final project: dynamic ontology maps

`ontology`



1. The science or study of being; that department of metaphysics which relates to the being or esscence of things, or to being in the abstract.


2. A specification of a conceptualization or knowledge structure.


3. A set of well-founded constructs that can be leverages to build
meaningful higher level knowledge.

`map`



L. mappa, in class.L. 'table-cloth, napkin', but in ,ed.L. used in the combination mappa mundi.




1. A representation of the Earth's surface or a part of it, its physical and political features, etc., or of the heavens, delineated on a flat surface of paper or other material, each point in the drawing corresponding to a geographical or celestial positition according to a definate scale or projection.


2. A table, chart.  Also, applied to a mental conception of the arrangement of something,


3. A diagram representing the spatial distribution of anything or the relative positions of its components.

`dynamic`



1. Of or pertaining to force producing motion: often opposed to static.


2. Active, potent, energetic, effective.

The information age is the age of collecting. Individuals accumulate bookmarks, and mp3s. News sites accumulate articles (e.g., New York Times, Slashdot). Digital libraries (e.g., our own Tamu library) accumulate general collection of books and journals, as well as more specialized collections (e.g., Perseus and the National Science Digital Library). Corporations accumulate reports and other data forms. You yourself, in the course of this class, have been accumulating journal entries, and media elements.

The large collections problem deals with the issues of presenting these collections to users. Search, of course, is one approach. But how can we search work when the user does not know what to search for? And is it always the best paradigm, anyway? Search requires recell, rather than affording recognition.

Navigation, as you will recall, enables us to recognize where we are and where we can go, and what is "nearby," that is, related. Dynamic navigation uses interaction to trigger particular views of a structured collection of information elements, with the goal of facilitating getting around. Dynamic navigation has the potential to create means to simplify the representation of the full set of elements of a collection, and to enable more detail in the response to gesture.

Ontologies are underlying knowledge structures. They can be represented in the form of metadata, which facilitates a collection's conveyance of meaning. Maps are spatial presentations of information.

Use ontologies, maps, and dynamic navigation to solve the large collections problem. Give the user some sense other than that there is too much information. Make the collection accessible, understandable, visible, clear.

By default, the collection you will work on will be your journal + media elements. There are also a few options to work on other collections. These will be presented in class. It is also possible for you to define another collection for yourself. That would be extra work, but you may find it more satisfying, and thus worthwhile. You MUST have my approval to work on an alternative collection.

components

ontology Define a new knowledge structure to meaningfully organize your collection.
map Create a spatial metaphor for presenting the collection with the ontology.
dynamic navigation Use dynamic interaction, and techniques such as animation, focus+context visualization, and data visualization to create a dynamic interactive mechanism for navigation.
new nodes Create new nodes on affordance, ontology, map, interface ecosystem. Integrate them with your collection.

Like the midterm, the final project is due as a series of installments, which embody an iterative process. More details will be posted weekly.

concept \| ontology \| map sketches	due tuesday, 11/23
(oral presentations 11/18, 11/23)
interactive prototypes \| storyboards	due thursday, 12/2
complete final	due thursday, 12/9