Using social media and learning analytics to understand how children engage in scientific inquiry

June Ahn, Michael Gubbels, Jason Yip, Elizabeth Bonsignore, Tamara Clegg

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Children are increasingly using social media tools in their lives. In addition, there is great interest in understanding how to design and evaluate social technologies to aid in children's learning and development. We describe two research endeavors that begin to address these issues. First, we introduce SINQ, a social media application that encourages children to practice Scientific INQuiry skills through collaborative participation. Second, we conducted a case study of SINQ with six children, ages 8-11, and collected log data of their interactions in the app. We applied learning analytics on this log data using a visual analytic tool called LifeFlow. The event-sequence visualizations showed how children engaged with scientific inquiry within the SINQ app, and most importantly illuminated how inquiry is not a linear process with a defined start and end. The children in our study traversed the inquiry process via diverse pathways, all of which were supported by the SINQ app.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of IDC 2013 - The 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
Pages427-430
Number of pages4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC 2013 - New York, NY, United States
Duration: Jun 24 2013Jun 27 2013

Publication series

NameACM International Conference Proceeding Series

Other

Other12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNew York, NY
Period6/24/136/27/13

Keywords

  • Children
  • Learning Analytics
  • Science Learning
  • Social Media

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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