Changes

In addition to contextual chats, Bulletin Boards provide a space for sharing. Any object may be posted to a Bulletin Board for others to look at and enjoy and to pass on to others, promoting viral sharing. The sharing environment is an integral element of all views.

In addition to contextual chats, Bulletin Boards provide a space for sharing. Any object may be posted to a Bulletin Board for others to look at and enjoy and to pass on to others, promoting viral sharing. The sharing environment is an integral element of all views.

In the Home view, for instance, only the child to whom the laptop belongs has access to the contents of the Bulletin Board.  Here, the Bulletin Board provides a convenient area for the temporary storage of objects and activities, as well as those things kept around for quick access: tomorrow's homework assignment, the pictures taken last week, the book she's reading, a favorite game. In this way, the traditional desktop that the zoom levels replaced finds its way back through the Home view Bulletin Board. The functionality described here mimics the traditional desktop to some extent. Note that the contextual chat bubbles are also available in the Home view, providing a mechanism for writing "notes-to-self". The Bulletin Board metaphor emphasizes a temporary and everchanging space for placing objects, distinctly separate from the space in which they are stored. This may prevent the common overuse of the desktop as the primary place to store ''everything'', which limits its usefulness as a quick way to find the files that matter most at any given point in time.

In the Home view, for instance, only the child to whom the laptop belongs has access to the contents of the Bulletin Board.  Here, the Bulletin Board provides a convenient area for the temporary storage of objects and activities, as well as those things kept around for quick access: tomorrow's homework assignment, the pictures taken last week, the book the child is reading, a favorite game. In this way, the traditional desktop that the zoom levels replaced finds its way back through the Home view Bulletin Board. The functionality described here mimics the traditional desktop to some extent. Note that the contextual chat bubbles are also available in the Home view, providing a mechanism for writing "notes-to-self". The Bulletin Board metaphor emphasizes a temporary and ever changing space for placing objects, distinctly separate from the space in which they are stored. This may prevent the common overuse of the desktop as the primary place to store ''everything'', which limits its usefulness as a quick way to find the files that matter most at any given point in time.

From the Friends and Mesh view, the Bulletin Board serves as a place to share interesting things a child has found or created with her friends, and the entire mesh respectively.  The important thing to remember with regard to sharing, of course, is that "Share this JPEG (or GIF or SVG or any other picture format) file with Bob and Sue" translates to "Share this photo (or picture) with Bob and Sue."  The sharing metaphor functions much more naturally than the file transfer systems we're used to, since file transfer really just represents a technical implementation of the more abstract idea of sharing in the first place.  Of course, children can also view the things that others have posted as well.  Moreover, as a community space, group sharing occurs naturally.

From the Friends and Mesh view, the Bulletin Board serves as a place to share interesting things a child has found or created with friends, and the entire mesh respectively.  The important thing to remember with regard to sharing, of course, is that "Share this JPEG (or GIF or SVG or any other picture format) file with Bob and Sue" translates to "Share this photo (or picture) with Bob and Sue."  The sharing metaphor functions much more naturally than the file transfer systems we're used to, since file transfer really just represents a technical implementation of the more abstract idea of sharing in the first place.  Of course, children can also view the things that others have posted as well.  Moreover, as a community space, group sharing occurs naturally.

Finally, the shared space the Bulletin Boards provide take on a slightly different, yet quite powerful meaning at the Activity level.  Again, contextual to the current view, each activity has its own shared Bulletin-board.  Posts to this layer provide supporting materials for the underlying activity that other participants in the activity may view (Or, if they'd like, keep for themselves).  This actually means a great deal, since any object at all can be shared this way, including many objects that the activity itself may not provide support for.  For instance, though one couldn't paste a song inside a drawing (no compound document), a song posted to the Bulletin Board layer could provide inspiration for it.  Similarly, it provides a means of collecting materials relevant to the task at hand within the activity.  Rather than having 5 individuals each pasting images of a shark directly into the drawing, they could instead post them to the Bulletin Board for others to see and discuss before deciding which to use as a basis for the drawing. Thus, Bulletin Boards provides a space for gathering research and supporting materials, and holding discussions around both them and the activity.

Finally, the shared space the Bulletin Boards provide take on a slightly different, yet quite powerful meaning at the Activity level.  Again, contextual to the current view, each activity has its own shared Bulletin-board.  Posts to this layer provide supporting materials for the underlying activity that other participants in the activity may view (Or, if they'd like, keep for themselves).  This actually means a great deal, since any object at all can be shared this way, including many objects that the activity itself may not provide support for.  For instance, though one couldn't paste a song inside a drawing (no compound document), a song posted to the Bulletin Board layer could provide inspiration for it.  Similarly, it provides a means of collecting materials relevant to the task at hand within the activity.  Rather than having 5 individuals each pasting images of a shark directly into the drawing, they could instead post them to the Bulletin Board for others to see and discuss before deciding which to use as a basis for the drawing. Thus, Bulletin Boards provide a space for gathering research and supporting materials, and holding discussions around both them and the activity.

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