Curated web archive collections contain focused digital contents which are collected by archiving organizations to provide a representative sample covering specific topics and events to preserve them for future exploration and analysis. In this paper, we discuss how to best support collaborative construction and exploration of these collections through the ArchiveWeb system. ArchiveWeb has been developed using an iterative evaluation-driven design-based research approach, with considerable user feedback at all stages. This paper describes the functionalities of our current prototype for searching, constructing, exploring and discussing web archive collections, as well as feedback on this prototype from seven archiving organizations, and our plans for improving the next release of the system.
Making sense of a body of data is a common activity in any kind of analysis. Sensemaking is the process of searching for a representation and encoding data in that representation to answer task-specific questions. Different operations during sensemaking require different cognitive and external resources. Representations are chosen and changed to reduce the cost of operations in an information processing task. The power of these representational shifts is generally under-appreciated as is the relation between sensemaking and information retrieval. We analyze sensemaking tasks and develop a model of the cost structure of sensemaking. We discuss implications for the integrated design of user interfaces, representational tools, and information retrieval systems. This paper discusses the development of LearnWeb2.0, a search and collaboration environment for supporting searching, organizing, and sharing distributed resources, and our pedagogical setup based on the multiliteracies approach. In LearnWeb2.0, collaborative and active learning is supported through project-focused search and aggregation, with discussion and comments directly linked to the resources. We are developing the LearnWeb2.0 platform through an iterative evaluation-driven design-based research approach - this paper describes the first iteration and part of the second one. In the first iteration, we developed LearnWeb2.0 and evaluated it in two Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses We followed the multiliteracies approach, using authentic content from a variety of sources and contexts to provide important input for CLIL. We present evaluation design and results for both courses, and discuss how the differences in both scenarios influenced student performance and satisfaction. In the second iteration, we improved LearnWeb2.0 based on these experiences - we describe improvements as well as problems addressed. Finally, we sketch the evaluation planned for the second cycle, and close with a reflection of our experiences with the design-based research approach for developing a collaborative learning environment, and on multiliteracies as a suitable approach for CLIL. Systems for fast search of personal information are rapidly becoming ubiquitous. Such systems promise to dramatically improve personal information management, yet most are modeled on Web search in which users know very little about the content that they are searching. We describe the design and deployment of a system called Phlat that optimizes search for personal information with an intuitive interface that merges search and browsing through a variety of associative and contextual cues. In addition, Phlat supports a unified tagging (labeling) scheme for organizing personal content across storage systems (files, email, etc.). The system has been deployed to hundreds of employees within our organization. We report on both quantitative and qualitative aspects of system use. Phlat is available as a free download at http: research.microsoft.com adapt phlat. Today's Web browsers provide limited support for rich information-seeking and information-sharing scenarios. A survey we conducted of 204 knowledge workers at a large technology company has revealed that a large proportion of users engage in searches that include collaborative activities. We present the results of the survey, and then review the implications of these findings for designing new Web search interfaces that provide tools for sharing. Search engine researchers typically depict search as the solitary activity of an individual searcher. In contrast, results from our critical-incident survey of 150 users on Amazon's Mechanical Turk service suggest that social interactions play an important role throughout the search process. Our main contribution is that we have integrated models from previous work in sensemaking and information seeking behavior to present a canonical social model of user activities before, during, and after search, suggesting where in the search process both explicitly and implicitly shared information may be valuable to individual searchers. Studies of search habits reveal that people engage in many search tasks involving collaboration with others, such as travel planning, organizing social events, or working on a homework assignment. However, current Web search tools are designed for a single user, working alone. We introduce SearchTogether, a prototype that enables groups of remote users to synchronously or asynchronously collaborate when searching the Web. We describe an example usage scenario, and discuss the ways SearchTogether facilitates collaboration by supporting awareness, division of labor, and persistence. We then discuss the findings of our evaluation of SearchTogether, analyzing which aspects of its design enabled successful collaboration among study participants. In the last few years, social tagging systems have become a standard application of the World Wide Web. These systems can be considered as shared external knowledge structures of users on the Internet. In this paper, we describe how social tagging systems relate to individual semantic memory structures and how social tags affect individual processes of learning and information foraging. Furthermore, we present an experimental online study aimed at evaluating this interaction of external and internal structures of spreading activation. We report on effects of social tagging systems as visualized collective knowledge representations on individual processes of information search and learning. Most information retrieval technologies are designed to facilitate information discovery. However, much knowledge work involves finding and re-using previously seen information. We describe the design and evaluation of a system, called Stuff I've Seen (SIS), that facilitates information re-use. This is accomplished in two ways. First, the system provides a unified index of information that a person has seen, whether it was seen as email, web page, document, appointment, etc. Second, because the information has been seen before, rich contextual cues can be used in the search interface. The system has been used internally by more than 230 employees. We report on both qualitative and quantitative aspects of system use. Initial findings show that time and people are important retrieval cues. Users find information more easily using SIS, and use other search tools less frequently after installation. Web search is often viewed as a solitary task; however, there are many situations in which groups of people gather around a single computer to jointly search for information online. We present the findings of interviews with teachers, librarians, and developing world researchers that provide details about users' collaborative search habits in shared-computer settings, revealing several limitations of this practice. We then introduce CoSearch, a system we developed to improve the experience of co-located collaborative Web search by leveraging readily available devices such as mobile phones and extra mice. Finally, we present an evaluation comparing CoSearch to status quo collaboration approaches, and show that CoSearch enabled distributed control and division of labor, thus reducing the frustrations associated with shared-computer searches, while still preserving the positive aspects of communication and collaboration associated with joint computer use.