Merging interactive visualizations with hypertextbooks and course management

  • Authors:

  • Guido Rößling;Thomas Naps;Mark S. Hall;Ville Karavirta;Andreas Kerren;Charles Leska;Andrés Moreno;Rainer Oechsle;Susan H. Rodger;Jaime Urquiza-Fuentes;J. Ángel Velázquez-Iturbide

  • Affiliations:

  • TU Darmstadt, Germany;U Wisconsin Oshkosh;U Wisconsin Marathon County;Helsinki University of Technology, Finland;U Kaiserslautern, Germany;Randolph-Macon College;University of Joensuu, Finland;FH Trier, Germany;Duke University;Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain;Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain

  • Venue:
  • ITiCSE-WGR '06 Working group reports on ITiCSE on Innovation and technology in computer science education
  • Year:
  • 2006

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Abstract

As a report of a working group at ITiCSE 2006, this paper provides a vision of how visualizations and the software that generates them may be integrated into hypertextbooks and course management systems. This integration generates a unique synergy that we call a Visualization-based Computer Science Hypertextbook (VizCoSH). By borrowing features of both traditional hypertextbooks and course management systems, VizCoSHs become delivery platforms that address some of the reasons why visualizations have failed to find widespread use in education.The heart of the paper describes these features and explains, from both a student and teacher perspective, how each feature adds educational value to a visualization. In some cases, this value focuses on pedagogical issues, taking advantage of known strategies for making visualizations more engaging and effective. In other cases, the emphasis is on making it easier for teachers to use visualizations. A set of possible use scenarios and approaches for increasing interest in adopting a VizCoSH are also presented.