NetLogo AR: Bringing Room-Scale Real-World Environments Into Computational Modeling for Children

Computational modeling plays an important role in scientific research and education. However, many models do not communicate with the real world, which might limit their learning potential. In this proposal, we introduce the design of NetLogo AR, an authoring toolkit that transforms NetLogo agent-based computational models into room-scale AR experiences. We are inspired by studies that integrate real-world environments into computational models, including bifocal modeling and participatory simulation, and those that leverage Augmented Reality (AR) to create authoring tools for children. We describe our design goals that focus on raising the ceiling and lowering the threshold for potential AR designers: researchers, educators, and children. For the IDC conference, we propose an example learning activity to demonstrate the capabilities of NetLogo AR. By incorporating dynamic and unpredictable real-world inputs, NetLogo AR has the potential to inspire future designs of AR experiences and enrich the learning experiences of agent-based models for children.