
 
 
88 
8.6 Data Collection & Analysis 
The following table is an overview of the experimental instruments and measures that 
were used to collect data in this study:  
Instrument Description 
Pre-test Questionnaire 
Performance data 
User observations 
Post-test Questionnaire 
Retrospective  
Interviews 
User background, demographics and expectations 
Time, types # of rules and errors per creation 
Qualitative observation and critical incidents 
User satisfaction and system ratings 
Debriefing and elaboration 
 
Table 8.7: Experimental Instrument Overview 
8.6.1 Performance Data 
This was collected in terms of user created practices with aid of minimalist tutorials. 
8.6.2 User Observations 
This was collected in the form of user observations as well as formal observations in the 
form of critical incidents as self-reported data from participants. 
8.6.3 Interviews 
We used retrospective interviews to capture any information and statements the users 
provided either as critiques or affirmations of the system?s success in addressing individual 
needs and, in some cases, community needs. 
 
 
 
 
 
89 
8.6.4 Statistics 
 
We reported and analyzed the data collected to evaluate whether the tool was easy to use, 
supported novice users, and promoted of online informal education. The results confirmed and 
validated usability criteria to guide us in adopting the CSDT system and creating the CSCW 
environment for sharing information between students and teachers. 
8.6.5 Experimental Results 
 
The goals of the heuristic review, cognitive walkthrough, and usability testing were to 
discover whether the CSCW environment meets the planned usability specifications and develop 
suggestions for improving the design. To fulfill these goals as evaluators, we have to understand 
not just what the participants did during the test tasks, but why they behaved and reacted as they 
did. This was accomplished by characterizing the test participants, probing the details of the 
responses to the tasks (e.g. time, and errors), and noting subjective reactions (e.g. comments 
while using the system and ratings or opinions provided after tests) [50].  
8.6.6 Participant Background 
 
Using the pre-questionnaire survey form, we were able to document various types of user 
characteristics. Figure 27 represent the age range of participants with a group distribution. The 
numbers in percentages (e.g. 8%) represent the percentages of test subjects respectively.  
 
 
 
 
90 
 
 Figure 27: Age Distribution Results 
Studies show that some define occupations as a categorical variable. In this study, 
participants? self-reported occupations were grouped into engineers, developers, students, 
teachers, and other (those involved in the survey with no direct relation to the group). The 
majority of our participants were teachers. 
 
Figure 28: Categories of Participants 
 
 
 
 
91 
Figure 29 summarizes the level of education of various user groups. It also shows number 
of year?s computer experience to aid in categorizing participants as either novice or expert user. 
 
Figure 29: Work Experience and Computer Usage 
 
 
 
 
92 
9 FUTURE WORK & CONCLUSION 
9.1 Future Work 
The future work for this project will be focused on implementing the software in Unity 
3D for future use with Wii. This is our final goal. Work still needs to be done from evaluation 
viewpoint, including qualitative and long-term evaluation. One hypothesis is that a math game 
that engages students will motivate them in other Computer Science and IT courses and 
encourage them to pursue these careers in college. Measuring student grades in the math pre-
class and post-class could determine if the game engaged students sufficiently to improve their 
performance in later classes.  
In addition to implementing Break Dancer in Unity 3D, we need to find a way to 
implement the drag and drop interface. This idea was not implemented and we will continue to 
work on it for a future project. As stated earlier, the problem encountered is that the current 
interface only has two panels and a scripting drag and drop interface needs three panels. 
Therefore, we concluded that by the time we embark on a future project the initial designer will 
have directed us in the path we need to take.  
The CSCW environment needs to be tested more and additions should be made 
accordingly. The potential for this project is to extend this to many schools across the United 
States. The environment will gradually evolve and change with the needs of future users.  
9.2 Conclusion 
The primary expected outcome of this research was to have created a novel CSCW 
framework environment that would attract teachers and students. In turn, this would open doors 
for a new era of teaching science, technology, engineering and math methods (STEM) to enter 
the classroom. The framework will house all CSDT related information and other pertinent 
 
 
 
