NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

NMC 2004 Vancouver, BC

• Designing VizAbility: Working with a Kit of Interaction Models

• From animated demonstration and self-paced instruction to simulations and construction environments, VizAbility uses a wide range of interaction models for learning the basics of perspective sketching and spatial reasoning.

• In this session we will look at the design challenges inherent in this subject matter and the design approaches used in this interactive program.

• Working from these examples, we will discuss strategies and techniques for increasing the level of engagement in interactive learning modules.

• Gayle Curtis, Stanford University / Blazent, Inc.

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

This session

• Introduction - Who’s who?• This session - Challenging problems• Background - VizThink and VizAbility• Example - Perspective• Abstract - Interaction models• Abstract - Continuum of control• Example - Blockbuilder• Extend - Mars rover

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

VizThink and VizAbility

VizThink &

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Give a man a fish

and he forgets

Teach him to fish

and he remembers

Throw him in with the fish

and he understands

Design proverb

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Continuum of Interaction

• Control pace - decide when to move on, how

fast to go

• Control sequence - decide where to go next

• Control view - change zoom, start/stop movie

• Control variables - change an input, see effects

on output

• Control transaction - send a message, login,

logout

• Control objects - move things around, build

something

• Control simulation - change course of events

Ray Kristof, Amy Satran Interactivity by Design

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Continuum of Control — the Garden Model

Garden activity

•Pick a flowerfrom a bucket

•Pick flowers from different buckets

•Arrange a bouquet

•Grow bigger flowers

•Grow new kinds of flowers

Essential action

•Choose item

•Choose sequence

•Change sequence

•Change outcome / control process

•Create new controls & process

Analogous action

•Select/specifynext/back

•Branch/choose sequence

•Edit sequenceadd/delete/save

•Use toolkit/ run simulation

•Create toolkit / new simulation

Design issue

•Nothing hidden

•Hidden choices

•Hidden spaces

•Hidden time

•Hidden capability

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Continuum of Control — the Garden Model

Garden activity

•Pick a flowerfrom a bucket

•Pick flowers from different buckets

•Arrange a bouquet

•Grow bigger flowers

•Grow new kinds of flowers

Essential action

•Choose item

•Choose sequence

•Change sequence

•Change outcome / control process

•Create new controls & process

Analogous action

•Select/specifynext/back

•Branch/choose sequence

•Edit sequenceadd/delete/save

•Use toolkit/ run simulation

•Create toolkit / new simulation

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Continuum of Control — the Garden Model

Garden activity

•Pick a flowerfrom a bucket

•Pick flowers from different buckets

•Arrange a bouquet

•Grow bigger flowers

•Grow new kinds of flowers

Essential action

•Choose item

•Choose sequence

•Change sequence

•Change outcome / control process

•Create new controls & process

Analogous action

•Select/specifynext/back

•Branch through sequence

•Edit sequenceadd/delete/save

•Use toolkit/ run simulation

•Create toolkit / new simulation

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Continuum of Control — the Garden Model

Garden activity

•Pick a flowerfrom a bucket

•Pick flowers from different buckets

•Arrange a bouquet

•Grow bigger flowers

•Grow new kinds of flowers

Essential action

•Choose item

•Choose sequence

•Change sequence

•Change outcome / control process

•Create new controls & process

Analogous action

•Select/specifynext/back

•Branch through sequence

•Edit sequenceadd/delete/save

•Use toolkit/ run simulation

•Create toolkit / new simulation

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Continuum of Control — the Garden Model

Garden activity

•Pick a flowerfrom a bucket

•Pick flowers from different buckets

•Arrange a bouquet

•Grow bigger flowers

•Grow new kinds of flowers

Essential action

•Choose item

•Choose sequence

•Change sequence

•Change outcome / control process

•Create new controls & process

Analogous action

•Select/specifynext/back

•Branch through sequence

•Edit sequenceadd/delete/save

•Use toolkit / run simulation

•Create toolkit / new simulation

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Continuum of Control — the Garden Model

Garden activity

•Pick a flowerfrom a bucket

•Pick flowers from different buckets

•Arrange a bouquet

•Grow bigger flowers

•Grow new kinds of flowers

Essential action

•Choose item

•Choose sequence

•Change sequence

•Change outcome / control process

•Create new process & new controls

Analogous action

•Select/specifynext/back

•Branch through sequence

•Edit sequenceadd/delete/save

•Use toolkit / run simulation

•Create toolkit / new simulation

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

BlockBuilder Example

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NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

What's special about BlockBuilder?

• It's a construction environment: you build something.

• You build something personal and set your own goals.

• You solve the problem through iterations of building and testing.

• Testing is done by inspection: if it looks like a "B," it's a B.

• When you're done, you have something you can print or save. You can keep it or give it to a friend.

NMC2004 © 2004 Gayle Curtis

Design Maxim

The first solution

tells you more about the problem

Design maxim