Do algorithm animations assist learning?: an empirical study and analysis

  • Authors:

  • John Stasko;Albert Badre;Clayton Lewis

  • Affiliations:

  • Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA;Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA;Institute of Cognitive Science, Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO

  • Venue:
  • CHI '93 Proceedings of the INTERACT '93 and CHI '93 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 1993

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Abstract

Algorithm animations are dynamic graphical illustrations of computer algorithms, and they are used as teaching aids to help explain how the algorithms work. Although many people believe that algorithm animations are useful this way, no empirical evidence has ever been presented supporting this belief. We have conducted an empirical study of a priority queue algorithm animation, and the study's results indicate that the animation only slightly assisted student understanding. In this article, we analyze those results and hypothesize why algorithm animations may not be as helpful as was initially hoped. We also develop guidelines for making algorithm animations more useful in the future.