Can Social Screencasting Help Developers Learn New Tools?

An effective way to learn about software development tools is by directly observing peers' workflows. However, these tool knowledge transfer events happen infrequently because developers must be both colocated and available. We explore an online social screen casting system that removes the dependencies of colocation and availability while maintaining the beneficial tool knowledge transfer of peer observation. Our results from a formative study indicate these online observations happen more frequently than in-person observations, but their effects are only temporary. We conclude that while peer observation facilitates online knowledge transfer, it is not the only component -- other social factors may be involved.