Techniques for synchronizing distributed participants in a net-scenario

Abstract

This paper describe techniques to facilitate communication and learning among people, who are participating in a distributed role-play. The distributed and asynchronous setting poses new problems for collaborative role-playing. We present three techniques for a facilitator to guide participants through a story. This to allow them to work as a group even though they access the role-play distributed and asynchronously. The three techniques presented are: synchronizing points, providing written instructions and through peer pressure. We describe the techniques and present our insights from the evaluation.