A Taxonomy-Driven Model for Designing Educational Games in Visualization

Information

• Publication Type: Journal Paper (without talk)
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s):
  • Visualization Group
• Date: October 2021
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/mcg.2021.3115446
• Journal: IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
• Number: 6
• Open Access: yes
• Volume: 41
• Pages: 71 – 79

Abstract

Visualization literacy of the broader audiences is becoming an important topic, as we are increasingly surrounded by misleading, erroneous, or confusing visualizations. How can we educate the general masses about data visualization? We propose a twofold model for designing educational games in visualization based on the concept of constructivism and learning-by-playing. We base our approach on the idea of deconstruction and construction, borrowed from the domain of mathematics. We describe the conceptual development and design of our model through two games. First, we present a deconstruction-based game that requires the inspection, identification, and categorization of visualization characteristics (data, users, tasks, visual variables, visualization vocabulary), starting from a finalized visualization. Second, we propose a construction-based game where it is possible to compose visualizations bottom-up from individual visual characteristics. The two games use the same deck of cards with a simple design based on visualization taxonomies, popular in visualization teaching.

Additional Files and Images

Weblinks

• Entry in reposiTUm (TU Wien Publication Database)
• Entry in the publication database of TU-Wien
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/mcg.2021.3115446

BibTeX

@article{amabili2021,
  title =      "A Taxonomy-Driven Model for Designing Educational Games in
               Visualization",
  author =     "Lorenzo Amabili and Kuhu Gupta and Renata Raidou",
  year =       "2021",
  abstract =   "Visualization literacy of the broader audiences is becoming
               an important topic, as we are increasingly surrounded by
               misleading, erroneous, or confusing visualizations. How can
               we educate the general masses about data visualization? We
               propose a twofold model for designing educational games in
               visualization based on the concept of constructivism and
               learning-by-playing. We base our approach on the idea of
               deconstruction and construction, borrowed from the domain of
               mathematics. We describe the conceptual development and
               design of our model through two games. First, we present a
               deconstruction-based game that requires the inspection,
               identification, and categorization of visualization
               characteristics (data, users, tasks, visual variables,
               visualization vocabulary), starting from a finalized
               visualization. Second, we propose a construction-based game
               where it is possible to compose visualizations bottom-up
               from individual visual characteristics. The two games use
               the same deck of cards with a simple design based on
               visualization taxonomies, popular in visualization teaching.",
  month =      oct,
  doi =        "https://doi.org/10.1109/mcg.2021.3115446",
  journal =    "IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications",
  number =     "6",
  volume =     "41",
  pages =      "71--79",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2021/amabili2021/",
}