| Abstract: |
The focus of this work is on the design, implementation, and validation of asynchronous multimedia annotations of HTML documents as a way of providing Web-based collaboration in educational and research settings. The two key questions we explore are: How useful are such annotations and what purpose do annotations serve? what is the ease of use of our specific implementation of annotations? The context of our project has been in the area of multimedia information usage and collaboration in the biological sciences. We have developed asynchronous annotations for HTML and image data. our annotations allow any WWW user to add, search, and view annotations that related to HTML documents from annotation-enabled WWW server. These annotations are stored in a central database thus allowing search and aysnchronous access by all registered users. We preformed a usability study that showed that our implementation of text annotations offer adequate ease of use for students. We believe that asynchronous multimedia annotations are a promising new way of improving quality and timeliness of WWW-based collaboration in many areas including education, collaboration and information management.
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