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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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| Vol. XII, No.1 | A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
Sept. 2006
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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| Vol. XII, No.1 | A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
Sept. 2006
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Tools for Teaching Interactive Information Visualization SystemsBuilding Tools for Teaching Interactive Information Visualization Systems will provide Web resources for a relatively new and complex area of study involving information design, computer science, and cognitive psychology. Project director Sherry Koshman, School of Information Sciences, leads this project on information visualization using computer technology to produce a symbolic or graphical representation of data, information, or knowledge. Koshman explains, “Teaching information visualization faces two challenges: (1) the lack of interactive visualization systems that are set up and organized for students so that they may use the systems to develop new ideas, interfaces, and models, and (2) the need to augment current instructional delivery methods of lectures and assignments with dynamic system demonstrations.” Koshman will identify systems that represent primary models in information visualization (e.g., treemaps and scatter plot diagrams), acquire the software, and install it on a dedicated information visualization workstation to be used by students. Flash-based system videos also will be developed as classroom visualization system demonstrations. These tools will not only convey visualization display characteristics such as the use of shape, color, size and texture to students, but also will allow them to observe and explore interactive visualization features such as arranging, grouping, filtering, selecting, zooming, or connecting items. This project is innovative in bringing interactive visualization systems to life for courses such as LIS 2970, Information Visualization , which Koshman teaches. It provides a participatory learning model that reinforces information visualization concepts and enhances course delivery. Furthermore, using an annotation tool built into the system, students can insert evaluative comments on various visualization applications. One long-term goal is to create a dynamic Interactive Visualization Tool Web site to raise awareness among faculty at Pitt and other universities that teaching information visualization with a strong interactive component can enhance the quality of the student’s learning experience.
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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