Visualization
Design Principles
Seminar Description
This is the first in a
series of seminars which will examine issues surrounding the design
of visuals for learning. A brief overview of the three major groups
or types of graphics -- representational, analogical, and arbitrary
(i.e. charts, graphs, etc.) -- will be presented and discussed.
Lots of examples will be presented and discussed, including everyday
uses of visuals in advertising, newspapers, magazines, and television.
A historical context will also be considered to show how visualization
strategies have long served people in the problem-solving process.
An important goal is to show how people (adults and children)
and computers may work collaboratively in the learning process.
This seminar will include with a brief review of a series of design
principles suitable to guide multimedia development. Click
here to see the agenda for this seminar.
This seminar will be presented
by Lloyd Rieber.
Seminar Preparation
Go through some of your
favorite magazines and consider examples of how a graphic or visual
is being used to teach or communicate some idea. Bring your favorite
example to class to share.
Reading
Preface and Chapter 1 from Lloyd Rieber's
Computers, Graphics, & Learning.
NOTE: This book
is free, but you have to know the address of a private web site to get to it.
I will be emailing this web site to all Computer Graphic SIG members. Others
should just complete the registration located on the book's public web site.
Introduction and Chapter 1 (Images and
Quantities) from Edward Tufte's Visual Explanations.
Click here
to see my notes of this chapter.
Seminar
Agenda
Purpose and goals of this
seminar series
Everyday Visualization Examples
Visualization Examples
from History
- John Snow's map detailing
a cholera outbreak in London in 1854 (CGL Resource; also in CGL online
book)
- Charles
Minard's Map of Napolean's Russian Campaign of 1812
- Plate tectonics (C,G, & Learning
Resource)
- Airplane armor during
World War II (C,G,
& Learning Resource)
- Isaac Newton's invention
of calculus (C,G,
& Learning Resource)
- The science of chaos:
Computers and people working in partnership to create a new science
(HyperCard
Stack)
The "C, G, & Learning"
Resource, Chaos HyperCard Stack, and other resources, can be found
on the COE-Lab Shared Server (COE-Labs Shared/STUDENTS/LRIEBER/OUTBOX/Studio
Courses/Lloyd's Seminars).
Overview of Graphics in
Education
- 3 Graphic Types: Representational,
Analogical, Arbitrary
The remaining seminars
in the Computer Graphics SIG.....
- Visualization Design
Principles II: Types of graphics; Instructional functions of
graphics; more examples
- Theory & Research
- Design princples for
static and animated graphics
- Visualization within
interactive learning environments: Microworlds, simulations,
& games
Computer Graphics SIG
assignments.....
- Read Chapters 2-3 of
CGL
before the next seminar
- Read Tufte chapter 2
before the next seminar
- Bring one everyday example
of visualization to the next seminar
- Find and present one
"historical example" sometime before the end of the
seminar series
- Create one "visual
explanation" using animation (to be a part of your independent
project)
- Invent a game (noncomputer
is OK) and present it before the end of the seminar series (need
inspiration? Watch "Z Games" on the Disney Channel)
Other Resources (to be explored
in future seminars)
Computer
graphic design principles (These come straight from the CGL online
book)
Other Web sites:
- Magic Eye Productions -- 3D Stereoscopic
Stuff
- http://www.vision3d.com/
-
- Explore Science
- http://www.explorescience.com/
-
- The difference between graphic
file formats:
- http://members.aol.com/arendsart/pages/infopgs/filetype.html
Films/Videos:
- Why Man Creates: A Series of Exploration/Episodes
& Comments
- Copyright 1968 Saul Bass Associates
-
- Powers of 10
- Copyright 1978 Media Inc.
-
- The Shape of Space
- (Copyright 1995 The Geometry Center;
Proprietary video -- access to viewing is limited)
Other Readings
Here are a variety of other related
readings that you may find useful:
- Kulhavy, R. W., Stock, W. A.,
& Kealy, W. A. (1993). How geographic maps increase recall
of instructional text. Educational Technology Research &
Development, 41(4), 47-62.
-
- Mayer, R. E. (1997). Multimedia
learning: Are we asking the right questions? Educational Psychologist,
32(1), 1-19.
-
- Rieber, L. P. (1995). A historical
review of visualization in human cognition. Educational Technology
Research & Development, 43(1), 45-56.
- (See Lloyd if you would
like to borrow a copy.)
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