Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
cept maps reduce cognitive load in learning and
improve recall of information. They support the
learning about new concepts by actively construct-
ing knowledge. Six steps in designing a concept
map include preparing project, generating ideas,
structuring ideas (sorting and rating), computing
maps (using multidimensional scaling and cluster
analysis), interpreting maps, and utilizing maps
(Trochim, 2006). The lines or arcs (that can be
one-way, two-way, or non-directional) connect
nodes representing concepts (displayed usually in
boxes or circles) and denote relationships between
concepts. Concept maps integrate information and
knowledge visualization, thus giving the overview
about knowledge and holistic understanding of the
relationship between concepts. They enable brows-
ing information resources. The map can serve
for spatial presentation for imaging non-spatial
relationships. A map metaphor is widely used to
visualize non-geographic knowledge domains.
As Bertschi and Bubenhofer (2005) recalled,
according to the Wittgenstein's constructivist
concept of learning, viewers give meaning to
the concept through the way they use it. They
gain the first-order knowledge as an awareness
of object, and then meta-knowledge as knowl-
edge about things, meanings, associations, and
possible improvements. Third-order knowledge
involves comprehension or conclusion about
meaning: how it is and why it is that way. Such
mental processes are always socially or culturally
mediated and context-specific. Internal con-
structions evolve, as culture enters our personal
understanding. A source of mediation can be an
artifact, a system of symbols, behavior of others,
but mostly language (signs and symbols), with
meaning making resulting from people's active
participation in social and cultural contexts and
settings. Knowledge visualization has to be
impressive, work identically in all recipients'
heads, and has to be conformable to all existing
linguistic patterns. Knowledge visualization acts
as a mirror of linguistic (or idiomatic) coinage,
which in turn is a mirror image of culture and
context (Bertschi and Bubenhofer, 2005).
3.4. Knowledge Maps
Knowledge maps is a subset of knowledge vi-
sualization that helps to find the knowledge and
build assessment of particular sets of informa-
tion. Thus, according to Burkhard et al. (2005),
frameworks for knowledge maps involve questions
about their function type (what?), recipient type
(whom?), and map type (how?) that may include
an experience based heuristic, diagrammatic,
metaphoric, geographic, 3D, interactive, or mental
map. A search for information usually consists
of browsing visually by visiting web pages with
their images, and querying - entering individual
queries into the web search engines. Knowledge
maps often provide features such as houses, stores,
or bridges, and their connections, for example
by roads, forests, or rivers, and use cartographic
symbols. They show changes, interrelationships,
and help to design strategies.
A project “My Virtual Town: Communication
Links“ presents visual presentation of communi-
cation media and related concepts and processes
existing in an everyday schedule of the project
author's activities. After creating this map, the
author - the University of Northern Colorado
student discovered that he felt like practically
living within the Internet (Figure 6).
3.5. Network Visualization, Web-
Search Result Visualization
Keyword search is not efficient any more because
the size of the data causes information overload.
Search results have been mostly presented in rank-
ordered lists spread over multiple pages. The user
could only view the top 10 ranks in a window and
spend more time on searching, surfing, and shifting
data than on using them. Visual search machines
present information with the use of information
visualization, data mining, and semantic web.
