The DeepTree exhibit: Visualizing the tree of life to facilitate informal learning

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

doi:10.1109/TVCG.2012.272

The DeepTree exhibit: Visualizing the tree of life to facilitate informal learning

Florian Block^*, Michael S. Horn, Brenda Caldwell Phillips, Judy Diamond, E. Margaret Evans, Chia Shen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Theatre, Film, TV and Interactive Media

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In this paper, we present the DeepTree exhibit, a multi-user, multi-touch interactive visualization of the Tree of Life. We developed DeepTree to facilitate collaborative learning of evolutionary concepts. We will describe an iterative process in which a team of computer scientists, learning scientists, biologists, and museum curators worked together throughout design, development, and evaluation. We present the importance of designing the interactions and the visualization hand-in-hand in order to facilitate active learning. The outcome of this process is a fractal-based tree layout that reduces visual complexity while being able to capture all life on earth; a custom rendering and navigation engine that prioritizes visual appeal and smooth fly-through; and a multi-user interface that encourages collaborative exploration while offering guided discovery. We present an evaluation showing that the large dataset encouraged free exploration, triggers emotional responses, and facilitates visitor engagement and informal learning.

Original language	English
Article number	6327285
Pages (from-to)	2789-2798
Number of pages	10
Journal	IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
Volume	18
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2012.272
Publication status	Published - 2012

Keywords

collaborative learning
Informal science education
large tree visualizations
multi-touch interaction

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10.1109/TVCG.2012.272

Cite this

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title = "The DeepTree exhibit: Visualizing the tree of life to facilitate informal learning",

abstract = "In this paper, we present the DeepTree exhibit, a multi-user, multi-touch interactive visualization of the Tree of Life. We developed DeepTree to facilitate collaborative learning of evolutionary concepts. We will describe an iterative process in which a team of computer scientists, learning scientists, biologists, and museum curators worked together throughout design, development, and evaluation. We present the importance of designing the interactions and the visualization hand-in-hand in order to facilitate active learning. The outcome of this process is a fractal-based tree layout that reduces visual complexity while being able to capture all life on earth; a custom rendering and navigation engine that prioritizes visual appeal and smooth fly-through; and a multi-user interface that encourages collaborative exploration while offering guided discovery. We present an evaluation showing that the large dataset encouraged free exploration, triggers emotional responses, and facilitates visitor engagement and informal learning.",

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author = "Florian Block and Horn, {Michael S.} and Phillips, {Brenda Caldwell} and Judy Diamond and Evans, {E. Margaret} and Chia Shen",

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AU - Block, Florian

AU - Horn, Michael S.

AU - Phillips, Brenda Caldwell

AU - Diamond, Judy

AU - Evans, E. Margaret

AU - Shen, Chia

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The DeepTree exhibit: Visualizing the tree of life to facilitate informal learning

Abstract

Keywords

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