Collaborative, social online education and whiteboard techniques
Various techniques are disclosed for facilitating a computer-supported collaborative session that includes at least two participants using different computing devices to view a canvas that is configured to contain objects added by one or more of the participants. The computer-supported collaborative session is configured to permit participants to mark and/or edit selected objects presented on the canvas. Participants may use a mobile device camera to capture images or video clips, and post the captured images or video clips to the canvas by emailing or text messaging the captured image to a designated email address or phone number.
1. In an online server, a method of facilitating an online collaborative session between at least two remote participants via a computer network, said method comprising:
a) providing, as part of said online collaborative session, an online collaborative discussion room (“OCD room”) to said participants which includes content;
b) displaying a room graphical user interface (“room GUI”) on a computing device of each of said at least two remote participants, each room GUI displaying said content of said OCD room;
c) determining an approximate viewable display screen size of each of said computing devices of said at least two remote participants, wherein said approximate viewable display screen size is a page viewport of said OCD room;
d) selecting, from among said determined viewable display screen sizes, one of said viewable display screen sizes that is determined to be the smallest viewable display screen size from among said viewable display screen sizes; and
e) superimposing a screen size boundary corresponding to said selected smallest viewable display screen size over said content of said OCD room of at least one of said computing devices whose determined viewable display screen size is larger than said selected smallest viewable display screen size, wherein no other screen size boundaries are superimposed over said content of said OCD room of said at least one of said computing devices.
2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
superimposing said screen size boundary within said room GUI of all of said computing devices of said at least two remote participants other than the GUI of the computing device having said smallest viewable display screen size.
3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said superimposed screen size boundary intersects said displayed content.
4. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
f) determining that one of said at least two remote participants has exited said online collaborative session or that another remote participant has joined said online collaborative session, resulting in a group of current remote participants in said online collaborative session; and
performing steps c), d) and e) for said group of current remote participants in response to step f).
5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
detecting that one of said viewable display screen sizes of one of said computing devices has changed; and
performing steps c), d) and e) again.
6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
detecting that one of said computing devices has changed; and
performing steps c), d) and e) again.
7. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
partitioning a workspace of said OCD room into distinct pages; and
displaying, on said each room GUI of said at least two remote participants, one of said distinct pages.
8. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
receiving an image to post into said OCD room; and
automatically inserting said image at a location in said OCD room such that said image appears within said superimposed screen size boundary of at least said computing device that does not include said smallest viewable display screen size.
9. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
g) partitioning a workspace of said OCD room into distinct pages; and
performing step e) in response to step g) when each of said distinct pages is displayed.
10. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said content of said OCD room is visible within said viewable display screen size of said at least one of said computing devices after said superimposing said screen size boundary.
11. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
superimposing said screen size boundary and maintaining said larger viewable display screen size of said at least one of said computing devices.
12. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
superimposing said screen size boundary without making smaller said larger viewable display screen size of said at least one of said computing devices.
13. A system for facilitating an online collaborative session between at least two remote participants, said system comprising:
at least two computing devices of said at least two remote participants in said online collaborative session, each of said computing devices having a display screen; a server computer that hosts, as part of said online collaborative session, an online collaborative discussion room (“OCD room) which includes content, said server computer being arranged to
a) determine an approximate viewable display screen size of each of said computing devices of said at least two remote participants, wherein said approximate viewable display screen size is a page viewport of said OCD room,
b) select, from among said determined viewable display screen sizes, one of said viewable display screen sizes that is determined to be the smallest viewable display screen size from among said viewable display screen sizes,
c) display a room graphical user interface (“room GUI”) on said computing devices of said at least two remote participants, each room GUI displaying said content of said OCD room, and
d) superimpose a screen size boundary corresponding to said selected smallest viewable display screen size over said content of said OCD room of at least one of said computing devices whose determined viewable display screen size is larger than said selected smallest viewable display screen size, wherein no other screen size boundaries are superimposed over said content of said OCD room of said at least one of said computing devices; and
a computer network that connects said at least two computing devices and said server computer.
14. A system as recited in claim 13 , said server computer being further arranged to
superimpose said screen size boundary within said room GUI of all of said computing devices of said at least two remote participants other than the GUI of the computing device having said smallest viewable display screen size.
15. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein said superimposed screen size boundary intersects said displayed content.
16. A system as recited in claim 13 , said server computer being further arranged to
e) determine that one of said at least two remote participants has exited said online collaborative session or that another remote participant has joined said online collaborative session, resulting in a group of current remote participants in said online collaborative session; and
perform steps a), b), c) and d) for said group of current remote participants in response to step e).
17. A system as recited in claim 13 , said server computer being further arranged to
detect that one of said viewable display screen sizes of one of said computing devices has changed, and
perform steps a), b), c) and d) again.
18. A system as recited in claim 13 , said server computer being further arranged to
detect that one of said computing devices has changed, and
perform steps a), b), c) and d) again.
19. A system as recited in claim 13 , said server computer being further arranged to
f) partition a workspace of said OCD room into distinct pages, and
display, on said each room GUI of said at least two remote participants, in response to step f), one of said distinct pages.
20. A system as recited in claim 13 , said server computer being further arranged to
receive an image to post into said OCD room, and
automatically insert said image at a location in said OCD room such that said image appears within said superimposed screen size boundary of at least said computing device that does not include said smallest viewable display screen size.
21. A system as recited in claim 13 , said server computer being further arranged to
partitioning a workspace of said OCD room into distinct pages, and
perform step d) when each of said distinct pages is displayed.
22. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein said content of said OCD room is visible within said viewable display screen size of said at least one of said computing devices after said superimposing said screen size boundary.
23. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein said server computer being further arranged to
superimpose said screen size boundary and maintain said larger viewable display screen size of said at least one of said computing devices.
24. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein said server computer being further arranged to
superimpose said screen size boundary without making smaller said larger viewable display screen size of said at least one of said computing devices.