research-article

Fluid Grouping: Quantifying Group Engagement around Interactive Tabletop Exhibits in the Wild

Authors:

James Hammerman,

Jonathan Christiansen,

Brenda Phillips,

E. Margaret Evans,

Chia ShenAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '15: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Pages 867 - 876

https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702231

Published: 18 April 2015 Publication History

Abstract

Interactive surfaces are increasingly common in museums and other informal learning environments where they are seen as a medium for promoting social engagement. However, despite their increasing prevalence, we know very little about factors that contribute to collaboration and learning around interactive surfaces. In this paper we present analyses of visitor engagement around several multi-touch tabletop science exhibits. Observations of 629 visitors were collected through two widely used techniques: video study and shadowing. We make four contributions: 1) we present an algorithm for identifying groups within a dynamic flow of visitors through an exhibit hall; 2) we present measures of group-level engagement along with methods for statistically analyzing these measures; 3) we assess the effect of observational techniques on visitors' engagement, demonstrating that consented video studies do not necessarily reflect visitor behavior in more naturalistic circumstances; and 4) we present an analysis showing that groups of two, groups with both children and adults, and groups that take turns spend longer at the exhibits and engage more with scientific concepts.

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Index Terms

Fluid Grouping: Quantifying Group Engagement around Interactive Tabletop Exhibits in the Wild
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing

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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI '15: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

April 2015

4290 pages

ISBN:9781450331456

DOI:10.1145/2702123

General Chairs:
Bo Begole
Huawei, USA
,
Jinwoo Kim
Yonsei University, Korea
,
Program Chairs:
Kori Inkpen
Microsoft Research, USA
,
Woontack Woo
KAIST, Korea

Copyright © 2015 ACM.

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Published: 18 April 2015

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CHI '15: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

April 18 - 23, 2015

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3670947.3670970
Pedrassoli Chitayat ACoates ABlock FDrachen AWalker JDean JMcconachie MYork P(2024)From Passive Viewer to Active Fan: Towards the Design and Large-Scale Evaluation of Interactive Audience Experiences in Esports and BeyondProceedings of the 2024 ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences10.1145/3639701.3656318(94-107)Online publication date: 7-Jun-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3639701.3656318
Soni NObajemu OJurczyk KPeddireddy CVallee MTierney ASaririan NZuck CStofer KAnthony L(2024)A Comparative Usability Study of Physical Multi-touch versus Virtual Desktop-Based Spherical Interfaces2024 IEEE Conference Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)10.1109/VR58804.2024.00100(806-816)Online publication date: 16-Mar-2024
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Li QWang JLuo T(2022)Evaluating Interactive Digital Exhibit Characteristics in Science Museums and Their Effects on Child EngagementInternational Journal of Human–Computer Interaction10.1080/10447318.2022.212658440:3(838-849)Online publication date: 14-Oct-2022
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