Looking for “the Big Picture” on a Small Screen: A Note on Overview Support in Cooperative Work

Abstract

Large, shared displays-such as electronic whiteboards-have proven successful in supporting actors in forming and maintaining an overview of tightly coupled cooperative activities. However, in many developing countries the technology of choice is mobile phones, which have neither a large nor a shared screen. It therefore appears relevant to ask: How may mobile devices with small screens support, or fail to support, actors in forming and maintaining an overview of their cooperative activities? This note contrasts the strengths of large, shared displays with those of small, mobile devices and briefly describes the mKrishi app for providing fishers in the Maharashtra state of India with an overview of the locations where there is likely to be many fish.