This project addresses two related instructional problems: the difficulty which students encounter in trying to understand the basic underlying retrieval models; and the need for access to a body of existing resources or tools with which students can build systems and system components in order to implement these models. The goals of this project are to build upon, organize and distribute interactive software tools to improve instruction in the field of information retrieval:

1. To develop simulation and visualization tools which will aid students in information retrieval courses in the School of Information Sciences to understand the models underlying information retrieval systems;
2. To evaluate rigorously the usefulness of the developed tools in the context of teaching information retrieval;
3. To identify, organize and assess other interactive tools for instruction in information retrieval in order to provide an index of available tools;
4. To expand awareness in different departments and libraries of the University of Pittsburgh as well as in other universities and libraries of the resources developed and/or identified by the project.

Contact: Peter Brusilovsky (PI)

This project is supported by an Innovation in Education grant (ACIE) awarded through the Provost's Advisory Council for Instructional Excellence. See the full story in Teaching Times.