Visualization, Simulation, and Gaming as Effective Educational Tools

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Visualization, Simulation, and Gaming as
Effective Educational Tools
Applied Visualization Symposium Asheville,
NC November 10th, 2006
David McConville id_at_elumenati.com Director of
Noospheric Research The Elumenati
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Preferred State
A community that understands and utilizes
the interconnections and synergies between
individuals, communities, and the planet to
maximize wealth, health, and innovation.
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Current Problem State

• Global warming
• Biosphere degradation
• Mass extinctions
• Wars over resources
• Lack of access to basic needs (water, food,
  shelter)
• Destruction of cultures, cities, countries with
  criminally negligent governmental response
• Rise of fundamentalism and lack of cultural
  understanding, empathy, and compassion

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The Problem Disconnection

• There is a disconnect between our values
• and our behavior.

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The Problem Disengagement

• 40 to 60 of students from all economic
  backgrounds are chronically disengaged from
  learning.
• 47 of dropouts left school because classes
  weren't interesting.

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The Problem Denial
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Current Educational Model
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Solution Awareness

• There is no energy shortage.
• There is no energy crisis.
• There is a crisis of ignorance.
• R. Buckminster Fuller

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Solution Inspiration

• Inspiration and genius
• are one in the same.
• Victor Hugo

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Solution Cooperation

• The whole is greater
• than the sum of its parts.
• Aristotle, in Metaphysics

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Obtain a global perspective from experiential
learning
AirOcean Dymaxion Map
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Obtain a global perspective from experiential
learning
AirOcean Dymaxion Map
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Use innovative tools for more intuitive learning
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Make better decisions by understanding
interconnected systems
2004 Biltmore Flood Visualization
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Make better decisions by understanding
interconnected systems
2004 Biltmore Flood Visualization
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Components of Engaging Educational Vis/Sim
Gaming

• Accurate data incorporation
• Graphical interface design
• Temporal/spatial simulation/visualization
• Game engine design
• Gameplay design
• Narrative (interactive linear)
• Audio/Video production design
• Appropriate input devices
• Immersion

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Serious Games Learn By Doing

• Drill deep in subject matter
• Self-directed learning
• Explore choice and consequence
• Play with complex variables
• Simulate real-world processes
• Create peer-to-peer teaching opportunities
• Create immersive and highly motivated learning
  environment
• Dr. Henry Jenkins, Director, Comparative Media
  Studies, MIT
• http//cms.mit.edu/

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Benefits of Virtual Environments

• Assist in learning complex spatial concepts
• Increase student engagement
• Ability to view 3D models from multiple spatial
  temporal perspectives
• Increased motivation from interactions in a
  well-designed environment

Ka Chun Yus Digital Full-Domes The Future of
Virtual Astronomy Education, Planetarian
magazine, Sept. 2005
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Benefits of Immersion

• Perceptualizing complex datasets in immersive
  environments can be more effective than the same
  visualization in non-immersive virtual
  environments
• Virtual environments offer better task
  performance
• Virtual environments provide higher satisfaction
  levels for users

Raja, D., Bowman, D.A., Lucas, J., North, C.
2004, Exploring the Benefits of Immersion in
Abstract Information Visualization, Proceedings
of the Immersive Projection Technology Workshop
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Benefits of Large-Scale Displays

• Increased sense of presence (called
  telepresence by Marvin Minsky)
• A sense of being there
• Users respond psychologically to a mediated
  environments as if it were local, not remote
• Increased attention
• Increased persuasiveness of the message
• Improvements in memory and retention
• Enhancements in tasks performance and navigation
• An increase in presence can potentially increase
  the effectiveness of teaching any material

Ka Chun Yus Digital Full-Domes The Future of
Virtual Astronomy Education, Planetarian
magazine, Sept. 2005
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Trends Tipping Points

• International networking, dialogue, collaboration
  resource development
• Massive multiplayer online gaming, open source
  applications, Wikipedia
• Availability of Data at Every Scale
• Molecular
• Geospatial
• Astronomical
• Social (http//www.gapminder.org)
• Increasingly available and effective virtual
  environment technologies
• Video gaming engines
• GPUs
• Displays
• Games for Learning (Serious Gaming)
• http//www.seriousgames.org

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Visualization for Education Outreach

• Astronomy
• Archaeology/World Heritage
• Architecture
• Atmospheric Science
• Biology/Biotechnology
• Chemistry
• Computation Fluid Dynamics
• Earth Sciences
• Engineering
• Geographical Information Systems
• Mathematics
• Marine Biology
• Material Science/Nanotechnology
• Municipal Planning
• Physics
• Rapid Prototyping
• Urban Visualization/Simulation
• Any dataset (!)

Visualization of an F3 Tornado Within a Supercell
Simulation Donna Cox, NCSA
Galaxies Forming on Filamentary Sturctures Donna
Cox, NCSA/SDSC
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Educational Outcomes

• Develop understanding of systems thinking and
  cause/effect to better predict outcomes of our
  decisions actions
• Provide informal and self-directed educational
  systems for both linear and visual/spatial
  learners
• Develop understanding of and connections between
  numerous disciplines to move beyond extreme
  specialization to more comprehensive,
  anticipatory perspectives