The list below includes examples of ideas, projects and concepts for developing new, expanding existent and designing innovative Distributome resources.
Distributome Games
Brief explanation
One of the aspects of the Distributome is to design and implement interactive webapps for motivation and enhancing the learning experiences of probability theory, modeling and applications. The first Distributome game provides an interactive web-game for matching real-live problems with specific probability distribution models. In this project, Distributome Games, we need to design innovative webapp interfaces that allows users to match randomly generated pairs of graphs, the first one representing the density/mass functions of different probability distribution models, and the second frequency histograms of randomly-generated samples from various distributions.
Expected results
Clever, dynamic, platform-agnostic, and user-friendly interfaces for displaying, navigating and controlling the game (touch-interface/mobile compatible). The UI needs to provide a truly dynamic (transition, animation) for changing the collection of distributions and the stream of new sample frequency histograms. The image below just shows an example of 4 randomly selected distributions and corresponding random samples of size 100 from each of these distributions.
Knowledge Prerequisite
HTML5, CSS, JavaScript (JQuery, CoffeeScript and AngularJS experience, or learning interest, is a plus).
Mentors
Distributome Navigator
Brief explanation
Introduce an innovative and intuitive graphical user interface to traverse, navigate, discover, explore and evoke Distributome Tools on mobile devices. See the Current generation-3 Distributome Navigator. We need to improve the user experience with navigating the universe of probability distributions, learning about distribution properties and relations, using the distribution computational libraries for scientific computing, data analytics and visualization.
Expected results
Powerful, platform-agnostic, and user-friendly interface for traversing the Distributome resources (e.g., XML meta-data, calculators) for simulation, virtual experimenter and data modeling.
Knowledge Prerequisite
HTML5, CSS, JavaScript (JQuery and CoffeeScript experience or learning interest is a plus).
Mentors
Customizable Distributome Resources
Brief explanation
The Probability Distributome provides a common interface to variety of learning modules, computational resources, simulators, experiments and navigators. In many situations, one needs to customize the look-and-feel of these resources to fit the specific needs to the audiences (e.g., specific probability theory and applications course may only focus on 20 specific distributions, which the instructor can specify and students accessing the site only interact with the resources including the appropriate probability distributions). See the first attempt to provide preferences.pref.xml mechanism for on-the-fly configuration of some of the Distributome resource appearances.
Expected results
A new framework that allows instructors and students to reference course-specific customized Distributome resource interfaces via unique URLs.
Knowledge Prerequisite
HTML5, CSS, JavaScript (JQuery and CoffeeScript experience or learning interest is a plus).
Mentors
Mobile Distributome Apps
Brief explanation
Design and implement really good mobile versions of (some) Distributome webapps. We have all experienced web pages (with or without special interactive elements) that look and work great on an ordinary screen, but are just about useless on a tablet or phone (small screen and touch-interface barriers). Some of the current Distributome resources (e.g., Distributome Games) may significantly improved if implemented and optimized for mobile platforms. These would be a huge asset for probability learners and modeling practitioners at different levels.
Expected results
Specific Android or iPhone apps running natively and efficiently on different mobile devices and demonstrating various Distributome calculators, simulators, experiences, navigators or learning modules.
Knowledge Prerequisite
HTML5, CSS, JavaScript (JQuery and CoffeeScript experience or learning interest is a plus).
Mentors
References
- Current Distributome XML Database and XSD Model
- Distributome Prototype (Applet)
- Leemis and McQueston’s TAS Distrubutions Article (2008)
- Song’s IIE Transactions Distribution Relations Paper (2004)
See also
- Distributome Wiki Page
- Try to think of converting the Distributome HTML-embedded applet into a client-site executable Java application using Java Web-Start (see the example with Cytoscape).
- A Distribution-relationships chart
- A list of probability distributions
- A list of SOCR probability distributions
- XML DOM MathJax Parsing HTML Examples
- JavaScript By-Example Tutorial and JavaScript Object API