The Pilot Collaboratory is a project of the DBTAC - Southeast ADA Center (Southeast DBTAC), the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), and the Collaboratory on Technology Enhanced Learning Communities (Cotelco). The project partners are exploring the impact of a Computer Mediated Communication-based Collaboratory on two targeted disability leadership networks across the eight state service region of the Southeast DBTAC.

The Pilot Collaboratory, which runs from March through August 2006, entails the development of a suite of collaboration tools to support the initiative. The tools include both synchronous and asynchronous applications that use cross-platform, low-bandwidth, and open source software to the greatest extent possible.

While the specific instantiation of this collaboration infrastructure is intended to be dynamic, informed by Universal Design principles, and evolving through iterative evaluation, the initial technical infrastructure includes:

1.      An Content Management System (CMS) to facilitate the people-to-resources component of the collaboratory as a data repository for all the digital artifacts that will be generated by the project (e.g. data sets, drafts of manuscripts, proposals, planning documents, schedules, contact lists, recordings of sessions, photos, working space for teams, and shared calendars).

2.Presence Awareness and Listervs to facilitate people-to-people interaction through easy and regular communication between individual network affiliates and small project teams.

3.An Web-conferencing application to facilitate both people-to-people and people-to facilities communications with high levels of geographically distributed collaboration, creating a rich-media, web-based environment for synchronous communication and collaboration.

The collaboratory is currently at the initial stage of its introduction and will be using a web-based survey to collect baseline data on the targeted leadership networks.

Principal Investigator

Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., Chair of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) and University Professor at Syracuse University.

http://bbi.syr.edu/blanck/

Co-Principal Investigator

Derrick L. Cogburn, Ph.D., Director of the Collaboratory on Technology Enhanced Learning Communities (Cotelco) and Assistant Professor of Information Studies at Syracuse University.

http://cotelco.syr.edu/~dcogburn/

Key Project Personnel

William N. Myhill, M.Ed., J.D., BBI Senior Research Associate and Adjunct Professor of Law at Syracuse University.

http://bbi.syr.edu/staff/myhill/

Benjamin K. Addom, B.Sc., M.P.S. - Research Fellow and Cotelco Lab Manager

Cynthia Smith, M.S., J.D., BBI Research Associate

http://bbi.syr.edu/staff/csmith/

Dhanya Kurup, B.E. - Research Associate (Cotelco)

Grace Palazzolo, B.A. - Research Associate (Cotelco)

Kiran Nagaraj, B.E., M.S. - Research Associate (Cotelco)

Deepti Samant, B.E., M.S., - BBI Summer Research Associate

http://bbi.syr.edu/staff/samant/