1. Posting screenshots to the Wiki

1. 1. Posting screenshots to the Wiki • A whiteboard button to transfer a selected portion of the whiteboard to the lobby (or to another application outside Concert Chat), which will be posted on a wiki page. • The button may be implemented as a variant of the screen-shot feature. • Sample use case: • 1. User clicks the button, the shape of the cursor changes (e.g. to a target sign etc.) • 2. User selects an area on the whiteboard by dragging the mouse. • 3. When the user releases the button a snapshot of that region is sent to the VMT site • 4. The image will be posted on a wiki page reserved for that group (if the page exists it will be appended there, else a new wiki page will be created)

2. 1. Posting screenshots to the Wiki • [+] Portions of w.b. snapshots are already part of the html transcripts, so the functionality seems to be there • [+] This feature will simplify the process of posting solutions to the wiki: • Allows the group to use what they already created in the room • The group can decide what goes into the summary together in the same environment • [-] The transferred image can be big • [-] Images are not editable on the wiki side. • Maybe during the transfer concert chat can also ship the contents of text-boxes in addition to the picture • We can create an editable document on the wiki side with that extra information, and use the text to extract keywords to tag the picture

3. 2. Post in a textbox (take a note) • A button to transfer a chat posting to a textbox on the board • Sample use case: • User selects a message (or part of it) as if he is going to refer to it • User clicks on transfer button, this changes the cursor’s shape (like a plus, or target sign) • If the user clicks on an existing textbox, the chat message is appended after the click location (or simply to the end if the clicked cursor position cannot be estimated) • Else a new textbox is created with the content of that message

4. 2. Post in a textbox (take a note) • [+] Allows users to move chat postings to the more persistent medium without typing everything from scratch • [+] simpler than the existing copy/paste feature • the implementation of this button can use the existing code for ALT+CTRL+C key combination • [-] Potential conflict with the referencing tool

5. 3. Textbox appearance • Make the text box actions available as they occur in real time (i.e. when someone is editing or typing, the actions will be visible to others) • [+] An extra click to post the textbox won’t be necessary, which is often found confusing by the participants. • [+] This can serve as a better awareness mechanism that would eliminate some of the conflicts caused by overlapping postings/edits on the same textbox. • [-] Increased package traffic

6. 4. Labeling support • Simple implementation • A left click on the label button opens a small window with labels (could be gif files, or small textboxes with MathML statements). • The user drags and drops a label from the list to the w.b., which can be moved around, resized etc. • List of labels may include: • Some Greek letters ($alpha$, $beta$) • list of special shapes (perpendicularity sign, angle arc, angle markers, congruence markers etc)

7. 5. Table tool • We already did some work on this, but it is not part of the current version • If we decide to make all typing actions in a textbox visible in real time, then the way tables displayed might also be affected • We had issues when we wanted to implement add a column and add a row to an existing table at a selected location

8. 6. Summarization Support • Just a simple rubric to remind groups what could go in a summary • A basic rubric including 3 parts • Describe the problem you worked on • What did you find, what are your conclusions • How did you solve/approach the problem • Could be implemented as 3 separate text-boxes that appear on the board from the beginning • E.g. Describe below how did you approach your problem • Another possibility: Implement a special textbox with 3 sections, separated by each instruction

9. On the long run… • Grouping feature: • select a bunch of objects and group them • This can be used in aligning objects horizontally, vertically etc • Display a grid button on the background to aid the drawing process • Adjustable granularity (50 by 50 etc) • Edges of objects should correspond to points on the grid • Support for drawing polygons • you start with the first segment, then draw a second, … • until you touch on the starting point this behavior is repeated • when the starting point is reached the polygon is completed • Point object • This will probably change how w.b. objects interact • e.g. connecting two points with a straight line should be possible • Changes to the referencing tool • The polygon and the free-hand scribble can be used to create references • This will be a more flexible way of supporting deictic references as compared to the existing one based on a rectangular area • Referencing effect • instead of marking the selected area with a semi-transparent box, dim the rest of the drawing area so that the referenced part is more visible

10. Lobby Side • VMT personal blog, which allows VMT users to manage their profile, favorite rooms, favorite moments • Part of this can be automated • i.e. a history of actions performed by the user can be listed in his profile page • E.g. the Facebook example • User x is now a friend with user y • User x has joined the x group/community • User y has just updated his political view • Possible VMT case • User x visited room_x • User x participated in room_x • User x joined group/community x • User x posted a document to the wiki

11. Lobby Side • List rooms page – need to add more info • Provide a list of online users in the room • Display the owner, and indicate whether he/she is online in the room • Indicate room type (if limited access then present a link “request permission to get in”) • If the owner is not in the room prompt the user accordingly and reject the request • Else send a message to the owner, also send a message to the room (not sure if implemented already). The owner needs to acknowledge • The owner of a room should see a “invite others to this room” link, which he/she can use to contact others

12. Administrator tools • Maintain a list of all rooms with html transcripts and jno files • For each room provide summaries • print who accessed it, who is the owner, last activity etc.