Improvisation is a hallmark of highly productive face-to-face discussion that leads to innovative news ideas or insights. Despite the importance of improvisation, computational tools to support discussion have focused on supporting a fixed repertoire of activities such as multiple choice assessment, idea gathering, ranking, or concept mapping. To support the moves involved in improvisation, we theorize the need for playful, participation-oriented technologies. Such technologies must be highly flexible and support a range of representations, e.g., not just text but sketches and domain-specific notation. Meta-processes for improvisation impose an orthogonal requirement: the need to reflect on artifacts from new perspectives and then transform them into new representations. This project investigates roles that technology can play in a particular form of agile performance called ""disciplined improvisation."" In this work we will (1) develop a theoretical framework for supporting disciplined improvisation, (2) adapt a prototype classroom tool called ""Group Scribbles"" for the context of disciplined improvisation, and (3) investigate methods for iteratively evaluating systems for their degree of support for disciplined improvisation.
Ultimately, this project aims to shed new light on how technology can assist us in real-time as we learn and solve problems with the people around us. We anticipate that our findings will lead to better software and hardware for classroom teachers and discussion facilitators more generally. This work builds on prior research into Computer Supported Cooperative Work, but breaks new ground by studying how computer-based tools can support the twists and turns of live performance.
