About 10 days ago, I read on Orli Yakuel’s blog about an intriguing online research tool that I think is worth a look. There are learners who will probably find it helpful. [If you do not read German, please don't be dismayed when you discover that the website is in German. It seems that English is the default language of the application!]
eyePlorer searches Wikipedia for specified topics and displays search results graphically. Facts about a topic are represented by “eyespots” on a circular graph. Each eyespot is a heading. If you click on a heading/eyespot, you open a text box containing a summary sentence about it. These sentences can be dragged and dropped onto a notepad and then conveniently copied to the computer’s clipboard for use elsewhere.
Double-clicking on an eyespot connects that heading with other headings to show that they are related in some way. Clicking on a line between two headings, opens a sentence that summarizes the relationship.
Although the screen shot below is not clear enough to read, it shows how fact headings are displayed on the left, so they can be opened and then dragged to the notepad on the right.
I’ve embedded eyePlorer’s two-minute introductory video below. They have also put together a set of videos on YouTube to demonstrate the features and functions of the application.
March 30, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I agree this is a cool tool but did you notice most all of their sources are wikipedia ?
If they go beyond that it would be great because while wikipedia is great as a start it’s not always the most reliable source.
March 30, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Thanks Steve. I had intended to mention that eyePlorer searches only Wikipedia. Sorry for that omission. In my experience, however, Wikipedia is as reliable a source as any, and it is more reliable than many. I love the way that the Wikipedia community does such a great job of correcting misinformation that finds its way onto its pages. –Paul
April 2, 2009 at 9:49 am
Thanks for this interesting article about eyePlorer.com, we’re happy that you enjoy working with the tool. It’s true that the facts in the current knowledge base have been extracted from the German and English Wikipedia encyclopedias. We’re currently working on several methods of how to extend the knowledge base beyond Wikipedia. This is a rather complex task, you can expect initial results in a couple of weeks. Should you have further questions or suggestions how we could improve the knowledge workbench, feel free to drop us a line at feedback@vionto.com Thanks!
April 9, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Paul –
I used tried this out about a week ago, and found it pretty impressive in terms of showing relationships. However, like some of the above, I noticed it only gave Wikipedia references (which are good – but I’d like to see a larger cross section of sources). Additionally, sometimes I had problems with the webware refreshing or problems getting the notes to “stick” to the notepad. Overall, it’s a wonderful visualization idea, but will be even better when it runs a little smoother. Huge possibilities for educators!
June 23, 2009 at 8:16 am
eyePlorer.com has now its own blog – the eyeBlog. The blog we’ll keep you up to date with regard to new releases of eyePlorer.com and about new features.
So if you are looking for further information about eyePlorer.com here is the URL – http://blog.eyeplorer.com/
I keep watching your blog for more interesting posts!