Exploring children's investigation of data outliers

ABSTRACT

In spite of the increasing amounts of digitized data that will be available to children when they grow up, little attention has been paid toward preparing them for the process of exploring data, researching related information, synthesizing findings, and presenting them to peers. In this paper we present our observations on activities conducted with 10-12 year old children that involved identifying outliers using an information visualization tool, researching the reasons behind the outlying data, and synthesizing and presenting results using a media authoring tool. Our observations suggest children in this age group can make use of information visualization tools designed for a general adult population, but that great difficulties remain in conducting online research, and in integrating data exploration, online research, and presentation of results.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors

Keywords:
children, information presentation, information visualization, online research