Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement
Encyclopedia
The Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA) is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that seeks to improve scientific and cultural literacy among the general public. The organization was established in 1998 and incorporated in 2002, and has collaborated with museums, schools, nonprofit organizations, and public service projects.
Activities
- WebExhibitsWebExhibitsWebExhibits is a virtual museum of science, humanities, and culture that uses information, virtual experiments, and hands-on activities that prompt visitors to think, to formulate questions, and to explore topics from a variety of angles.- Exhibits :...
virtual museum – In 1999, IDEA founded the WebExhibitsWebExhibitsWebExhibits is a virtual museum of science, humanities, and culture that uses information, virtual experiments, and hands-on activities that prompt visitors to think, to formulate questions, and to explore topics from a variety of angles.- Exhibits :...
virtual museumVirtual museumA virtual museum is a museum that exists only online. A virtual museum is also known as an online museum, electronic museum, hypermuseum, digital museum, cybermuseum or Web museum...
, an interactive, virtual museumVirtual museumA virtual museum is a museum that exists only online. A virtual museum is also known as an online museum, electronic museum, hypermuseum, digital museum, cybermuseum or Web museum...
of science, humanities, and culture that uses information, virtual experiments, and hands-on activities that prompt visitors to think, to formulate questions, and to explore topics from a variety of angles. IDEA has published research on exhibit design and usability, and advocated for the format as an effective approach to draw in visitors to complex, multidisciplinary topics.
- SpicyNodesSpicyNodesIn concept mapping and information visualization, SpicyNodes is a method for displaying hierarchical data in which a focus node displays rich information, and the surrounding nodes display related information .- Main idea :...
- Is an approach for visually browsing hierarchical information, similar to concept mapping. It is designed to be navigated by a viewer, and has had several implementations. SpicyNodes is an approach for presentation, and can be implemented in many systems. Several implementations of SpicyNodes have been developed by IDEA, including a web-based version built on Adobe FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
which is available as a Software as a serviceSoftware as a ServiceSoftware as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
web site with both free and paidFreemiumFreemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services...
versions; and as multitouch version for the iPadIPadThe iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
released in Spring 2011 as part of the "WikiNodes" app. The web-based implementation received a "Best Website for Teaching and Learning" award in 2011 from American Association of School Librarians (AASL)American Association of School LibrariansThe American Association of School Librarians has been a division of the American Library Association since 1951. Prior to that, school librarians were served by the School Library Section of ALA founded in 1914 which itself emerged from the Roundtable of Normal and High School Librarians which...
, and was voted #edchat's 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools in 2010. It has been a subject of instruction in several schools. It has been recommended as a teaching tool (e.g. students use SpicyNodes to create presentations and projects, and organize their ideas). The product is used in a broad number of disciplines, and has an open APIOpen APIOpen API is a word used to describe sets of technologies that enable websites to interact with each other by using REST, SOAP, JavaScript and other web technologies...
, allowing developers to use it for visualization tasks as well as to create mashupsMashup (web application hybrid)In Web development, a mashup is a Web page or application that uses and combines data, presentation or functionality from two or more sources to create new services...
.
- WikiNodesWikiNodesWikiNodes is an app for the Apple iPad built by IDEA.org. WikiNodes was the first tablet app for browsing Wikipedia using a radial tree approach to visualize how articles and subsections of articles are interrelated...
is an app for the Apple iPadIPadThe iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
which uses the SpicyNodesSpicyNodesIn concept mapping and information visualization, SpicyNodes is a method for displaying hierarchical data in which a focus node displays rich information, and the surrounding nodes display related information .- Main idea :...
visualization method. It is the first tablet app for browsing Wikipedia using a radial treeRadial treeA radial tree, or "radial map", is a method of displaying a tree structure in a way that expands outwards, radially. It is one of many ways to visually display a tree., with examples extending back to the early 20th century...
approach to visualize how articles and subsections of articles are interrelated.
- ColoRotate is a project started in January 2006 to explain to the public, students, and graphic professionals the three dimensional nature of color visionColor visionColor vision is the capacity of an organism or machine to distinguish objects based on the wavelengths of the light they reflect, emit, or transmit...
in the eye and mind. It is related to the color-related exhibits in the WebExhibit museum. It consists of a 3D color spaceColor spaceA color model is an abstract mathematical model describing the way colors can be represented as tuples of numbers, typically as three or four values or color components...
within which users can see color points, and manipulate them. There are several implementations of the ColoRotate approach, including a free web site, a Photoshop plugin, a web widget, and an iPad app.
- Research - Via its SpicyNodesSpicyNodesIn concept mapping and information visualization, SpicyNodes is a method for displaying hierarchical data in which a focus node displays rich information, and the surrounding nodes display related information .- Main idea :...
project, IDEA researched ways for the public to author and use radial mapsRadial treeA radial tree, or "radial map", is a method of displaying a tree structure in a way that expands outwards, radially. It is one of many ways to visually display a tree., with examples extending back to the early 20th century...
to display hierarchical information. IDEA sponsored a 2008 study on how people find information, which was widely cited in the blogosphere. The key finding was the designers and communication directors overestimate the ease with which users can find information online, and they tend to underestimate the value of basic qualities like current information and engaging writing. Additionally, IDEA researched culturally appropriate ways to collect information from diverse populations. IDEA has collaborated with cancer researchers to make prostate cancer prognosis tools available to the general public, and to bridge the gap of underserved, Native American communities dealing with cancer.