Kathleen Bateman

Abstract of Master's Thesis: Three-Dimensional Virtual Environment for Adopting a Different Spatial Perspective
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The program's graphical interface presents a 3D perspective view of an environment. Simple geometric objects such as boxes and spheres can be placed in the 3D space and modified by the child. The location, rotation, and size of each geometric form can be interactively manipulated to demonstrate how each characteristic relates to the object. Additionally, more cameras may be added to the scene. Their positions and rotations can be changed in the same manner as the objects' spatial properties. In order to affirm the relationship between the child’s point of view of the world and the camera’s point of view, each camera in Viewpoints is referred to as a Person and is represented by a stick figure. Each stick figure illustrates the properties of its corresponding camera by matching its location, rotation, and color to that of the camera. In addition, each Person can be given a name adding another level of relationship to the child’s existing frame of reference.

Overall, the interface consists of three main components to organize the data being illustrated. The center presents a perspective view of the 3D environment. The left side provides areas to manipulate the properties of this particular camera. The right side allows for modifications to the currently selected object. I selected descriptor words with the target audience of 9-12 year olds in mind and then used them where appropriate. On a more comprehensive level, I designed the layout and behavior of graphical elements carefully, taking special notice of balance and coherency. Consistent use of color plays an important role in revealing connections between the 3D environment, the cameras, the objects, and the graphical user interface elements that provide the ability to manipulate camera and object properties.

Presentation slides from thesis defense.
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