The Collaborative Visualization Project

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The Collaborative Visualization Project

Roy D. Pea

To cite this version:

Roy D. Pea. The Collaborative Visualization Project. Communications of the ACM, Association for

Computing Machinery, 1993, 36(5), pp.60-63. �hal-00190529�

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THE COLLABORATIVE .

2. >

. . I

-.

VISUALIZATION

^$.- ^I

PROJECT .

Rqy D. Pea

conceptions o f educauon i o u n d In most formariv o r g a n u e a civsroorns and tralnlng slres. Rather. we must focus on u n a e n r a n a l n g a n d s u p porung iearnlng In entlreiv new wavs, wlrh v u l attention co m e s k d k o i s wlncencuon a n a o a r u a o a u o n

rnance cornoutme: a n a cornmunlca- d e v e l o o ~ n g a n a studving a "testbed"

rions (91 oiier enormous oorenual 1 consuung o i an advanced network for 11nklng rnese cornmunlcles In ¹ that mteqrJres t e i e c o m r n u n ~ a u o n r . wavs rneanlnpiul f o r i e a r n ~ n g . Bv I r n u l u m e a ~ a cornounng, and n m col- c o ~ l a o s ~ n p spatlo-ternooral b a m e n ¹ laborauon s o i t m r e f o r s u t e o i - t h e - rhrougn the conscrucclon o i dismb- a n Invcsuqauons o i the p o r e n a a h o f uced r n u u m e a l a learning e n n r o n - I coilaborauon a n a saenofu W- m e n u , we rnav enaoie qrearer m u - ¹ UOn teUlnOtoTa for s u p p o m g XI-

macv a n d aumenucltv In cne learnrnq 1 encc l e a m ~ n q a n a m g .Thit nct-

wirac i call : t a r n ~ n q - ~ n - a o ~ n q . Lcamlnp-ln-aomq is a r n w e i In 'unlcn learners are Increaslnglv In- vmvea In tne a u t n c n t ~ c oncrlces o i communlrles rnrougn learnmy con-

Venations and acclvlties ~ n v o l v ~ n g e x p e n practltloners. eaucacors. a n a

peen. A protorvpe example nas been the Sational C e o g n p n ~ c Soclccv

&&Net Pro!ect. in w n ~ c h children In

Bv funaarnrnca~lv r e w n p o n In- t'ormat~on flelWOrKs a n a remote mu!-

~ l n l e a l a services. alscrlaucea rnUlLl- rnedla ~ r a r n l n y envlronmenrs. o r D S I L L . excena ceacnInT, learnme.

2nd niarerlal resources brvona the l ~ r n ~ u o i ~ n a w a u a i c i ~ s s r o o m s

!

101.

X ~ C W O T K ana rnultlmeaia cecnnoio- 1 g e s o i l e r opportunlcles to l n c r e v e

the ~ n i o r m a u o n a ~ a n d ~ n t e n c c ~ o n a l thoutanas o i e l e m e n t a n school ^I world o i the learner rnrougn access

C ~ U ~ O O ~ S lnvestlpacea acid n l n in ^I to diverse aaraoases. m e posslbiiirv ^{0 i} [ h e r communltles. pooled cnclr d a t a I coilaborauve projects wrrh remom Over -e:WrKs. a n a carriea out in- , panlcipancs. and access to a wide qulrlfl a w u t wnv r e g o n a l differ- g r o u p o i experts and o r h e n with e n c a curr red in tnelr aara (31. T h e I wnorn tne iearner can enqage In con-

science museum and science cumcu- lurn resources. iearnmg r a e a r c h e n f r o m three insuruuons. a n d a broaalv based v o u p of sclence : e x h e r s tnrouenout the U.S. d e - .;ocea to i'oscenn~ p r o j m - e n n a n c e a science m m m p .

T h e CoL'is project reiies o n inno-

*:auve p a r m c n n ~ o s with Arnenrcch.

Bellcore. T h e h u i o n t o r i u m S a e n c e :,[useurn. U n i v e n w of Illinois. Ur- b a r n - C h a m p a l p Nationai Cenre?

for Supercomouung Applicarioru.

Scienceiiit Inc.. T e c h i d Education Research Center. and h e University of M i c h i q n . Our p r o j m vision is ro establish co~laborauve t e c h n o l o g - learning envlronmenu. o r "coilabo-

~ t o n e s . " :hat enable projm- q u a u o r u the s t u d c n u addressed

were current concerns In xientific pncace. and thev l e a m c d scientific concezu, rcsearcn s t r a r c p s . d a t a coilccuon. and anaivsls techniques t h m u g n the doing of science r a h e r thtn being u u g h c about s a e n c e as observen. We thus see s a e n c e learnca by pamnpouon r a m e r t h a n PrcponzMn.

venation a w u r a subiect area. task. enhanced saence ieammg a m o n g remote pmlm partners usinq a d -

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:nrouen ;tpprenrlcesnlo. Tradition- .;isuaimuon o i science pnenornena.

