Zing Technologies
Encyclopedia
Zing Technologies describes a proprietary collaborative software
system for meeting and learning. There are two versions of the software, Anyzing and Zingthing. Both use a patented multi-cursor interface. The Zing team meeting and learning system depends on keyboard entry skills and lack of such skills can be a barrier to effective participation in the meeting or learning activity.
uses Zing to keep time and follow the agenda. A Zing facilitator often asks the group to follow a pre-determined meeting etiquette of four steps; Talk, Type, Read and Review. Participants are asked to first talk about the question or agenda item currently in focus on the screen. They do this as a group or split into pairs or groups of three. They are then invited to type their responses into the system. When everyone has finished typing, or the allotted time has expired, the group reads the responses and conclude the activity by reviewing what's been recorded, looking for key themes, common patterns or stand-out entries.
The system includes a range of tools for brainstorming, sorting and voting. The system is also used for learning activities. Thinking methods such as Edward De Bono
's Six Thinking Hats have been used to structure Zing meetings. The number of participants in a group can vary from as few as four to as many as four hundred if people share keyboards or laptops and work in sub groups.
A number of independent academics are using Zing in their research for meetings, e-learning
and gathering qualitative data.
, Australia
, under the name Grouputer. A change in company ownership lead to a split and Grouputer Solutions and Zing Technologies went their separate ways. Zing software is now used in Australasia, Europe and North America. Zing software is designed to assist teams create new knowledge together and has been variously categorized as groupware, instructional technology
, Group decision support systems
(GDSS), decision support system
s (DSS), electronic meeting system
s and a Team Learning System.
Collaborative software
Collaborative software is computer software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals...
system for meeting and learning. There are two versions of the software, Anyzing and Zingthing. Both use a patented multi-cursor interface. The Zing team meeting and learning system depends on keyboard entry skills and lack of such skills can be a barrier to effective participation in the meeting or learning activity.
Introduction
A facilitatorFacilitator
A facilitator is someone who helps a group of people understand their common objectives and assists them to plan to achieve them without taking a particular position in the discussion...
uses Zing to keep time and follow the agenda. A Zing facilitator often asks the group to follow a pre-determined meeting etiquette of four steps; Talk, Type, Read and Review. Participants are asked to first talk about the question or agenda item currently in focus on the screen. They do this as a group or split into pairs or groups of three. They are then invited to type their responses into the system. When everyone has finished typing, or the allotted time has expired, the group reads the responses and conclude the activity by reviewing what's been recorded, looking for key themes, common patterns or stand-out entries.
The system includes a range of tools for brainstorming, sorting and voting. The system is also used for learning activities. Thinking methods such as Edward De Bono
Edward de Bono
Edward de Bono is a physician, author, inventor, and consultant. He originated the term lateral thinking, wrote a best selling book Six Thinking Hats and is a proponent of the deliberate teaching of thinking as a subject in schools.- Biography :Edward Charles Francis Publius de Bono was born to...
's Six Thinking Hats have been used to structure Zing meetings. The number of participants in a group can vary from as few as four to as many as four hundred if people share keyboards or laptops and work in sub groups.
A number of independent academics are using Zing in their research for meetings, e-learning
E-learning
E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process...
and gathering qualitative data.
- Alison Elliot, Australian Council for Educational Research
- Brian Caldwell, Professorial Fellow in the Department of Education Policy and Management of the University of MelbourneUniversity of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
- Jim Callan, a lecturer in marketingMarketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, Central Queensland UniversityCentral Queensland UniversityCQUniversity is an Australian public university based in Queensland. Its main campus is in North Rockhampton Queensland. However, it also has campuses in Bundaberg, Emerald, Gladstone and Mackay, as well as operations throughout Asia-Pacific. For instance, Melior Business School is one of its... - Robert Fitzgerald, Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Education at the University of CanberraUniversity of CanberraOver the years the Stone Day program has gradually become larger and larger, taking up a whole week and now Stonefest is one of Australia's most popular music festivals. The first foundation celebrations were held in 1971. In 1973 Stone Day celebrations were held over two days, which was expanded...
- Linda Newman, a senior lecturer of the School of Education of the University of Western SydneyUniversity of Western SydneyThe University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
- Greg Whymark, an Associate Professor in Information Systems, Central Queensland University
Background
The software was first developed in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, under the name Grouputer. A change in company ownership lead to a split and Grouputer Solutions and Zing Technologies went their separate ways. Zing software is now used in Australasia, Europe and North America. Zing software is designed to assist teams create new knowledge together and has been variously categorized as groupware, instructional technology
Instructional technology
In education, instructional technology is "the theory and practice ofdesign, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning," according to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Definitions and Terminology Committee...
, Group decision support systems
Group decision support systems
Group Decision Support Systems are a class of electronic meeting systems, a collaboration technology designed to support meetings and group work...
(GDSS), decision support system
Decision support system
A decision support system is a computer-based information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in...
s (DSS), electronic meeting system
Electronic meeting system
An electronic meeting system is a type of computer software that facilitates creative problem solving and decision-making of groups within or across organizations. The term was coined by Jay Nunamaker et al. in 1991. The term is synonymous with Group Support Systems and essentially synonymous...
s and a Team Learning System.
Versions
- AnyZing requires a single computer, a data projector (or several monitors via a VGA splitter) and several keyboards which are connected to the computer via a USB hub or serial multiplexor. This version started life as Grouputer when the software was called Decisions. It had 3 components called Create, Meet and Learn. This has now become known as AnyZing, and the three components have given way to a more flexible multi-layered structure.
- ZingThing requires a server and client computers, one for the facilitator. Additional participants use extra keyboards attached to the client machines. Zingthing started life as WebGrouputer and its early development was undertaken by the CSIRO. This java based network enabled version requires a relatively fast internet or network connection. Zingthing's java implementation favours Windows and some features are missing in the Linux or Mac OS clients. The networking function of Zingthing means that a number of laptops can be linked using a Wireless LANWireless LANA wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
.
External links
Zing in schools- A Dutch class at the Victorian School of Languages prepared students for their oral exams. http://www.vsl.vic.edu.au
- Castle Hill High SchoolCastle Hill High SchoolFor schools of the same name, see Castle High SchoolCastle Hill High School, located in Castle Street, Castle Hill, New South Wales, Australia, is a comprehensive co-ed school with students ranging from year 7 to year 12...
, Australia http://www.abc.net.au/civics/democracy/schools/s274771.htm
- La Fevre High School, South Australia http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/anr2000/index.asp?p=&pg=ch10_case7.htm
- Port Augusta Learning Community, Australia http://www.portaugustalearning.com.au/L2L%202005/zing/zing.htm
- Central Queensland UniversityCentral Queensland UniversityCQUniversity is an Australian public university based in Queensland. Its main campus is in North Rockhampton Queensland. However, it also has campuses in Bundaberg, Emerald, Gladstone and Mackay, as well as operations throughout Asia-Pacific. For instance, Melior Business School is one of its...
, Australia http://www.bus.cqu.edu.au/Faculty/news/november/2002/zingproject.htm
- Byfield State School, Australia http://gss.cqu.edu.au/byfield_classroom.htm
- Greensward College, UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
http://www.greensward.essex.sch.uk/sixth_form/prospectus2.htm
- Golden Flatts Primary School, UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/111/111581.pdf