Evaluation forest educational boards based on eye tracking analysis in a pilot study

Abstract

Abstract A thorough understanding of the visual behaviors of the audience interacting with the content on informational boards is crucial for developing training programs and facilitating communication between land managers, such as foresters, and the public. The aim of the study was to assess the extent of perception of information presented on educational boards in the forest by school-aged youth, thereby determining the usefulness of these panels in the environmental and forestry education of young people. We analyzed the variable eye movement of the respondent students using the Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye tracker. We generated heat maps to identify the elements on the boards that most strongly attracted the participants’ attention. For the determined areas of interest (header, description, image, footer), we generated standard fixation metrics. The fixation time for the image was consistently significantly longer than that for the header. The number of fixations was higher on the descriptions than on the images. School youth experienced slightly more difficulty in assimilating information conveyed through images that required deeper analysis compared to reading text or following diagrams. An effective design for an educational board may involves placing diagrams in a sequential layout with accompanying descriptions underneath.

Keywords

• Visual tracking
• Environmental education
• Outdoor education
• Urban forests
• Ecosystem service
• Education research