Computer
The application of metaphor, analogy, and conceptual models in computer systems
Interacting with Computers
A guide to metaphorical design
Communications of the ACM
Metaphor design in user interfaces
ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation
Metaphor, computing systems, and active learning
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies - Special issue: 1969-1999, the 30th anniversary
Dancing hamsters and marble statues: characterizing student visualizations of algorithms
Proceedings of the 2003 ACM symposium on Software visualization
Roles of variables and programming skills improvement
Proceedings of the 37th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
The effects of metaphors on novice and expert learners' performance and mental-model development
Interacting with Computers
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Visual metaphors in the form of still or animated pictures have been used in user interfaces with the hope of enhancing learning and use of computer applications. This paper studies animated metaphors with the intent to understand how they relate to human cognition and how their quality can be measured. We present a model of the relationships within metaphors, suggest lightweight evaluation techniques based on this model, and test these techniques in an empirical investigation. The results indicate that a lightweight analysis based on still images and made by domain-aware but metaphor-unaware judges can be used as a first step in deciding which metaphors are worthy of further study, and to direct animation efforts to overcome the most crucial problems. Furthermore, the results show that animation may increase or decrease the quality of a metaphor by considerable amounts; hence the final evaluation must be based on actual use of fully implemented metaphors. The results also confirm earlier suggestions to use rich metaphors and provides evidence that richness of the still image is important for the effectiveness of animation.