 
93 
information that the user deems feasible. While HCI has continuously made great strides, there is 
still always room for development and improvement in our world of technological 
advancements. This CSCW environment will serve as a catalyst toward the continued 
development of collaboration among the teaching community and students. The findings 
presented here will directly contribute to the goals of the HCI/CSCW discipline. 
We implemented a better tutorial, lesson plan, and mini tests to help teach the lesson 
better and grab the user?s attention. This helps make the Break Dancer tool a better instrument 
for teachers as well as students. The CSDTs offer an exciting convergence of both pedagogical 
and cultural advantages. In addition, we created a CSCW environment that can be used across a 
wide range of venues. We must keep in mind that computer games are very popular among 
children and adolescents. Consequently, they could be exploited by educational software 
designers to render educational software more attractive and motivating [10].  
Unlike many other ethnomathematics examples, we can modify the interface to allow a 
close fit to the math curriculum that makes it easy for teachers to incorporate into their class. At 
the same time, the ability of computer games to move between virtual and physical 
implementations allows use in the arts; and their historical connections provide teaching 
opportunities in history and social science. Most importantly, they allow for a flexible, creative 
space in which students can reconfigure their relations between culture, mathematics, and 
technology.  
We learned that the adoption and success of an informal educational online tool and its 
value as a secure and easy to use learning tool depends heavily on its usability. Computer 
supportive collaborative work theory and human computer interaction research provide usability 
acceptance test knowledge that can support effective user evaluation acceptance tests of online 
 
 
 
 
94 
based collaborative tools. However, the formulation of an effective and efficient acceptance 
testing process is complicated by a plethora of design theories and models. The premise of this 
research is that user acceptance tests can provide a mechanism for identifying a suitable CSCW 
tool that is understandable and easy to use for a novice user. We base the practicality of this 
approach on previous research efforts in human studies and HCI fields that tested the suitability 
of software products before deployment.  
Research could help make games more attractive to different types of uses, and address 
the differences in the types of games that appeal to either gender. Females tend to be more 
attracted to games that involve relationship building than do males, who tend to prefer action 
games. Educational games also need to be culturally sensitive. 
This research examined the issue of proving a collaborative tool to support communities 
of practice engaged in informal learning by sharing of best practice. It developed a model for 
managing groups that emerge within the community of practice. This research postulated a 
hypothesis that novice communities will benefit this CSWC tool, interface, and interaction 
design. This research also took a usability evaluation approach to assess effectively the 
environment created to support CSCW.  
 
 
 
 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 
1. Bell, G., Blythe, M., Gaver, B., Sengers, P., Wright, P. 2003. Designing Culturally 
Situated Technologies for the home. In Chi ?03 extended abstracts on Human factors in 
computing systems. 1062-1063.  
 
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3. Eglash, R., Bennett, A.,O?Donnell, C., Jennings, S., Cintorino, M.. Culturally Situated 
Design Tools: Ethnocomputing from Field Site to Classroom. In American 
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4. Eglash, R.. Ethnocomputing with Native American Design. In Information Technology 
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7. Mathematical Games as an Aid to teaching Mathematics. Available at: 
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11. Bates, B. 2004. Game Design(2nd ed.) Boston: Thompson Course Technology. 
 
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96 
 
13. Fullerton, T., Swain, C. & Hoffman, S. 2004. Game Design Workshop: Designing, 
Prototyping and Playtesting Games, San Francisco, CA: CMP Books. 
 
14. Rabin, S. 2005. Introduction to game development. Hingham, MA: Charles River Media, 
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15. KONZACK, L. 2002. Computer Game Criticism: A Method for Computer Game 
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at: http://www.vrmedialab.dk/~konzack/tampere2002.pdf (12 pages) 
 
16. Integrate Math & Computer Science Math Lessons That Introduce Computer Science to 
K-8 Students. Available at: http://trainingpd.suite101.com/article.cfm/math_lessons 
 
17. Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. 2004. Rules of Play Game Design and Fundamentals. 
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362-366 
 
20. JUUL, J. 2000. What computer games can and can't do. In Digital Arts and Culture 
conference, Bergen, Norway, August 2000. Available: 
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22. Educational Gaming Has to Engage the Students . . . .  but How? Available at: 
http://edutechie.com/2006/11/29/educational-gaming-how/  
 