~ i v . i n c n Inauln. has oeen enaolcd

.

U;a. ana moaels throupn tecnnoi0- 3v cvnamlc inreracuons among 1 p e s that ,pronde the option for learners a n d a reacher who are In I "IVhat k'ou':'~e= Is What I Sef"

close pnvs~cai prowrnltv. Yet sclcn- (WYSIIVIS) funcuonalirv. but char

~ f i c a n a busmess worK g r o u p prac- 3is0 dlow pnvate work spaces.

uce uslng Internet and hiqh-bana- Sciennix visdization tcchnole

width s e r v l c a recognues that nor ail partners ncceuarv to an lnteractlon can oe coiocated (61. This project uses irontier r e c n n o i o q a to extena h e cotlaborauve reach o i educa- uonai arrangemenu to include wactv d i s ~ e n e d cxoeruse among 'earners. rexhers, sclentnu. znd ez~rr.~ne: researcners. For examole.

Fa. now commonly used in the sa- enuiic raearcn communiw. prov~dc for much more intuiuveiv cornpre- henslble representations o i compies numencai dam used in h e mearch acuncies o i s a e n c a such as meteor- o i o g , oceanography. m o l m i a r biol- ogy. chcn~strv. and asrropnvs~u ( 131.

Coilaborawe verslons o i these rccn-

Ira pro!ect t o y s . d a i q procedures for data coliecuon. negociau and document_ study objeaives. ^,&

data. and conduct s e n s e - m h g ac- uvitia with h e i r dam. culrninurng in resuiu sucn ar a multimedia rrpon of the resuits o i their projecx in&

gations.

T h e CoVis P r o j m seeks to mine the potenuals of .high-- width networking for the dcrfirrr of future dismoutcd muitimtdir d- ence-learnmg enviornmenu JuS m b a n h n g was a piace-baxd Icri*iv unrll the advent of ATM machina.

science caucauon is now larydy a

F O C U S l n g

on Collaborative visuai~zatton

Srcause ot m e nature o i the suoject xatrer. 3na the goais o i o u r moaeis for i e x n i n y . we have extended the eaucauonat media bevond text-oniv

~ ~ v n c n r o n o ~ s ernall. as in Nar~onai C e o e n p n i c Societv RidsNet. to p- ciuae iocai- a n d w~de-area muit~rne.

aia nc:worKs. Such broadband nct-

w o r u . in o u r c3se a combinauon o i

?nrnari-rate ISDN and HDSL.' en-

;ble o:+dv Intcncuve communlca- :Ions . n ~ t n r ~ c h metila excnange a r n o n ~ learnmy partners tnrougn the imoremen~auon o i che muluuser

u g e or :here capabiiirics. orov~dinc motlvaune expenenccs ior students 2nd tezcnen w ~ c n contemporaw s a -

I ence tmis and t o p ~ u .

We ^{W I I I}be c d t r n g new software

I sppiications-a Collaborauve SCI- ence Wor~oencn a n a Science Lesm-

I in3 Resource Dirmory-io sustain

I collaborative visudization acuviucs

I x r o s s remore ciassrmms and other

izauon t m u in regular use by research xlenusu (1 1) (such as the .VCSA ScrruVrc V L u a i i u u u m Tbd

jclenct caucauon.

O u r current a e s i ~ s ior the CoVu :estbed as a

DM

LE uuiize advanca in a number o i arc= o i cornpurer re&- nologes. consumer eiectronia. and tekcornmun~cauons. They i n d u d t :

Coderdecoder (or "codecV7 t h -

noloqxs usmg s i q a l compr-n chios to prowde for the c o m p i a

and in spcdaiized hardware hvt

been rapid Isteiv. although fd- mouon video rat= of 30fps are du- sive. of Deremocr 1992. i n d d c o d a have just dropped ^LOthe $10 thousand range. Many c o m e have announced o r released dalrtop videoconierenan? systems. In rhe CaVis P r o j m each workstawn in-

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'conversauonai props ' for their coi- laborat~ve investlpauons.

