Distributed system for interactive collaboration
First Claim
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1. A method of using a computer network for interactive collaboration, comprising:
- creating a collaborative environment for members of a team in communication with the computer network;
employing a process that solicits information from the members of the team for a present state of the topic, an end state of the topic, and a process for proceeding from the present state to the end state;
in the collaborative environment, collecting information from the members of the team through a sequence of collaborative activities offering varying degrees of collaborative input structure, each activity in the sequence including an interactive forum having a particular degree of collaborative input structure;
displaying information collected from the members of the team;
facilitating a collaboratively derived decision based on the collected information; and
displaying the collaboratively derived decision.
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Abstract
A distributed system for interactive collaboration can facilitate synchronous and asynchronous communications, take advantage of electronic scheduling tools, support a facilitator paradigm, and store meeting communications for later retrieval. The system can create a collaborative environment for members of a team in communication with a computer network. An interactive forum can be provided in the collaborative environment in a manner offering varying degrees of structure for collecting information from the members of the team. The information can then be used to arrive at a collaboratively derived decision.
89 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of using a computer network for interactive collaboration, comprising:
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creating a collaborative environment for members of a team in communication with the computer network; employing a process that solicits information from the members of the team for a present state of the topic, an end state of the topic, and a process for proceeding from the present state to the end state; in the collaborative environment, collecting information from the members of the team through a sequence of collaborative activities offering varying degrees of collaborative input structure, each activity in the sequence including an interactive forum having a particular degree of collaborative input structure; displaying information collected from the members of the team; facilitating a collaboratively derived decision based on the collected information; and displaying the collaboratively derived decision. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for interactive collaboration over a computer network, comprising:
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a collaborative environment for members of a team in communication with the computer network; a solicitation unit to solicit information from the members of the team for a present state of the topic, an end state of the topic, and a process for proceeding from the present state to the end state; and in the collaborative environment, a sequence of collaborative activities offering varying degrees of collaborative input structure, each activity in the seciuence including an interactive forum having a particular degree of collaborative input structure to collect and display information from the members of the team that is used to arrive at a collaboratively derived decision. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. An apparatus for interactive collaboration over a computer network, comprising:
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means for creating a collaborative environment for members of a team in communication with the computer network; means for soliciting information from the members of the team for a present state of a topic, an end state of the topic, and a process for proceeding from the present state to the end state; and in the collaborative environment, means for providing a sequence of collaborative activities offering varying degrees of collaborative input structure, each activity in the sequence including an interactive forum having a particular degree of collaborative input structure for collecting and displaying information from the members of the team that is used to arrive at a collaboratively derived decision.
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29. A system for providing interactive collaboration, comprising:
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an interface coupled to a computer network; a processor coupled to the interface that creates a collaborative environment for members of a team in communication with the server over the computer network, the collaborative environment having a sequence of collaborative activities offering varying degrees of collaborative input structure, each activity in the sequence including an interactive forum having a particular degree of collaborative input structure to collect information from the members of the team that is used to arrive at a collaboratively derived decision; a solicitation unit to solicit information from the members of the team for a present state of a topic, an end state of the topic, and a process for proceeding from the present state to the end state; and a data store coupled to the processor and storing the information from the members in the interactive forum for later retrieval.
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Specification