23. Issues Involved in the Development of Educational Videogames. In Summit on 
Educational Games: Harnessing the Power of Video Games for Learning. Available at: 
http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/pdf/gamedevissues.pdf 
 
24. Fromme, J. Computer Games as a Part of Children's Culture. Game Studies the 
international journal of computer game research. Volume 3. 2003. Available at: 
http://www.gamestudies.org/0301/fromme/ 
 
 
 
 
 
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26. ME1071 Computer Games- An Introduction. Available at:  
http://w3.msi.vxu.se/medieteknik/kurser/ME1071ht08/2.htm  
 
27. Education and Simulation/Gaming and Computers. Available at: 
http://www.cofc.edu/~seay/cb/simgames.html  
 
28. Unity 3D http://unity3D.com  
 
29. Caoili, Eric. ?Unity to Support Wii Console as Authorized Middleware Provider?, June 
2008. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18840  
 
30. Smith, Roger A. 1976. Educational games in today's learning. Paper presented at the 
American Industrial Arts Association Annual Convention, Des Moines, Iowa, April 23. 
ERIC Document ED 129 304. 
 
31. Humphries, Matthew. ?Unity 1.5 engine released for iPhone bringing major performance 
improvements.? Aug. 25, 2009. http://www.geek.com/articles/games/unity-15-engine-
released-for-iphone-bringing-major-performance-improvements-20090825/ 
 
32. TortoiseSVN http://tortoisesvn.net/ 
 
33. CSDT Framework Documentation 
 
34. Preece, Jenny. ?Sociabilty and usability in online communities: determining and 
measuring success.? Behavior and Information Technology. 2001. 
 
35. Qt Creator. http://qt.digia.com/Product/Developer-Tools/ 
 
36. Qt Jambi. http://qt-jambi.org/ 
 
37. Java. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/index-138747.html 
 
38. Cain, C. (2010). Social Networking Teaching Tools: A Computer Supported 
Collaborative Interactive Learning Social Networking Environment for K-12. Auburn, 
AL: Maters Thesis Auburn University. 
 
39. Dillenbourg, Pierre. "What do you mean by collaborative learning: Cognitive and 
Computation Approaches." Dillenbourg, Pierre. What do you mean by collaborative 
learning? Geneva: Oxford:Elsevier, 1999. pp.1-19.  
 
 
 
 
 
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electronic conference system, 1992. pp 148-158. 
 
41. Grudin, J. (1988). "Why CSCW applications fail: problems in the design and evaluation 
of organization of organizational interfaces". Proceedings of the 1988 ACM conference 
on Computer-supported cooperative work. ACM Press New York, NY, USA. pp. 85?93. 
 
42. Ackerman, M." (2000). "The Intellectual Challenge of CSCW: The gap between social 
requirements and technical feasibility". Human-Computer Interaction: pp 179?203. 
 
43. Goodsell A., Maher M,  Tinto V, Smith B. B and MacGregor J(1992). ?What Is 
Collaborative Learning?"  National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and 
Assessment at Pennsylvania State University  
 
44. Fjuk, A. (1998). Computer support for distributed collaborative learning. Exploring a 
com-plex problem area. Dr. Scient. Thesis 5, University of Oslo, Dept. of Informatics. 
 
45. F?hr?us, E. R. (1999a). Tutoring group learning at a distance. In J. D. Price, J. Willis, D. 
A, Willis, M. Jost, & S. Boger-Mehall (Eds.), Proceedings of the Society for Information 
Technology and Teacher Education International Conference (SITE?99, March, 1999), 
San Antonio, Texas. 
 
46. F?hr?us, E. R. (1999b). Creative tutoring of electronic collaborative learning groups: 
Sustaining the human factor. Notes from a workshop at the TET?99 Conference on 
Telecommunications for Education and Training, Gj?vik, Norway. 
 
