Michael Scaife

External cognition: how do graphical representations work?

Advances in graphical technology have now made it possible for us to interact with information in innovative ways, most notably by exploring multimedia environments and by manipulating three-dimensional virtual worlds. Many benefits have been claimed for this new kind of interactivity, a general assumption being that learning and cognitive processing are facilitated. We point out, however, that little is known about the cognitive value ofanygraphical representations, be they good old-fashioned (e.g. diagrams) or more advanced (e.g. animations, multimedia, virtual reality). In our paper, we critique the disparate literature on graphical representations, focusing on four representative studies. Our analysis reveals a fragmented and poorly understood account of how graphical representations work, exposing a number of assumptions and fallacies. As an alternative we propose a new agenda for graphical representation research. This builds on the nascent theoretical approach within cognitive science that analyses the role played by external representations in relation to internal mental ones. We outline some of the central properties of this relationship that are necessary for the processing of graphical representations. Finally, we consider how this analysis can inform the selection and design of both traditional and advanced forms of graphical technology.

Designing for or designing with? Informant design for interactive learning environments

The value of involving people as ‘users’ or ‘participants’ in the design process is increasingly becoming a point of debate. In this paper we describe a new framework, called ‘informant design’, which advocates efficiency of input from different people: maximizing the value of contributions tlom various informants and design team members at different stages of the design process. To illustrate how this can be achieved we describe a project that uses children and teachers as informants at difTerent stages to help us design an interactive learning environment for teaching ecology.

Using ‘tangibles’ to promote novel forms of playful learning

Tangibles, in the form of physical artefacts that are electronically augmented and enhanced to trigger various digital events to happen, have the potential for providing innovative ways for children to play and learn, through novel forms of interacting and discovering. They offer, too, the scope for bringing playfulness back into learning. To this end, we designed an adventure game, where pairs of children have to discover as much as they can about a virtual imaginary creature called the Snark, through collaboratively interacting with a suite of tangibles. Underlying the design of the tangibles is a variety of transforms, which the children have to understand and reflect upon in order to make the Snark come alive and show itself in a variety of morphological and synaesthesic forms. The paper also reports on the findings of a study of the Snark game and discusses what it means to be engrossed in playful learning.

Cognitive Science Approaches To UnderstandingDiagrammatic Representations

Through a wide variety of approaches cognitive sciencehas given us various important insights into thenature of diagrammatic representations. This papersurveys the findings, issues and approaches todiagrammatic representations in cognitive science. Important current issues that are highlighted include:the relation between the parts of the representationalsystem that are internal to the mind and in externalvisual media that presents the diagram; the use ofmultiple representations which is typical of realcontexts of diagram use; the benefits of diagrams interms of (i) computational offloading, (ii)re-representation and (iii) graphical constraining.

Things aren't what they seem to be: innovation through technology inspiration

How does designing for novel experiences with largely untried technologies get its inspiration? Here we report on a project whose goal was to promote learning through novel, playful visions of technologies. To this end, we experimented with a diversity of ambient and pervasive technologies to inspire and drive our design. Working as a large multi-disciplinary group of researchers and designers we developed novel and imaginative experiences for children. To crystallise our ideas we designed, implemented and experimented with a mixed reality adventure game, where children had to hunt an elusive, virtual creature called the Snark, in a large interactive environment. We describe our experiences, reflecting on the process of design inspiration in an area where so much remains unknown.

Informing the design of a virtual environment to support learning in children

This paper describes how different kinds of research activities (theory building and application, exploratory and experimental studies, prototyping, user testing) are instrumental for informing the design of virtual environments. We show how general user-centred design methods can be used when dealing with specific issues concerned with the properties of virtual environments. To illustrate our approach we describe how we have designed a virtual theatre for young children to support learning through playing. We conclude with a general discussion of the core issues that need to be considered when designing virtual environments.

Animated Diagrams: An Investigation into the Cognitive Effects of Using Animation to Illustrate Dynamic Processes

With increased use of multimedia and computers in education, the use of animation to illustrate dynamics is becoming more commonplace. Previous research suggests that diagrams may reduce cognitive processing as all information is perceptually available, making it more explicit and therefore requiring less inferencing (e.g. Simon and Larkin 1987). Animation, therefore, may be expected to enhance learning, especially when illustrating dynamic processes, as motion is depicted more visually explicitly, thus reducing cognitive processing. However, although animation may increase explicit perceptually available information, it may not automatically improve understanding. Visual explicitness itself does not necessarily guarantee accurate perception of specific information, nor does perception of information guarantee comprehension. Initial studies suggest that certain characteristics of diagrammatic animation have significant effects on cognitive interaction with material and therefore on comprehension. Current computer technology not only enables improved graphical animated illustration, but also provides the facility to physically interact with information on the screen. This in itself may influence the kind of learning that takes place. This paper presents research investigating how different ways of both representing and interacting with animated diagrams influence the kinds of cognitive interactions that may take place.

Developmental changes in childrens’ use of computer input devices

Input devices represent the first interface that the child must master in learning to use computers yet there is little empirical or theoretical work on the childs ability to use them. This paper describes the performance of 5 to 10 year old children using a touchscreen, mouse, joystick and key‐push to control a screen display. Deliberately simple tasks were employed to focus on how the child coped with the properties of the devices. Data are presented in the context of specific questions about ways that the devices can be regarded as requiring skills on the part of the child that would be differentially available at different points in development

Interdisciplinary collaboration: a case study of software development for fashion designers

Abstract There is an increasing involvement of different disciplines in requirements capture. However, such collaboration can result in the replacement of one set of problems with another as the priorities of systems designers conflict with those of social science researchers. Some of these difficulties are illustrated by a description of the course of a project to develop a software tool for fashion designers.

Designing dynamic interactive visualisations to support collaboration and cognition

Dynamic interactive visualisations (DIVs) are intended to help coordination and collaboration, through augmenting existing forms of synchronous communication (i.e. phones, face to face, walkie-talkie). A central feature of a DIV is active user involvement: users are required to create, annotate, and change the information visualisation to represent the changes in the activity space they are concerned with. One benefit of doing so is to enable users to externalise and offload some of the cognitive effort involved. in problem-solving, by laying out information in ways that can help them derive a solution and know what to do next. In this paper we describe how we went about designing a DIV to support nomadic team working. We begin by describing our experimentation in designing a DIV. We then show how our computer-based DIV substantially, improved performance for a complex collaborative task, which involved much communication and cognition.