Multiple & Shared Displays in Learning Environments

While numerous researchers in education, technology, and the sciences have identified computers as valuable learning tools, the personal computer remains primarily a tool for the individual user. This poses an increasingly common and serious challenge to interpersonal communication in co-local (same time / same place) learning environments. Independant computer usage can inhibit creative interaction between people by limiting the channels of communication one has to offer (either by its physical presence or by directing attention away from the group). For a tool as advanced as the computer to inhibit one’s capacity to function seems to be a paradox. The perceived “power” of the computer simply overwhelms the collaborative environment by encouraging users to interact with one another differently from the way they interact with the digital environment.

This "forest for the trees" issue is essentially the problem of having people using individual computer terminals in a singular space without not effectively leveraging the value of being physically located together. The users can easily see the value of the individual computers but miss the value of being in the same physical environment. Having access to shared digital displays such as plasma screens and projectors, however, can encourage the use of digital media for discussion. Supporting stated points with examples and enhancing the explanation of complex ideas. In much the same way that Heinrich Wölfflin embraced the use of two slide projectors for comparison and contrast in lectures, shared digital displays present the opportunity to transform pedagogy by allowing users to integrate digital media into real-time discourse. 

The purpose of my research is to better understand how shared, multiple displays change pedagogy through the implementation of software and hardware that facilitates shared displays and by observing the variety of ways that it changes and facilitates interaction.