ITR: Interfaces for Supporting Over-The-Shoulder Learning

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EIA-0081112Twidale, MichaelUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignITR: Interfaces for Supporting Over-The-Shoulder LearningFor many people, a key form of learning how to use software, for example,is not by taking a training course, nor reading a manual or online help, orexperimenting with the software. Instead they may lean over the shoulderof a colleague at work and ask for help. This over-the-shoulder-learning(OTSL) is important to study to understand more about its relativeimportance and the circumstances in which it is and is not successful.Building on prior work studying informal collaborative help in librariesand offices, the research will address how often OTSL occurs and itssignificance as a way of learning, possible genres of OTSL, the evolutionof learning a software application over time, the resources people use tosupport OTSL, barriers to OTSL as currently practiced, and the skills ofefficient help-giving and determining how these skills may best be taught.This work will help determine the functionalities that have the greatestpotential for improving the effectiveness of OTSL and contribute tofundamental research in user interface design and computer-supportedcooperative work and learning.