Switching recnnoioqes enable soit- ware appiicauons In DhfLEi to maKe the connccuon ro speclrlc addresses in a networi: ior remote s e n e n or to o h e r usen. and enable tiara flow and accus controi. It is one thmp to p a s around video w~thin a L I N to networic addresses. a u m anotner to sustain full w~de-area. natlonai. polnt- to-point. 2nd po~nt-to-muiupo~nt connccuvitv. The CoL'is P r o ! ~ t uses the public-switched re!ecommunlca- uon i n f r ~ s t r u c ~ u r e oi current m a

~ i a n n e a servrces to enmie connec- uon manaqemcnt ior me mcala-ncn conversauons amone parunoanrs In [he CoVis project co~laboratlons i 11.'

w ~ t h learnen. teachers. and discipiin- ary saenusrs wno use prototvpes of our software sppiicauons over h e course o i rhe project wiil serve as rhe bask ior the onyoing panidpatom d e s l ~ of auhenuc sclence-learning architectures rhar enable coilaborauve vituaiizauon of science in action.

These levnmg environmenu wiil

dent, hlben Gore. authoriring about 53 billion in the High Performance Compuung Bill of 1991 to facilicare rhe development of a N a t i o d Re- search and Eduaolon Network *g high-pen'ormance computing and cornmunlcadons to creau rhe na- I tional dam highmy for digid corn-

?rovlde pedagoq and sc&i proto- ^, municauons across universities. & a :01s that au~henucate the science- , r e m i t o i s u b s r a n d educator and

!eamlnq experience in ciauroorns. xsearcner e n t h u s k m and lobbring.

,.ith the potenuJi for links to homes R-11 schools were

aLo

included.

2nd WorK ennronrnenrs. The out- In other devdopmenu. long- Lames wn~cn we seeic, based on more ,jisrance and local telephone cornpa- nies are sreiting to use c o d m to liiow tor muiurnedh communica- re a result o i studenrs' networti a n a

scnooi-oasea mtencuons. are F e a r e r rnouvauon to ieam and ennancea

.

Muitimeaia servers of various , sclence iearnlne.

kinds w d be used in me CoVis net-

work testbed sites. deoenaino on the ! Scallng UP OMLES

site and a o ~ ~ i c a t ~ o n . inciuding

CD-

, How wlii proqrcss be made toward ROM. vldeoaiso. jukeboxes. and :he univenai iniormauon networic- qgabit hara-disk drive3 ior stonng ,nq [hat D h I L L require! ^;lswe see soinvare-on~v dip~tal video. the mcryng o i computers. consumer Multirnedh-capabie penonai com- eicctroniu. teiecomrnunlcauons. net- puten with interiaces ro communlca- woric and mble teievision. and media Lion networiu piav an essenuai role a

,

publishing, rhe contnbuuoru (21 of the CoVk workrauont.

I

diverse i n d u u v m o n to new

tions over exucing copper wire. to acceieme b e pace of fiber opuc in- stailauon replacing copper. and to recelve

FCC

approval to produce and not only dkrribuu muiGedia iniormauon senices. Cable system opemton. in some cua in coopera- [ion with teiephone compania. are deveioplng switching capabiiiua to rake advanuge of their broadband infrutructure. T h e prospect of in- reracuve video xmko has led to wideiv toured negori?tioru h e e n computer cornpznia a n d Ndorul a b l e svstem operaton such as IBM and Time-Warner. and Hmlett- P a c b d and

lV

Answer h e (a wire- less d a u senice company). T h e rna!or ceiluiu-tdqhone d e r

!&Saw k teaming with O d e . a leading d a m software c o m p n y . to develop FCC-pmped. one-wav r a d i o - b a d data network senices

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3. J u i n n . C . L ! i a u o d Ceoqrcrpitk .G& Networt: R c a ~ in the d c

rnmw c l v v w m h C a p r

.VM l o . ?(k 1939.

6. Lederbetg. J. ma Umzphcr. iL

To-

wards a nauom co

rhe rochider u n n e m q (MP. 17- 18). Nadonai kicncr Founhioa D i m o n c e for Cornpurr and i o f e marion hence. W-

D.C.

1989.

L13t m u ! a - ; : ~ J ~ o J c K .