47. F?hr?us, E. R. (2000a). Growing knowledge ? How to support collaborative learning e-
discussions in forum systems. Dept. of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm 
University/KTH, Report series No. 00-005 
 
48. Mary Beth Rosson, John M. Carroll. Usability Engineering. San Ndiego: Morgan 
Kuafmann, 2002. 
 
49. Baker M. J.,  Lund K. Promoting reflective interactions in a computer-supported 
collaborative learning environment, University of Geneva(1990)  
 
50. Maryam A. Computer-Mediated Collaborative Learning: An Empirical Evaluation  MIS 
Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Jun., 1994), pp. 159-174 
 
51. Baecker, R.M.; Others, (1995). Readings in human-computer interaction: toward the year 
2000. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.  
 
52. Grudin, J. (1994). "Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: History and Focus". 
Computer 27 (5): 19?26.  
 
 
 
 
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53. Carstensen, P. H. Schmidt, K. Computer Supported Cooperative Work: new challenges to 
systems design. To appears in Handbook of Human Factors, Kenji Itoh, Tokio, 1999 
(23p) 
 
54. Wilson, P. (1991). Computer Supported Cooperative Work: An Introduction. Oxford, 
Intellect Books. Wooley, DR (1994, July). 
 
55. Dourish, P.; Bellotti, V. (1992). "Awareness and coordination in shared workspaces". 
Proceedings of the 1992 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative workcc. 
ACM Press New York, NY, USA. pp. 107?114. 
 
56. Nworie, John and Noela Haughton. "Good Intetions unanticipated effects: The 
Unintended Consequences of the Application of Technology in Teaching and Learning 
Environments." TechTrends (2008): 52-58. 
 
57. Bosworth, K. and S. J. and Hamilton. Collaborative Learning: Underlying Processes and 
Effective Techniques, New Directions for Teaching and Learning . Education Research 
Consumer Guide. Baltimore: US Department of Education, Office of Research, 1994. 
 
58. Schmidt, K.; Bannon, L. (1992). "Taking CSCW seriously". Computer Supported 
Cooperative Work 1 (1): 7?40. 
 
59. Dillenbourg, P., M., Blaye A. Baker And O'malley C. "Learning in Humans and 
Machine: Towards an interdisciplinary learning science." The evolution of research on 
collaborative learning. Oxford: E. Spada & P. Reiman (Eds), 1996. 189-211 
  
60. Grudin, Jonathan. "Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: History and Focus." IEEE 
Computer (1994): 19 ? 26 
 
 
 
 
 
100 
APPENDIX A 
Answer the following questions: 
Go to the culturally Situated Design Tool Website http://www.rpi.edu/~eglash/csdt.html and 
click on the Break Dancer link to answer the following questions. 
1. Click on the tutorial link. Explore the link and please respond by circling the reaction that 
best reflects your overall viewpoint of the tutorial provided. Give additional feedback on 
your response. 
 
Terrible -------------------------------------------Wonderful 
1 2 3 4 5  
  
Frustrating---------------------------------------Satisfying  
1 2 3 4 5 
  
Difficult--------------------------------------------Easy 
  1 2 3 4 5 
  
Boring----------------------------------------------Fun 
  1 2 3 4 5 
 
2. Now look at the PowerPoint tutorial, lesson plans, and mini tests provided and please 
respond by circling the reaction that best reflects your overall viewpoint of the tutorial 
provided. Give additional feedback to your responses. 
 
Terrible -------------------------------------------Wonderful 
1 2 3 4 5  
  
Frustrating---------------------------------------Satisfying  
1 2 3 4 5 
  
Difficult--------------------------------------------Easy 
  1 2 3 4 5 
  
Boring----------------------------------------------Fun 
  1 2 3 4 5 
 
3. What do you think can be added to revised tutorial, lessons plans, and mini tests that can 
aide teachers in teaching this lesson in a classroom setting? 
 
