Last update : July 24, 2013

SHIVA : Anatomy of a VisualEyes Project

VisualEyes is a flash-based authoring tool developed at the University of Virginia to weave images, maps, charts, video and data into highly interactive and compelling dynamic visualizations.

The project was started at the Virginia Center for Digital History with continued support from the University of Virginia’s Sciences, Humanities & Arts Network of Technological Initiatives (SHANTI). SHANTI promotes innovation at the University of Virginia through the use of advanced digital technologies in research, teaching, publishing and collaborative engagement.

The online VisualEyes edit-tool VisEdit is available at the VisualEyes website. The latest offering from SHANTI is SHIVA (Interactive Visualization Application), a first HTML5 tool  that makes it easy to create interactive visualizations. MapScholar is another HTML5 tool to create visual narratives using historical maps, media clips, and other visualization techniques.

After a beta trial, the full version of SHIVA Visualization was  released mid July 2013. The login page for registrated users is avaialble at the Shiva website.

Bill Ferster is the VisualEyes Project Director. At CTTE (Center for Technology and Teacher Education) he directs the PrimaryAccess Project, which enables middle and high school students to create digital documentaries using primary source documents online, and won in 2009 one of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) 25 Best Educational Websites award.