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“Whoa! We’re going deep in the trees!”: Patterns of collaboration around an interactive information visualization exhibit

Davis, Pryce; Horn, Michael S.; Block, Florian; Phillips, Brenda; Evans, E. Margaret; Diamond, Judy; Shen, Chia

Authors

PRYCE DAVIS PRYCE.DAVIS@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Assistant Professor in Learning Sciences

Michael S. Horn

Florian Block

Brenda Phillips

E. Margaret Evans

Judy Diamond

Chia Shen



Abstract

In this paper we present a qualitative analysis of natural history museum visitor interaction around a multi-touch tabletop exhibit called DeepTree that we designed around concepts of evolution and common descent. DeepTree combines several large scientific datasets and an innovative visualization technique to display a phylogenetic tree of life consisting of over 70,000 species. After describing our design, we present a study involving pairs of children interacting with DeepTree in two natural history museums. Our analysis focuses on two questions. First, how do dyads negotiate their moment-to-moment exploration of the exhibit? Second, how do dyads develop and negotiate their understanding of evolutionary concepts? In order to address these questions we present an analytical framework that describes dyads’ exploration along two dimensions: coordination and target of action. This framework reveals four distinct patterns of interaction, which, we argue, are relevant for similar interactive designs. We conclude with a discussion of the role of design in helping visitors make sense of interactive experiences involving the visualization of large scientific datasets.

Citation

Davis, P., Horn, M. S., Block, F., Phillips, B., Evans, E. M., Diamond, J., & Shen, C. (2015). “Whoa! We’re going deep in the trees!”: Patterns of collaboration around an interactive information visualization exhibit. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 10(1), 53-76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-015-9209-z

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 21, 2015
Online Publication Date Mar 4, 2015
Publication Date 2015-03
Deposit Date Sep 15, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning
Print ISSN 1556-1607
Electronic ISSN 1556-1615
Publisher Springer Verlag
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Issue 1
Pages 53-76
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-015-9209-z
Keywords Learning, Collaboration, Evolution, Interactive tabletops, Information visualization
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/748143
Publisher URL https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11412-015-9209-z