H. Ulrich Hoppe

Distributed Visual Language Environments for Cooperation and Learning: Applications and Intelligent Support

An increasing number of collaborative learning environments is based on shared workspace systems using two-dimensional graph-structured visual representations such as argumentation networks and concept maps. We propose an integrated framework that allows for flexibly specifying a wide range of visual languages and plugging in components for operational semantics, adequate feedback and intelligent support. The generic application CardBoard provides card-based user interaction and collaboration by means of different languages in shared workspaces. To enhance modifiability, the interfaces between the distributed heterogeneous system components, particularly between intelligent components and user interfaces, have been standardised.

A Workbench for Visual Design of Executable and Re-usable Network Analysis Workflows

In this paper we introduce the concept of a web-based analytics workbench to support researchers of social networks in their analytic processes. Making explicit these processes allows for sound design, re-use, and automated execution using an authoring system for visual representations of these analytic workflows. The workbench is implemented according to a flexible technical framework in which external and newly-defined analytic components can be integrated and used in conjunction with other analytic components. As a showcase we discuss the integration of a complex analytic process using multi-relational blockmodeling on a well-known reference data set.

A flexible multi-mode undo mechanism for a collaborative modeling environment

This paper presents a flexiblemulti-mode undo mechanismfor a collaborative modeling environment supporting different types of graph representations (including Petri Nets and System Dynamics models) as well as free-hand annotations. The undo mechanism is first introduced on a formal basis. It is implemented as an extension of the underlyingMatch-Maker collaboration server and allows for selecting from and making use of several undo variants with minimal adaptation effort. This is a basis for future usability studies comparing different versions of undo and for better adapting the undo effects to the actual user goals.