Collections
of images can be made available for students in a number of different
ways. Each has its own advantages and drawbacks. Various tradeoffs
have to be made to determine the optimum solution for a given situation.
The major tradeoffs are download speed and ease of update/maintenance.
Other relevant factors are the ease of implementation, the ability
to add contextual information to the description of the images and
the level of skill needed.
These are
some of the methods of implementing image databases:
Static
HTML Pages
Using
Glossary tool in LMS
Other methods
- Standalone database
on CD ROM
- Director shell interface
with images on CD ROM
- Dynamic HTML pages
online
Each method
is described in more detail below.
Static
HTML Pages
|
Method
|
Static HTML pages
|
|
Description
|
Images embedded into
static web pages, with navigation between pages provided in
HTML
|
|
Mode
|
Online
|
|
Speed of download
|
Slow
|
|
Ease of Implementation
|
Relatively easy
|
|
Ease of update
|
Relatively difficult
|
|
Contextual information
|
Can be added easily
by editing HTML files
|
|
Skills needed
|
Image scanning
HTML authoring
|
|
Comment
|
Time consuming to
update. A good option if you have no funding and limited IT
skills.
Example: National
Gallery of Victoria, Russell
Drysdale Exhibition
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/drysdale/drysdale.htm
|
|
Method
|
Static HTML pages
on CD ROM
|
|
Description
|
Images embedded into
static web pages, with navigation between pages provided in
HTML. Pages delivered from a CD.
|
|
Mode
|
CD
|
|
Speed of download
|
Fast
|
|
Ease of Implementation
|
Relatively easy
|
|
Ease of update
|
Relatively difficult
|
|
Contextual information
|
Can be added easily
by editing HTML files
|
|
Skills needed
|
Image scanning
HTML authoring
CD production
|
|
Comment
|
Clumsy to update.
New CDs have to be sent out
|
Using
Glossary Tool in LMS
|
Method
|
LMS Glossary
tool
|
|
Description
|
Images stored in
Glossary tool with textual annotations.
|
|
Mode
|
Online
|
|
Speed of download
|
Medium
|
|
Ease of Implementation
|
Easy
|
|
Ease of update
|
Easy
|
|
Contextual information
|
Limited to entries
in text fields
|
|
Skills needed
|
Image scanning
|
|
Comment
|
No HTML skills required
|
Other
Methods
|
Method
|
Standalone database
|
|
Description
|
Image database and
database engine (such as FileMaker Pro) provided on CD
|
|
Mode
|
CD
|
|
Speed of download
|
Fast
|
|
Ease of implementation
|
Difficult
|
|
Ease of update
|
Easy, but requires
CD production and distribution
|
|
Contextual information
|
Limited to entries
in database fields
|
|
Skills needed
|
Image scanning
Database skills
CD production
|
|
Comment
|
May not work on old
computers or computers with insufficient memory
Possible installation
problems for novice computer users
|
|
Method
|
Director shell
|
|
Description
|
Navigation between
images and information about images provided by an authoring
language like MacroMedia Director
|
|
Mode
|
CD
|
|
Speed of download
|
Fast
|
|
Ease of implementation
|
Difficult
|
|
Ease of update
|
Difficult
|
|
Contextual information
|
Can be added by editing
text on screen
|
|
Skills needed
|
Image scanning
Director skills
|
|
Comment
|
Very flexible but
hard to maintain. A good solution if you have an ongoing source
of funds and presentation quality is important.
|
|
Method
|
Dynamic HTML pages
|
|
Description
|
HTML pages generated
automatically from an online database
|
|
Mode
|
Online
|
|
Speed of download
|
Slow
|
|
Ease of implementation
|
Difficult
|
|
Ease of update
|
Easy
|
|
Contextual information
|
Limited to entries
in database fields
|
|
Skills needed
|
Image scanning
Database skills
Advanced HTML skills
|
|
Comment
|
Very flexible, but
slow access. Minimal ongoing costs after initial startup.
|
|
