Introduction to Scientific Visualization and Curriculum Blueprint
Introduction to Visualization 20.1
Visualization is
- Exploration
- Analysis
- Presentation
Exploration
- Choose visualization techniques to help search for relationships
- Look for new ways of representing data
- Evaluate variables to help chose visualization method
- Usually a personal process
Analysis
- Prepare data
- Use new visualization techniques to represent analyses
- Can be micro-scale - numeric values - or macro-scale - whole image
Presentation
- Choose visualization technique to present to an audience
- Use effective presentation techniques - avoid data distortion
- Determine knowledge of your audience
- Choose a distribution mechanism
The goal is insight
- Personal insight as a scientist/technologist
- Enlightening an audience to a phenomena
Good visualization technique
- Taps innate perceptual ability
- Uses the right tool for the right job
- Is efficient is its use of color, form, and symbols
Curriculum Blueprint
Background
- Developed by team of teachers and consultants over past two years
- Two course sequence of which the second is just completed
- Meant to be taught in conjuction with a separate science course
Goals
- Use visualization techniques to help search for relationships
- Look for new ways of representing data
- Understanding of underlying geometric and perceptual principles
- Evaluate variables to help chose visualization method
- Determine audience and proper medium for presentation
- Develop familiarity with computer-based technology used to create and
present visualizations