WebVizard: intelligent system for geodata visualization and CBT in the WWW

Abstract

The aim of this paper is primarily to cover the possibilities and problems of GIS in the WWW. A second aim is to show trends in the areas of CBT and Teleteaching in general and one possible approach of using CBT in a GIS, namely WEBVIZARD. In the WWW there are many Geographic Information Systems (GIS) which use databases. But the possibilities of data access and data visualization are restricted because of the inflexibility of their default data queries and visualization techniques. WEB VIZARD is an intelligent and flexible client/server system providing access and visualization of geographic data in the World-Wide-Web. It employs a knowledge-based system to create effective visualizations that fit the data characteristics and user requirements. Furthermore WEB VIZARD takes into account peculiarities of the WWW, and special techniques like metadata concepts or generalization algorithms are used for minimizing the data volume of communication between WWW-browser/client and WWW-server. In order to improve user-friendliness, WEB VIZARD offers a comprehensive support system and also GUI's considering Software ergonomic aspects during development. Java across the Internet represents a perfect platform for CBT and Teleteaching. Due to this fact I examined the usage of several methodical/didactical concepts in the environment of the WWW. Based on the results of my examination, I developed a learning system prototype-using the concepts of the Leittextmethode-and integrated it into WebVizard.