RAPT Lab: Representations, Activity, Play, and Technology Lab
Projects: Net.Create and VFOI
Net.Create is a collaborative network visualization tool developed to help users explore a large corpus of data concurrently together. This was originally implemented in undergraduate history classrooms, and more recently we have worked with middle school students to explore data literacy and their collective funds of identity.
Net.Create was originally developed to support undergraduate history classrooms, with a focus on how dynamic, collaboratively constructed visualization could help students see both big-picture patterns and local nuance in a large text (e.g., a data set). We immediately saw the potential of this approach for exploring complex data sets across a range of ages and topics. Subsequent experimentations included creating a network visualization for several undergraduate and graduate level courses, as well as a visualization of our research team’s overlapping interests in hobbies and research topics. In our most recent iteration, we’ve explored how this kind of visualization can serve as a space for exploring collective identity, data literacy, and other concepts in middle-school classrooms.
Here is a small network showing the relationship between RAPT, our research interests, and Net.Create:
For additional example networks, including the networks that 5th and 6th grade students explored, see our examples page.
Funding for the the iterations of the Net.Create and VFOI Project
| Grant Name | Funding Agency | Grant Number | Co-PIs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collaborative Research: Integrating Students’ Interests, Identities and Ways of Knowing with Network Visualization Tools to Explore Data Literacy Concepts | NSF | 2241705 & 2241706 | Joshua Danish, Kalani Craig, Cindy Hmelo-Silver, Ben Loh, Merijke Coenraad |
| EAGER: Net.Create: Using Network Analysis to Support Digital Humanities in Large History Classrooms | NSF | 1848655 | Kalani Craig, Joshua Danish, Cindy Hmelo-Silver, Ben Loh |
Publications on the Net.Create and VFOI Project
2024
- Zhou, M., Steinberg, S., Stiso, C., Danish, J. A., & Craig, K. (2024). Using network visualizations to engage elementary students in locally relevant data literacy. Information and Learning Sciences, 125(3/4), 209-231. paper
2023
- Stiso, C., Zhou, M., Steinberg, S., Danish, J. A. & Craig, K. (2023). Visualizing Funds of Identity: Using Network Software to Model Collective Identity in a Classroom. In Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2023. poster
- Zhou, M., Steinberg, S., Stiso, C., Danish, J. A. & Craig, K. (2023). Exploring Network Visualization of Data in Elementary Classroom. In Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2023. paper
2021
- Craig, K., Danish, J., Humburg, M., Hmelo-Silver, C., Szostalo, M., & McCranie, A. (2021). Net.Create: Network Visualization to Support Collaborative Historical Knowledge Building. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. paper
- Humburg, M. A., Craig, K., Danish, J., & Szostalo, M. (2021). Fostering Historical Empathy Through Network Analysis: Personal Experiences as a Lens for Understanding the Past. Paper presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), held virtually (due to COVID-19).
- Humburg, M., Craig, K., Szostalo, M., Danish, J., Hmelo-Silver, C., & McCranie, A. (2021). Noticing, Understanding, and Encouraging Positive Engagement with Collaborative History Learning. Paper presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS), Bochum, Germany (held virtually due to COVID-19). paper
2020
- Craig, K., Danish, J., Bae, H., Szostalo, M., Humburg, M. A., Hmelo-Silver, C. E., & McCranie, A. (2020). Net.Create: Network Analysis in Collaborative Co-Construction of Historical Context in a Large Undergraduate Classroom. Paper presented at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, CA (Conference cancelled due to COVID-19).
- Craig, K., Danish, J., Humburg, M., Szostalo, M., McCranie, A., & Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2020). Net. Create: network analysis in collaborative co-construction of historical context in a large undergraduate classroom. Paper presented at the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), Nashville, TN. paper
- Craig, Kalani, Humburg, Megan, Danish, Joshua, Szostalo, Maksymilian, Hmelo-Silver, Cindy E. , McCranie, Ann (2020) Increasing students’ social engagement during COVID-19 with Net.Create: collaborative social network analysis to map historical pandemics during a pandemic, Information and Learning Sciences, Vol. 121 No. 7/8 (July 2020), pp. 533-547. paper
2019
- Bae, H., Craig, K., Danish, J., Hmelo-Silver, C. E., Uttamchandani, S., Szostalo, M., & McCranie, A. (2019). The Power of Network Analysis Tool for Collaborative Learning. In Lund, K., Niccolai, G. P., Lavoué, E., Hmelo-Silver, C., Gweon, G., & Baker, M. (Eds.), A Wide Lens: Combining Embodied, Enactive, Extended, and Embedded Learning in Collaborative Settings, 13th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 2019, Volume 2 (pp. 1025-1028). Lyon, France: International Society of the Learning Sciences. paper
- Bae, H., Craig, K., Danish, J., Hmelo-Silver, C., Uttamchandani, S., & Szostalo, M. (2019). Mediating Collaboration in History with Network Analysis. In Lund, K., Niccolai, G. P., Lavoué, E., Hmelo-Silver, C., Gweon, G., & Baker, M. (Eds.), A Wide Lens: Combining Embodied, Enactive, Extended, and Embedded Learning in Collaborative Settings, 13th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 2019, Volume 2 (pp. 949-950). Lyon, France: International Society of the Learning Sciences. poster abstract
- Mccranie, A., Bae, H., Craig, K., Danish, J., Uttamchandani, S., Szostalo, M., & Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2019). How to Support Network Capta and Collaborative Data Entry through Net.Create, Open Source Software. Paper presented at the NetSci, Burlington, VT.
2017
- Craig, K. (2017). Analog tools in digital history classrooms: An activity-theory case study of learning opportunities in digital humanities. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 11(1), n1.