- -

q x a l 515-

1515 on exsuns ZCIO tnnsrnisslons.

i t fast rxes o i !.3>lb a secona. LVire- .ess oroacusunp svstems to oe o i - ferea 3,; new !om ventures irorn IBSI-Motorola ana BeilSourn-ibrn Broaacuunp a r v e out vet anorner opuon.

roles ior t e x n c n Y guides n t n e r as aurnonun cnallenpe exlsunq 1

::assroom pnctlccl j 12). While b e r e

3 a nlgh ievel oi reccpuntv and ooti- uons and cornouter techno~oges In schwh rhrou&our the US, the pedapoqcai modek on which thh cnthus~asm u oased are F ~ U Y var- ied. n n q n g irom iesrner centered to teacher cenurcd. Whiie chis diver- sir). o i l m g modek is not prob- lemauc in ana of iueif. it makes it difficult to coorainare suppon for naaonvnde tccanoiogid r a o u r c n and infmrrucnrrc. Since schooL a r c noconouiy underiunded. ir makes sense to pian. perhaps through fed- cmi poiicv. for a nationwide t ~ h n 0 - loricai inirastructure. b'hat is the How rnne oouons w ~ i i develop as

dktincr z a r i e u and sernces IS anv- one's pus. Video on demand

tTV

md monesr. e a u u u o n a n d m i n i n g . home moop~np, banknp, informa- tion s e m c n . iood and s e m c e o r a e r - ing. m a w esnow oaruaoauon a r e amonp LX appiicarioas touted as likely. klanv o i t h a e iuncnoru have

broaabana one-wav. a n d narrow- 8. LindrPom. AH. Cop- 6

noloyia h a n ~ in rhm u SUPER-

COhlhI. TtL. 3u,wL (July 13. 1992).

4 1 4 s . band ir.:t=ct!on (controi. audio) re-

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urni in^

irsm r h z user. I r.e o p e n _d

quesuon :s nor whether hi3h-band- ^I risic otnenvise? T h e answer is thar

width (1.tSIb and beyond) and mui-

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schools wul become locked in o k o - 9. Office o i Sdcnce a n d TeEhndoql Policy. Grana cbknqer: H j h per-

formance compuanq md k -

orrow: f i e fl 1992 US.

and development p- The Committee on ? h w 5(uhmn6- a L and h g i n e e ~ g Sderra Fed- e d Coordimunq 6 d br Sd-

en=. Elnginemne. a d Techndgl.

Evcuuve Ofice oi the Raid- Wuhinqron. S.C.

i iete tcchnoio~es h a t tirnir h e iearn- I

I

ing potenuais o i i e u n e n . It wouid be I

1

;vire to highlight such issua in che I

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evoiuaon o i current argumenu (41

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I on which replatom p o i i a a ior eiec- 1

; aonic media wui b a t serve rhe public

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intcmt in t e r n o i h e Fint -end- 1

;

rncnr provisions on acccu to infor- :

nsnon. Surety Lie le3rnlnp needs o i diuncucnai d i e d sernces czn be

' provides. but now such sernces wiii

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^{come :o} ^xstructured. ~rchitectca.

j

and p n c w to meet n a u o n d iearnlnq

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needs. "Yen concrete experiences in 1 learnme cnnronmeno w ~ r n different

! soinvare 3ppiicadom a n d uses. But the c o m e u u o n In this genemi a r e 3 of consumer eiectronlcs for intemc-

: uon. New Yorx. 1990.

Refmnca

1. Beflcore inionnauon Xetworr~np 13. Van Darn. L .i s~cntm 6 w o n h 1.000 rnulurmaa arcnlves. wnst use sce-

nanos :cross setunps oi learning n n m n ? ?om scnools to h o m a to community c e n u n . wlil cake b a r

R a a r c n L D O ~ L O T Y . The ~ o u n n q Machine j v s r e m Z o m m u n ACJl36. 1 (Jan. 19931, 68-77.

2

. Denowm. ?ILL Building rhe inior- muion m u i c r p h Tech RCP. U a

31, 19911. 19.

3. Tuh. IU,: i r ; l u ~ R L Roor RW.

adnnraqe o i the o p p o n u n i u a &ese n m r i c h c s m m u t u a d o n media rnav oifer?

What peaapoqcai z o d e k wiii

Aboac rhe Aubor:

ROY D. PEA ic john

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RofcPor o f EduarioomdrhelcmnqSdcneiau N o n h x w r n Univ-. Hb @ in- t e r n indude i n r e p -

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ro- for saencr p r g w ~ . md muicimadh compuaog d

Q&- Author's A-

Nod- L'aivrron. bdaxe for the Sdcaeer ^Errpnop.IL

60201: d p e r Q n d For cumpie. expenen& ~ r & v

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^1.01. ^CCllCI. ^hr^opbi^OppIIY.

ruTgau m a e mod& wlii require

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f o r r n e r wliol. The h e n - exrerune cornmimenu for rezcncr-

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W-gron hgrun. W a h m p n . proiasionai deveioprnenc. since new I D . C 1991.