Monthly Archives: May, 2007
The appeal of simulation
Google Maps recently launched its latest feature, a panoramic, street-level view of several major US cities. Despite not being the first of its kind, this is the most satisfying street-level simulation I have seen. In particular, what Google has brilliantly solved is the question of navigation and performance, once again demonstrating the importance of execution. [...]
Visualization as metaphor
In their paper Artistic Data Visualization: Beyond Visual Analytics, Fernanda B. Viégas and Martin Wattenberg claim that artistic data visualizations “…must be based on actual data, rather than the metaphors or surface appearance of visualization.” What they seem to be saying (though I will admit I may be reading too much into this statement) is [...]
Social constructionism and identity
Social constructionism states that the reality we perceive is constructed through social interactions. In education, constructionism has been used to support a curriculum emphasizing learning by doing, with interdisciplinary projects forming the foundation. Students, the theory goes, learn more effectively when they learn on the basis of experimentation, in particular when their gained knowledge finds [...]
Thoughts on universal design
I recently spoke to a student about the goals of the One Laptop per Child user interface, and was surprised at how difficult it was to answer the question as to how I felt about taking a ‘universal’ design approach. I was quick to defend my belief in universal design as a means by which [...]