SI 649: Information Visualization

Fall 1999 -- 3 Credits

Meets: Th. 1-4pm, Room 311 West Hall

Instructor:

Prof. George W. Furnas
310 West Hall
Voice: 734/763-0076
FAX: 734/764-2475
Email: furnas@umich.edu
Prof. Furnas' Home Page
Office Hrs: Wed 11am-12noon

COURSE WEBSITE: http://www.si.umich.edu/Classes/649

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The rise of the Information Age and the ascendancy of Computer Graphics come together in the area of Information Visualization, where interactive graphical interfaces are used for revealing structure, extracting meaning, and navigating large and complex information worlds.

This graduate level course will provide an in depth introduction to the state-of-the-art in information visualization. Through a series of readings, video tapes and discussions, we will look at various strategies that have been developed, including their static, dynamic, and interactive aspects, and try to understand when, where and why they work. In addition there will be an effort to place Information Visualization in the more general contexts of visualization (e.g., as used in statistics and physics) and information work.

Required Background:

Required Texts:
  1. Card, Stuart K., Mackinlay, Jock D., and Shneiderman, Ben, Readings in Information Visualization:Using Vision to Think, Morgan Kaufmann1999.
  2. SI-649 Course Pack (at Excel, 1117 South Univ.) ~$29

Optional Text:

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Class Participation  (10%)

2. Presentation of one of the readings for class discussion (20%)

3. Group projects  (70%)
 

ABOUT PRESENTING THE READINGS
Summarize what you understand to be the main points. Since everyone else will also have read the paper, the summary need not be long.  Primarily it will set the context for discussion, though it may be a stimulus in itself as others in class may have a different opinion about what the points really are.

Show any additional examples you may have found of material in the paper (e.g., from the web, videos or demos that Prof. Furnas has.)

Then present

This will typically require about 4-6 overheads. Your goal is to help the class gain depth of insight into the readings they have read. You must be clear, organized, and prepared.

Note:  Prof. Furnas will set context and motivate readings up front, and will comment along the way.

ABOUT GROUP PROJECTS
The class will divide up into groups of roughly 3-5 each to work on projects in Information Visualization.  The group members are expected to contribute essentially equally to the effort. You will have to work this out together.

1. Some examples:
     Group formulates information visualization problem and designs a visualization interface
     Groups with appropriate talents might actually do a toy implementation
     Group obtains visualization. software from somewhere else; installs, explores and demos it here.

2. Presentation: The last two class sessions are dedicated to the groups presenting their projects.  These will be done jointly, i.e., you will have to work out ways divide up the presentation.

3. Write-up: Your personal treatise on what the group did and why, including the project's relation to broader topics in the course. (Hint: Show what you learned in the class!) There will also be a 1-page form for evaluating your project-mates' contributions to the effort.

STRUCTURE OF TYPICAL CLASS - 3 hrs.:

FURTHER COURSE MATERIALS