4. Additional comments: 
 
 
 
 
101 
APPENDIX B 
3D Geometry 
Three Dimensional Break Dancer Tool 
Lesson Plan 
 
Lesson Start Date: 
Lesson Title: 3D Geometry 
Class: 
Lesson End Date: 
Objective: Three-dimensional solid geometry is part of mathematics teaching programs starting 
early on with shape recognition. 
- Present the idea that real world objects exist in three dimensions 
- Three Dimensional Space or planar geometry 
- Cartesian Space Coordinates (X,Y, and Z) 
- Rotation on X, Y, and Z axes 
- Compare, classify, and construct transformations (translations and rotations) 
 
Teaching Strategy 
Using a manipulative such as the 3D Break Dancer Tool to model the process of showing three 
Dimensional Space and Rotation 
 
The teacher will verbalize the usage of the tool and how it relates to the lesson. By doing a hands on 
activity, it will engage students as they are not feeling forced to learn but motivated. Once this has been 
done, the students will continue to practice and work with the tool. The students can then begin to apply it 
independently to other math problems. 
 
Three-dimensional space is a geometric model of the physical universe in which we live. The three 
dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth (or height), although any three mutually 
perpendicular directions can serve as the three dimensions. 
 
Cartesian coordinates in three dimensions Choosing a Cartesian coordinate system for a three-
dimensional space means choosing an ordered triplet of lines (axes), any two of them being 
perpendicular; a single unit of length for all three axes; and an orientation for each axis. As in the two-
dimensional case, each axis becomes a number line. The coordinates of a point p are obtained by drawing 
a line through p perpendicular to each coordinate axis, and reading the points where these lines meet the 
axes as three numbers of these number lines. 
 
Evaluation/Assessment- Test Items:  
Located under teaching materials on site. Should test students performance levels and depth of 
knowledge. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
102 
APPENDIX C 
3D Geometry & Sine Function 
Three Dimensional Break Dancer Tool 
Lesson Plan 
Lesson Start Date: 
Lesson Title: Sine Function 
Class: 
Lesson End Date: 
 
Objective: Three-dimensional solid geometry is part of mathematics teaching programs starting early 
on with shape recognition. 
- Amplitude & Frequency 
- Periods 
- Phase Shifts 
- Vertical Shifts/Offset 
- Apply sine wave function for translations 
 
Teaching Strategy 
- Using a manipulative such as the 3D Break Dancer Tool (apply wave function button) to model the 
process of showing Three Dimensional Space wave translation 
 
The teacher will verbalize the usage of the tool and how it relates to the lesson. By doing a hands on activity, it 
will engage students as they are not feeling forced to learn but motivated. Once this has been done, the students 
will continue to practice and work with the tool. The students can then begin to apply it independently to other 
math problems. 
The trigonometric sine function  
f(x) = a*sin(bx + c)+d  
its amplitude, period and phase shift are explored interactively using the Break Dancer applet. The 
investigation is carried out by changing the parameters a, b, c and d. To deeply understand the effects 
of each parameter on the graph of the function, we change one parameter at the time at the start. Then 
later we may change more than one parameter. Exploration and understanding of the phase shift is 
done by comparing the shift between the graphs of the two functions:  
f(x) = a*sin(bx + c) + d  
in blue and  
g(x) = a*sin(bx) + d  
in red as shown in the figure below. 
 
 
Evaluation/Assessment- Test Items: 
Located under teaching materials on site. Should test students performance levels and depth of knowledge. 
 
 
 
 
103 
APPENDIX D 
Break Dancer Software Exam Name: _________________________________ 
 
Material covered for this lesson: 
- Present the idea that real world objects exist in three dimensions 
- Three Dimensional Space or planar geometry 
- Cartesian Space Coordinates (X,Y, and Z) 
- Rotation on X, Y, and Z axes 
- Compare, classify, and construct transformations (translations and rotations) 
 
1. Every object you can see or touch has three dimensions that can be measured: 
___________________, ______________________, and _________________________. 
2. Cartesian Space, in relation to this lesson, has how many coordinates.  
3. Describe rotation as it relates to this lesson. 
4. What are three of the most important transformations that you many encounter? 
5. In 3D Space, Euler angles can be used to describe the rotation of an object. Besides the 
typical name X, Y, and Z, how does each relate to the Tait-Bryan angles? 
6. Name each of the objects below in the diagram. Word bank provided: 
 
