Construct-A-Vis : exploring the free-form visualization processes of children
Date
01/2020Author
Keywords
Metadata
Show full item recordAltmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
Building data analysis skills is part of modern elementary school curricula. Recent research has explored how to facilitate children's understanding of visual data representations through completion exercises which highlight links between concrete and abstract mappings. This approach scaffolds visualization activities by presenting a target visualization to children. But how can we engage children in more free-form visual data mapping exercises that are driven by their own mapping ideas? How can we scaffold a creative exploration of visualization techniques and mapping possibilities? We present Construct-A-Vis, a tablet-based tool designed to explore the feasibility of free-form and constructive visualization activities with elementary school children. Construct-A-Vis provides adjustable levels of scaffolding visual mapping processes. It can be used by children individually or as part of collaborative activities. Findings from a study with elementary school children using Construct-A-Vis individually and in pairs highlight the potential of this free-form constructive approach, as visible in children's diverse visualization outcomes and their critical engagement with the data and mapping processes. Based on our study findings we contribute insights into the design of free-form visualization tools for children, including the role of tool-based scaffolding mechanisms and shared interactions to guide visualization activities with children.
Citation
Bishop , F , Zagermann , J , Pfeil , U , Sanderson , G , Reiterer , H & Hinrichs , U 2020 , ' Construct-A-Vis : exploring the free-form visualization processes of children ' , IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics , vol. 26 , no. 1 , pp. 451-460 . https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2019.2934804
Publication
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1077-2626Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2019, IEEE. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher's policies. This is the author created accepted version manuscript following peer review and as such may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2019.2934804
Description
Funding: UK EPSRC and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – Project-ID 251654672 – TRR 161 (Project C01).Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.