Course Information

Course number:   Csc 586a / SENG 480A

Term:  Spring 2003

Title: Information Visualization & Knowledge Management

 

Location: Cornett Cornett A148

Lecture Hours:    MR:  11:30-1:00

Prerequisites:  Undergraduates must have a B or higher in a course on Human Computer Interaction.   There is no prerequisite for graduate students, but previous experience or interest in Human Computer Interaction is recommended.

Instructor: Dr. Margaret-Anne Storey

Office:   EOW 313 Office hours:   Monday 2:30-3:30, immediately after class and by appointment Email: mstorey@uvic.ca Web page:  http://www.csc.uvic.ca/~mstorey

Teaching Assistant:  Neil Ernst

Email: nernst@uvic.ca

Web page:

Course Objective and Themes

Visualizing and navigating large amounts of information is a challenging problem being faced in many knowledge domains.  Humans frequently rely on external cognitive aids such as maps, diagrams, tables and other visual metaphors.  These graphical tools are used not only to facilitate personal processing and management of information, but also for communicating mental models and information between humans.  Unfortunately, many of these static aids do not scale to the large, complex  information sources available today.  The information visualization and knowledge management communities have both made many exciting technological advancements to address these emerging demands.  These technologies are the focus of this course.

 

Throughout the term, we will explore the basic principles underlying many different visualization techniques, as well as learn the fundamentals of knowledge management and representation.  We will examine various systems, tools, techniques and visual metaphors, and learn how to critique and evaluate the different approaches.    Moreover we will explore applications and domains that have or could potentially benefit from the use of visualization.  We will learn how to develop new and innovative visualizations to support  information exploration, decision making, communication and information sharing in a variety of domains.   The focus of this course will primarily (but not exclusively) be on (visualizing abstract data that does not have a geometric or physical correspondence in the physical world.  A detailed list of the proposed topics and themes are listed below.

 

Class meetings will consist of traditional lectures led by the instructor, guest lecturers from both academia and industry, videos on information visualization, hands-on demonstrations,  in class exercises (individual and small group), class discussions, student presentations and student led workshops. The course will require extensive readings to be done in advance of lectures.  

Course Topics and Themes

• Creative design and innovation

• Data, Information and Knowledge

• Cognition and visual perception

• External cognitive aids

• Knowledge representation   

• Using 1D, 2D, 3D, >3D spaces for representing information

• Trees 

• Networks 

• Graph Drawing 

• Interaction styles

• Searching, queries 

• Focus + context 

• Zoomable interfaces 

• Hypertext

• Document Visualization

• Visualization on the web 

• Visualizing the Web 

• Personalized information spaces 

• Information Workspaces 

• Collaborative environments for visualization and knowledge management

• Customizing visualizations

• Evaluation of information visualization tools

• Software visualization

• eLearning and entertainment visualization

• Visualizing and managing medical information and knowledge

• Mobile devices and shared devices

• Visualization and GIS systems

Textbook(s)

Required:

Readings in Information Visualization:  Using Vision to Think, Edited by Card, MacKinlay and Shneiderman, Morgan Kaufmann, 2000.  

Other useful books:

• Knowledge Representation, John Sowa.

• Information Visualization:  Perception for Design, by Colin Ware, Morgan Kaufman.

• Computational Visualization:  Graphics, Abstraction and Interactivity, by Thomas Strothotte, Springer.

• Envisioning Information, Edward Tufte, Graphics Press.

• Visual Explanations, Edward Tufte, Graphics Press.

• Information Visualization, Robert Spence, Addison Wesley.

• ACM Information Visualization Proceedings.

• Information Anxiety, Richard Saul Wurman.
  

Additional related readings and links will be posted on this website throughout the term.

The following lists the important dates in the course (also see the schedule page for tentative dates on the assignments and the critiques).