Pratim Sengupta

1. Designing
Learner
Interactions
For
Agent
Based
Computational
Systems
Pratim
Sengupta
Mind,
Matter
&
Media
Lab
Vanderbilt
University
–
Peabody
College

2. Design
Goal
* To
integrate
agent-­‐based
modeling
with
K12
science
education
* Rather
than
teaching
separate
CS
courses,
we
propose
an
integrated
approach
where
programming,
modeling
and
learning
science
co-­‐occur
* Focus
on
long-­‐term
development,
not
just
in-­‐the-­‐moment
learning
* This
requires
rethinking
the
design
of
programming
languages
* We
have
been
designing
VIMAP
to
address
these
issues
For
a
detailed
discussion
see
Sengupta,
P.
et
al..
(2013
/
in
press)
[LINK];
Sengupta,
P.
et
al.,
(2012)
{LINK}

3. UX
Themes
* Agent-­‐based
Computation
* Phenomenological
Interfaces
* Presence
&
Immersion
* Narratives
* Learning
vs.
Development
* Learners’
Regimes
of
Competence

4. Three
Primary
“Modes”
of
Interaction
with
ViMAP
*
Visual
Programming
and
modeling
* Drag-­‐and-­‐drop
interface
for
algorithm
design
* Dynamic
highlighting
to
support
algorithm
visualization
* Multiple,
integrated
microworlds
to
support
design
of
mathematical
measures
* Image
computation
* A
version
of
ViMAP
that
focuses
on
media
computation
* ViMAP
–
Tangible
* ViMAP
integrated
with
sensors

9. Thank
YOU!
* To
learn
more:
* Mind,
Matter
&
media
Lab
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/m3lab
* ViMAP
http://www.visualprogramming.org
Research
reported
here
is
funded
by
NSF
Early
CAREER
Award
#
1150230