A design process for developing Ocean Data Explorations

Over the past 5 years, the Ocean Data Labs project has developed a series of online interactive data visualizations that incorporate cutting-edge research datasets available from the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). These activities, which we call "Data Explorations," are designed to support science concepts commonly taught in introductory oceanography courses. Each exploration features an interactive data widget that allows students to explore a curated and canned dataset, but with enough interactivity to support their own process of inquiry. Additional content on each page includes background information and a number of orientation and interpretation questions, which ultimately guides students towards answering a higher-level research question. We have identified a 6-step process that has helped inform our development efforts, especially as we have integrated faculty instructors into the design process. The process includes a) identifying scientific concepts and skills, b) matching educational goals with available instrumentation or research results, c) finding available instrument data, d) cleaning up the dataset, e) building interactive visualizations, and f) adding context and educational surrounds. This paper presents some of the lessons and recommendations we have learned while developing thirty-one activities, which we hope will help others interested in developing similar activities.