Because fractal images are by nature very complex, it can be inspiring and instructive to create the code in the classroom and watch the fractal image evolve as the user slowly changes some important parameter or zooms in and out of the image. Uses programming language that permits the user to store and retrieve a graphics image as a disk file.…

Describes Wavemaker, a simulation environment developed to graphically reveal the behavior of periodic systems using a series of increasingly sophisticated visual tools. Results indicate that the software is helpful in connecting real to simulated systems. (Author/CCM)

Geographic information system (GIS) technology is a rapidly growing and powerful method for managing and analyzing spatial data and information for libraries. This article introduces GIS basic concepts, reviews GIS usage in libraries, and presents some challenges, strengths, and opportunities for libraries and GIS. Six figures illustrate the…

Using computer graphics such as drawings, charts, and figures in textual instruction can enhance learning by providing a spatial concept of what is being read. It is important for instructional designers to determine the specific instructional objectives to be met, what level of comprehension they want learners to achieve, and how to use the…

Demonstrates a method of visual analysis which takes advantage of the pooling technique of topic-document set creation in the TREC collection. Describes the procedures used to create the initial visual fields, and their respective treatments as vectors without stemming and vectors with stemming; discusses results of these treatments and…

Observes that U.S. history textbooks include vast numbers of illustrations, but that authors and publishers seldom integrate the pictures with the historical narrative. Advises images be incorporated into lessons to examine the events illustrated, why the picture was created, how it was received, and what it meant to contemporaries. (DSK)

The method described permits visual analysis of information retrieval (IR) experiment results in classic control and treatment group protocols. It is an additional analysis technique for the evaluation of IR procedures that may be conducted within the rich terrain of human visual acuity, supported by two well-known statistical measures. (Contains…

In social work the ability to verbally support assessments undertaken in the workplace is an important skill which is not usually assessed. This case study describes the experience of using posters for assessment and includes feedback from students who chose the option of presenting a poster and those who did not. (Contains 8 references.)…

Notes that the manner in which the author was using the incorporation of electronic slides into his lectures allowed students to become disengaged from the learning process. Presents strategies to combat disengagement and strategies to supplement textbook slides. Concludes that student disengagement can be counteracted with limited expenditure of…

Computer vision offers a variety of techniques for searching for pictures in large collections of images. Appearance methods compare images based on the overall content of the image using certain criteria. Finding methods concentrate on matching subparts of images, defined in a variety of ways, in hope of finding particular objects. These ideas…

The Library of Congress (LC) has increasingly created digital reproductions of visual materials to enhance access to its resources. This article describes selected aspects of LC's practical experience and current practices from digital capture through interactions with users, with an emphasis on the integration of access to pictorial images online…

The MARIE project explores knowledge-based information retrieval of captioned images of the kind found in picture libraries and on the Internet. MARIE's five-part approach exploits the idea that images are easier to understand with context, especially descriptive text near them, but it also does image analysis. Experiments show MARIE prototypes…

Identifies conceptions that students have with regard to the construction of graphs representing everyday situations in a computer learning environment using a GRAPHIC plotter, and examines the resistance of alternative conceptions to formal instruction. Following instruction, no significant improvement in students' performance was observed.…

Focuses on teaching visual-literacy skills and multimedia. Discusses using visual images with verbal text to help students remember, helping students communicate by creating visual images, and categories of visual materials. A chart illustrates use of analogical graphics as figures of speech. (AEF)

Explores sketch maps as an easy-to-use and easy-to-understand tool for assessing library skills, knowledge, and interest among individuals and groups. The underlying principles are found in research done with maps and surveys collected for environmental psychology, urban planning, and human geography. Includes nine figures of map examples and an…