Research Contexts for Mediation: CMC, CSCW, CSCL, Social Computing

The term "computer-mediated communication" (CMC) has fallen out of disfavor in recent years, in large part because it is too broad to be entirely meaningful. In its place, narrower contexts for understanding CMC have arisen--computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW), computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), and social computing (social interactions not tied to a specific organizational setting). Today we'll talk about these various contexts for studying computer mediated communication.

Readings on Research Contexts for Mediation: CMC, CSCW, CSCL, Social Computing

• Grudin, J. (1991). CSCW: the convergence of two development contexts. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems: Reaching through technology.
• Grudin, J. (1994). Computer-supported cooperative work: history and focus. Computer, 27(5), 19-26.
• Wang, F.-Y., Carley, K. M., Zeng, D., & Mao, W. (2007). Social Computing: From Social Informatics to Social Intelligence. Intelligent Systems, 22(2), 79-83.
• Williams, S., & Roberts, T. S. (2002). Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Strengths and weaknesses. Paper presented at the International Conference on Computers in Education.

All readings available in the Content section of myCourses.