Explorable explanation: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:31, 26 April 2024

Latest revision as of 13:59, 9 June 2025

(2 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)

Line 1:

{{short description|Form of informativeinformational media}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}

[[File:Parable of the Polygons drag & drop.png|thumb|329x329px|Screenshot from ''[[Parable of the Polygons]]'' by [[Nicky Case]], an explorable explanation that simulates [[racial segregation]], which allows the audience to control how "shapist" the entities in the simulation are.]]

An '''explorable explanation''' (often shortened to ''explorable'') is a form of informativeinformational media where an [[interactive]] [[Simulation|computer simulation]] of a given concept is presented, along with some form of guidance (usually prose) that suggests ways that the audience can [[Learning|learn]] from the simulation. Explorable explanations encourage users to discover things about the concept for themselves, and test their expectations of its behaviour against its actual behaviour, promoting a more [[Active learning|active]] form of learning than reading or listening.

== Definition ==

Line 14:

A few video games may be considered explorable explanations. For example, [[Sim City]] uses a complex city simulation that is intended<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archinect.com/features/article/112824468/the-theory-of-everything-in-sandbox-city-will-wright-s-keynote-at-acadia-2014 |title=The theory of everything in sandbox city: Will Wright's keynote at ACADIA 2014 |website=Archinect |language=en |access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref> to present issues that appear in real-world [[urban planning]]. Many other games in the [[Simulation video game|simulation]] genre have a similar intention, although with many it is not a necessity that the simulation be scientifically accurate. In the [[Puzzle video game|puzzle]] genre, games such as [[Incredipede]] also involve interacting with systems with the intention of learning. Video games may not involve explanatory text or narration.

[[Educational video game]]s have an overlap with explorable explanations,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://explorabl.es/|title=FAQ {{!}} Explorable Explanations |website=explorabl.es |access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Seskir|first1=Zeki C.|last2=Migdał|first2=Piotr|last3=Weidner|first3=Carrie|last4=Anupam|first4=Aditya|last5=Case|first5=Nicky|last6=Davis|first6=Noah|last7=Decaroli|first7=Chiara|last8=Ercan|first8=İlke|last9=Foti|first9=Caterina|last10=Gora|first10=Paweł|last11=Jankiewicz|first11=Klementyna|last12=La Cour|first12=Brian R.|last13=Malo|first13=Jorge Yago|last14=Maniscalco|first14=Sabrina|last15=Naeemi|first15=Azad|last16=Nita|first16=Laurentiu|last17=Parvin|first17=Nassim|last18=Scafirimuto|first18=Fabio|last19=Sherson|first19=Jacob F.|last20=Surer|first20=Elif|last21=Wootton|first21=James|last22=Yeh|first22=Lia|last23=Zabello|first23=Olga|last24=Chiofalo|first24=Marilù|title=Quantum games and interactive tools for quantum technologies outreach and education|journal=Optical Engineering|volume=61|issue=8|pages=081809|year=2022|arxiv=2202.07756|doi=10.1117/1.OE.61.8.081809}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}</ref>, summarized as:

{{blockquote|Science-based games [...] primarily focus on creating an experience sparking intrinsic motivation, that is, students play for fun, but learn in the process, as their gaming experience requires learning concepts to proceed or provides an explorative pathway through the game that promotes learning. [...] Explorable explanations (or “explorables”) come at educational games from the opposite direction: instead of “games, but with science communication added,” they are “science communication, but with interactivity added”.}}

Line 29:

Many explorable explanations predate the popular use of the phrase.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singley|first=Mark K.|title=Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems Reaching through technology - CHI '91 |chapter=Molehill |date=1991|___location=New York, NY |publisher=ACM |pages=439–440 |doi=10.1145/108844.108992 |isbn=9780897913836|s2cid=21614588}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Redmiles|first=David F.|title=Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '93 |chapter=Reducing the variability of programmers' performance through explained examples |date=1993|___location=New York, NY|publisher=ACM|pages=[https://archive.org/details/interchi93confer0000unse/page/67 67–73]|doi=10.1145/169059.169082|isbn=9780897915755|s2cid=13014326|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/interchi93confer0000unse/page/67|doi-access=free}}</ref> For example, the [[PLATO (computer system)|Plato system]], a computer-assisted instructional system created in 1960 depicted to the right, used interactive examples to teach concepts to students.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hackeducation.com/2018/01/25/plato|title=PLATO and the History of Education Technology (That Wasn't)|date=January 2, 2018|website=Hack Education|language=en-US|access-date=March 27, 2019}}</ref> In 1996, [[Mitchel Resnick]] created an explorable explanation of [[emergence]] using [[Conway's Game of Life]] as an example.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.playfulinvention.com/emergence/|title=Exploring Emergence |website=www.playfulinvention.com |access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref>

The target audience for explorable explanations has historically been limited by available [[Software Platformplatform|software distribution platforms]] (although some have been made for specific museums, without any intention of wider distribution, including some created by [[Karl Sims]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.karlsims.com/rd-exhibit.html|title=Reaction-Diffusion Media Wall |website=www.karlsims.com |access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref>). Due to the fact that explorable explanations have not previously been successfully [[Monetization|monetized]], physical media such as [[CD-ROM]]s could not be considered. Since the 2000s, explorable explanations have become more common, because of widespread internet access and increased [[computer graphics]] possibilities within [[web browser]]s, for example via [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]], [[WebGL]], and [[Canvas element|HTML5 canvas]] [[API]]. This allows complex simulations to be accessed instantly and shared on social media.

Wikipedia has some examples of basic explorable explanations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Conic_section_interactive_visualisation.svg|title=conic section interactive visualisation |website=upload.wikimedia.org |access-date=March 27, 2019}}</ref>