Hexagonal Prism Cube Rectangular Prism Triangular Prism  Cylinder 
Cone  Rectangular Pyramid  Hexagonal Pyramid 
 
____________________ 
 
____________________ 
____________________  ___________________________ 
 
____________________ ________________________ 
 
____________________ _______________________ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
104 
APPENDIX E 
Break Dancer Software Exam Name: _________________________________ 
 
Material covered for this lesson: 
- Amplitude & Frequency 
- Periods 
- Phase Shifts 
- Vertical Shifts/Offset 
- Apply sine wave function for translations 
 
1. What is the equation for a sine wave function? __________________________________ 
 
2. General Sine Curve  
 
A is called the ___________________ (the height of each peak above the baseline)  
C is the ___________________________(height of the baseline)  
P is the __________________ or ____________________ (the length of each cycle)  
is the _________________________________, given by = 2 /P  
is the _____________________(the horizontal offset of the basepoint; where the curve 
crosses the baseline as it ascends)  
 
Model each of the following curves with a sine function. 
3. 
 
4. 
 
5. 
 
6. 
 
 
 
 
 
105 
APPENDIX F 
Scenario Title 
Keywords  
Whom do I want to teach? 
Age Range & Grade of Students  
Student Special Characteristics  
What do I want to teach? 
Subject/Field/Skills  
Goals  
How do I want to teach Rate 0-5 
Learning Metaphor that 
can support learning 
objectives 
Acquisition 0    1    2    3    4    5 
Imitation 0    1    2    3    4    5 
Discovery 0    1    2    3    4    5 
Participation 0    1    2    3    4    5 
Experimentation 0    1    2    3    4    5 
Description of the game Narrative Description of the game 
plot 
 
Goals  
Characters  
Scenes  
Narrative description of 
learning activities ? step by 
step organization and 
structuring 
 Learning Settings Estimated 
Time 
Before the game:   
During the game:   
After the game:   
 Total 
How will I evaluate Students 
Evaluation Approach  
What will learners need in order to achieve learning objectives 
Prerequisite  
Settings and materials  
What do I need for implementing the scenario? 
Application Involved Mandatory  
Optional  
Infrastructure/Equipment Mandatory  
Optional  
Learning Resource Type  
Time/Space Resources  
Other things to remember 
 
 
 
 
106 
 
APPENDIX G 
Pre-Questionnaire 
1. What is your gender? 
a. Male 
b. Female 
 
2. Which category below includes your age? 
a. 17 or younger 
b. 18-20 
c. 21-29 
d. 30-39 
e. 40-49 
f. 50-59 
g. 60 or older 
 
3. What is your occupation? 
a. Teacher 
b. Student 
c. Counselor 
d. Parent 
e. Other (Please Specify) 
 
4. What do you normally use a computer for? (Select all that apply) 
a. Email 
b. Surfing the net 
c. Homework 
d. Blogging 
e. Maintaining social network (Facebook, Twitter, Etc.) 
f. Work 
g. Other (Please Specify 
 
5. What internet browser do you use mostly? 
a. Internet Explorer 
b. Safari 
c. Firefox 
d. Opera 
e. Google Chrome 
f. Other (Please Specify) 
 
6. Do you use a mobile device for web browsing? 
a. Yes 
b. No 
 
 
 
 
 
107 
 
 
7. Do you use a mobile device for browsing of class materials? 
a. Yes  
b. No 
 
8. Have you taken any course over the internet? 
a. Yes  
b. No 
If yes, please specify the name of the course. 
 
9. Do you have prior experience working in an online learning environment? 
a. Yes 
b. No 
 
10. Do you feel that online materials can enhance traditional classroom materials? 
a. Yes 
b. No 
 
 
 
 
108 
APPENDIX H 
Post-Questionnaire 
1. It is easy to navigate through this website. 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree  Strongly Agree 
 
2. It is easy to find what I want on the website. 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree  Strongly Agree 
 
3. Is is eary to use this site upon my first visit. 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree  Strongly Agree 
 
4. Clicking on links takes me to what I expect. 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree  Strongly Agree 
 
5. The organization of information on the system screens is clear. 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree  Strongly Agree 
 
