Analysis of Types, Positioning and Appearance of Visualizations in Online Teaching Environments to Improve Learning Experiences

In this paper we investigate different visualizations of learners’ data related to collaborative online learning in terms of suitability and attractiveness to students. Furthermore, we analyze whether positioning and color appearance of these data visualizations might have an effect on learners’ behavior. To that end, we conducted an online study (n = 120) as well as an eye tracking study (n = 20) to compare different types of visualizations. Results show that students prefer classical data visualizations like bar charts. Visualizations placed in the sidebar of a two column web interface get less attention than visualizations in the header of the main content area. Color schemes do not seem to influence the perception of visualizations. We discuss possible explanations and implications for designing data visualizations in learning environments.