A Context-Aware Browser Extension for Just-in-Time Learning of Data Literacy Skills

Abstract

Data was a topic previously reserved for expert computer scientists. However, the general public now uses data and visualizations to form opinions and make decisions that affect their lives, such as their health (e.g.: vaccines) and their political opinions (e.g.: gentrification). Unfortunately, few have access to the formal data literacy training required to analyze this data effectively [9]. Existing approaches to provide informal CS education include hackathons [8, 10], after school programs [1], and online tutorials [5]. However, these learning opportunities are often decontextualized from a learner's daily life and require them to go out of their way to learn. Our research investigates techniques to integrate informal learning opportunities seamlessly into people's everyday lives. Prior research in just-in-time learning shows how heuristics can be used in deterministic settings to provide explanations for code [3] and math equations [4]. However, this is challenging when there is no single correct way to interpret and explain content, such as in visualizations.We present Expert Goggles, a browser extension that automatically detects visualizations that people encounter on the web and provides just-in-time, contextually-relevant training modules to scaffold learning and interpretation.