Monday, February 8, 2010

Combining Visualization and Interactivity

The advancement in Web 2.0 and general web technologies means that the net can offer a much wider range of visualisation and interactivity than was previously possible. This means that it is possible to enagage different learning styles through actively providing resources that cater to them.

Some examples are featured below:

Voicethread, as previously mentioned is an excellent resource. Here is a project undertaken by Grade 4 students presenting on their school;









Voicethread allows users to interact and add their own comments (if permissions are set to allow) which makes it useful for online collaboration as well as global, flat classroom projects.

Another excellent set of tools that fall into the category of Visualisation and Interactivity concern collaborative whiteboarding. These tools allow students to work collaboratively on projects, usually of a graphical nature.

http://www.imaginationcubed.com/ allows users to invite emailed friends to collaborate

Another useful site that has a similar use is; http://www.dabbleboard.com/ Although not as visually attractive as Imagination Cubed it allows for more interaction between users via text, video, and audio chat.

http://www.twiddla.com/ goes even further, offering users not only collaboration, but the ability to embed media within presentations.

http://cosketch.com/ adds the extremely useful ability to work collaboratively, but also allows the embedding of Google Maps.


As Web 2.0 impacts upon the wider publishing world, major media outlets such as the BBC and the New York Times invest in technologies which allow viewers to interact with news reports. A recent example involved the tragic death of Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The NY Times reported on the incident and included the following interactive visualisation to enhance understanding of how the accident unfolded;

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/02/12/sports/olympics/LUGEDEATH.html



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