User strategies for handling information tasks in webcasts

Abstract

Webcast systems support real-time webcasting, and may also support access to the stored webcasts. Yet, research rarely examines issues concerning the interface to webcast systems, another form of multimedia system. This paper focuses specifically on how stored webcasts are re-used. Sixteen participants performed three typical information tasks using ePresence, a webcasting system that handles both live and stored video, and contains several tools: a video window, a timeline of the webcast, slides used by the presenter, and a moderator-generated table of contents, that facilitate user access to the intellectual content of a stored video. Use takes place at the level of the webcast, and our analysis assessed user interactivity. The results showed that different types of tasks need different strategies and tools.