http://jd-hci.blogspot.com/2011/01/paper-reading-2-early-explorations-of.html
TAVR: Temporal-aural-visual Representation for Representing Imperceptible Spatial Information
Minyoung Song, University of Michigan
Presented at CHI 2010: Doctoral Consortium held in Atlanta, Georgia on 10-15 April 2010
Summary
TAVR is an approach designed by University of Michigan student Minyoung Song to assist middle school and higher students in comprehending differences in scale between microscopic objects. The system is designed to use temporal, audio, and visual demonstrations simultaneously, based on the dual coding theory of learning cited in the paper.
The implementation is as follows: A visual representation of the head of a pin is displayed, and is gradually filled with the object whose size is being demonstrated (i.e. a red blood cell) at the rate of one per 0.1 seconds. Each time an object is added, there is an audible click and the visual representation is updated as needed. As seems intuitive, the temporal element is how long the pin takes to fill, the aural element is the clicks, and the visual element representation is the picture of the needle.
The example application, "Wow, It Is Small" (WIIS), uses the above approach as was found to have some success in test runs with middle school students. The next planned stages of research are comparisons to existing methods for teaching microscopic scales and investigations into which of the modes (temporal, aural, visal) or combinations thereof is most effective.
Description
I found this approach to be intriguing. Scaling is a subject that can be very difficult to actually understand, and I can certainly understand the benefits of a multi-pronged attack on the problem. Certainly it is interesting for this alone, and I feel that it has promise in the significant area of primary education.
I must confess to be quite disappointed there wasn't even so much as a good screenshot to look at, in either the paper of one of several cursory Google searches, as a demonstration of the software. I feel that this idea is something that I could have understood visually better than through a text based description. I almost want to call that ironic.
Were I in charge of the research and looking for further avenues of research not already presented in the paper, both of which are good directions themselves, I would likely move into the difficult to comprehend macroscopic end of things. The relationship between "pin" and object would likely have to be reversed (that is, I would gradually cover the large object with some known, relatively large object rather than the reverse). I think this has at least a chance of generating greater interest than microscopic objects. Consider, anecdotally, that "size of stars", according to Google Trends, is twice as popular as "size of atoms".
From the University of Wisconsin (Steven's Point) website, via GIS, here is a visual example of some of the class of objects we are talking about understanding here compared to each other in size.
I like the idea of the macroscopic scale representation. With that you could also combine them together to compare microscopic to normal size things to macroscopic. In my opinion that would show more the grand experience of the world we live in and leave the user in awe!
ReplyDeleteI really am interested in this idea. I read often at how badly humans interpret the concept of size and number. Any way a process can teach this will be one step closer in making people better at spending money better and just overall guessing better.
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