Evaluating the Impact of a Culturally Localized Geo-Visualization Platform on Geoscience Learning: The Arabic Earth Now Platform Study

Arabic Earth Now (AEN) is an interactive data visualization platform, initially developed as a localization version of NASA’s Eyes to visualize satellite data and provide learning about Earth and space science. AEN is further extended into a geo-dome globe simulator to support immersive, spatially rich learning experiences. Despite advances in geo-visualization, there remains a critical gap in research on how cultural localization and immersive presentation formats influence geoscience education, particularly among Arab learners. Moreover, the potential of localized platforms to enhance awareness of national scientific contributions remains underexplored. Hence, our contribution in this study how interaction with AEN and the simulator influences user engagement and learning outcomes. It contributes new insights into the role of culturally relevant data visualization in geoscience education. We examined the impact of AEN in a festival educational event to assess the students' engagement with AEN. Students of primary, inetrmeidate, secondary and univerysity graduation levels, were assigned to interact with AEN and the simulator in order to assess their impact before and after engagement. The students first experience the platform, and subsequently, they provide their feedback about their experience via an anonymous questionnaire. Students have shown a high level of engagement after interacting with AEN and indicate their motivation and higher intentions to reuse it again. Our findings demonstrate that AEN offers a highly engaging educational experience, as evidenced by the collected data. However, the analysis reveals a gap in effectively integrating geo-education with geo-visualization tools to enhance student participation. These results underscore the critical role of data visualization in enriching educational content and suggest that its strategic implementation can significantly improve both student and educator engagement within geoscience learning environments and fostering greater engagement. Additionally, the study highlights the value of localizing NASA’s Eyes as AEN to serve as an effective tool for geoscience learning.