Using Aesthetic Computing as a Method for Customizing Model Structure: An Empirical Study

We present empirical results from a new approach, Aesthetic Computing to customizing model structures for designing models for systems found in mathematics and computer simulation. At the University of Florida, we have taught the methodology of Aesthetic Computing as a separate class, and within the context of a Simulation class. Students in the simulation class were taught the method and then subsequently allowed to construct their own interactive 3D representations of typical simulation model structures such as Petri nets and finite state automata. While using the method, natural issues arise, questioning where aesthetic computing can provide benefit in model representation. To help answer such questions, a student needs to be presented with a body of knowledge that represents the “aesthetic computing technique,” and then the student applies this knowledge to create the modeling artifacts. We present recent empirical studies from two classes, Aesthetic Computing and Computer Simulation, where aesthetic “methods/techniques” were employed. From the studies, we determined that there were several key results associated with Aesthetic Computing: 1) the ability for the student to be more creative in building their own custom models, and 2) the ability to improve perceived communication of technical topics (e.g., associated with the models) to non-experts.