6. How would you rate of the following tools/features in terms of importance for the BJC 
website: 
 
 Not 
Important 
at All 
Not Very 
Important 
Neutral Somewhat 
Important 
Very 
Important 
Not Sure 
What It Is 
Upcoming 
Events 
      
Updates       
Course 
Work 
      
Games       
Videos       
 
 
7. What overall rating would you give the website? 
Very Poor  Poor  Average Good  Excellent 
8. I will likely return to this in the future. 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree  Strongly Agree 
 
9. I would recommend someone to this site in the future. 
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree  Strongly Agree 
 
10. Please use the space below to provide any additional comments about your visit our 
website today. 
 
 
 
 
 
109 
APPENDIX I 
 
INFORMATION LETTER 
for a Research Study entitled 
?Social Networking and Culturally Situated Design Teaching Tools: 
Providing a Socially Interactive Computer Supported Collaborative Network 
Environment for K-12? 
 
You are invited to participate in a research study to establish a more 
collaborative work environment between students and teachers. The purpose 
is to determine through evaluation and studies whether a more collaborative 
environment can enhance learning in the classroom.  The study is being 
conducted by Albanie T. Bolton, under the direction of Dr. Cheryl D. Seals in 
the Auburn University Department of Computer Science and Software 
Engineering.  You were selected as a possible participant because you are 
associated within the STEM field, education and/or the targeted potential 
users for the tool. 
 
What will be involved if you participate? Your participation in this research 
study is voluntary. If you decide to participate, the study will be conducted in 
three parts. If you decide to participate in this research study, you will first be 
asked to fill out a questionnaire for general background information. The 
purpose of the questionnaire is to obtain demographic information and some 
basic information regarding your experience with social computing and 
online educational tools. The total time commitment for part one is 
approximately 5 minutes. At the end of the pre-questionnaire you will be 
presented with a task-list and link to the prototype environment. The time to 
accomplish part two the task list for guided exploration of how to muse the 
collaboration tool is approximately 20 minutes. The purpose of the task-list 
will be to introduce you to the collaborative environment. After completion of 
the task-list, successfully or unsuccessfully, you will be given a link to the 
final questionnaire. Your total time commitment to part three will be 
approximately 10 minutes.   
 
Are there any risks or discomforts?  There are no perceived risks associated 
with this study. 
Are there any benefits to yourself or others?  Information collected during 
this study will help us identify how effective and intuitive the environment is 
to students and teachers. 
 
Will you receive compensation for participating?  No compensation will be 
 
 
 
 
110 
given for participating in this survey.   
 
Are there any costs?  There are no costs associated with participating.  
 
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time 
during the study by simply closing your browser or returning your handout 
survey to the supervisor. One you?ve submitted anonymous data, it cannot be 
withdrawn since it will be unidentifiable. Your decision about whether or not 
to participate or to stop participating will not jeopardize your future relations 
with Auburn University, Department of Computer Science and Software 
Engineering. 
 
Any data obtained in connection with this study will remain anonymous. 
All data is stored in a password protected electronic format. To help protect 
your confidentiality, the surveys will not contain information that will 
personally identify you. The results of this study will be used for scholarly 
purposes (publishing in professional journals, theses and dissertations and 
presentations in professional meetings) only and may be shared with Auburn 
University representatives 
 
If you have questions about this study, please contact Albanie T. Bolton at 
the listed email address or number, atb0010@auburn.edu (256)544-2190, or 
Cheryl D. Seals at sealscd@auburn.edu (334) 844-6319. 
 
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may 
contact the Auburn University Office of Human Subjects Research or the 
Institutional Review Board by phone (334) 844-5966 or e-mail at 
hsubjec@auburn.edu or IRBChair@auburn.edu. 
 
HAVING READ THE INFORMATION ABOVE, YOU MUST DECIDE IF 
YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESEARCH PROJECT.  IF YOU 
DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW.  
YOU MAY PRINT A COPY OF THIS LETTER TO KEEP. 
 
       
Albanie T. Bolton                    November 1, 2013 
Investigator                             Date 
 
 
______________________________ 
Co-Investigator                        Date