No. 9

November 1, 1999

 

Technology:

TimeDance

I wanted to start this review by describing the hassle involved in scheduling a meeting of 5 busy people by using the tool most commonly employed in such cases: e-mail. However, I soon realized how long and annoying such description might be, so I quickly abandoned the idea and decided instead to state the obvious without much ado: e-mail is a hell of a scheduling application (with strong emphasis on hell...) Apparently, the creators of TimeDance had their own hell of a time scheduling events via e-mail, for they came up with a solution clearly  inspired by both the sense of inadequacy of e-mail for the task at hand, and the realization that one cannot stop people from using e-mail for virtually everything.

Thus, TimeDance does not do away with e-mail, but rather cleverly enhances its capabilities with a Web application accessible to all standard browsers (4.x or newer). After a brief registration procedure one receives a personal, password-protected account and can start scheduling meetings. The scheduling itself is a simple, transparent, 4-step process,which involves filling out short forms and clicking on radio buttons:

  1. Listing the invitees. Can be done by clicking on entries from the personal address book or by providing e-mail addresse for people not yet in the roster.
  2. Describing the meeting, i.e. filling in fields for topic, agenda, duration, etc. Here one can also choose whether to propose a specific time or solicit availability from attendees first.
  3. Providing information on one's own availability, simply by clicking on radio buttons on a provided calendar template. Any additional comments can also be added at this time.
  4. Confirming the choices made and starting the process.
What follows is both brilliantly simple and simply brilliant: each invitee receives an e-mail message informing him about the proposed meeting and asking to visit the TimeDance Web site to indicate his availability (or accept the invitation). The system collects the information and generates a pictorial summary for the meeting's organizer, showing the times when all, most, or some of the attendees are able to attend. If instructed to do so, the system will also send reminders to procrastinators, who fail to respond to the initial message before a specified deadline. When a suitable time is found and the organizer accepts it, TimeDance puts the finishing touch by sending a confirmation to all attendees. Last but not least, thanks to its support for vCalendar standard, one can easily transfer the event to a personal scheduler, e.g. Netscape Calendar.

It should come as no surprise to any person who has heard about the Web's peculiar business model that the service is not only free, but promotes itself by weekly drawings of $500 for those who use it! Oh, how I wish Chrysler were giving its PT Cruiser for free and offered free gasoline to those who drive it... ;-)

TimeDance screenshots (click on a thumbnail):
Selecting attendees
Selecting time

For more information please visit the TimeDance site or search the ACT database of Groupwork Tools.

Online event:

Lotus LearningSpace Online Webinars

  • Held 11 A.M.-12 P.M. or 1:30  P.M. - 2:30 P.M. EST, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays
  • Geared primarily toward corporate customers, these sessions nevertheless provide good opportunity to try out the capabilities of LearningSpace, only recently enhanced by powerful, synchronous features for real-time lectures and meetings.
  • Two topics to choose from: Online Learning: Maximizing the Impact and Online Learning: a Trainer's Perspective
  • Registration fee: none
  • Technical requirements:
    • Java-enabled browser (4.0 or better)
    • Internet connection (56 kbps or better)
    • Separate phone line for audio portion

Conference:

CSCL '99

  • "Designing New Media for a New Millennium: Collaborative Technology for Learning, Education, and Training"
  • Third International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning
  • Held December 12-15, 1999 in Stanford, CA
  • Devoted to the exploration of the roles for technology in collaborative forms of learning and teaching. Participation in this conference is invited from designers, educators, researchers, and students in a diverse set of disciplines including: education, cognitive and educational psychology, didactics, computer science, anthropology, sociology, speech communication, semiotics, technology design, linguistics, engineering, ergonomics, and subject  matter specialists. CSCL '99 topics include all tool designs, theoretical contributions, & empirical studies which advance support for collaborative learning.

She said, he said:

"The only responsible intellectual is one who is wired. " - Taylor and Saarinen.


©1999 Vlad Wielbut and the Alliance for Community Technology