The Semantic Web

SUMMER 2011

CLASS SYLLABUS

DAY/TIME/PLACE

June 2011

Instructor: Bruce Donald Campbell

Faculty, Continuing Education - RISD, Providence, RI
Director, Watersheds Project, Providence, RI

Email: bcampbel01@risd.edu bcampbel01@risd.edu

Prerequisites: None

DESCRIPTION

This intensive two-week course moves students closer to an understanding of the promise of the semantic web. This fantastic configuration of web behaviors and supporting architecture has been dubbed the semantic web and is a system that gives greater importance to the meaning of information and anticipates a machine’s ability to anticipate human needs for web searches and navigation. This comes about from a better understanding of the great advantage of shared taxonomies which allow for more sensible contextual messaging and it is here that the class starts with language. Students first study the form that content takes on the web (HTML) and how it is presented (CSS) but can be improved with ontological tools (OWL as an example language). Together as a class we will adopt data sets and reinterpret them using newly learned web languages that can be easily understood and visualized. This modeling will remain faithful to core problem of knowledge gathering with a greater capacity for scalable reasoning that must precede the era of Web 3.0 and a fully functioning Semantic Web.

GRADING

Class participation - 20%
Homework exercises - 40%
Class projects - 40%

RESOURCES

- On-line Readings as identified below

CLASS LINKS

SYLLABUS

JUNE
13th

introduction to the semantic web

  • Course Introduction & Policies
  • Instructor and Student Introductions
  • Opening Pre-test of Student Skills

Homework

  • Read the Scientific American article in the class links and be ready to discuss the components of the Semantic Web mentioned within

JUNE
14 th

machine languages

  • Let's consider language specifications for Semantic Web creation:
  • XML as an encoding language
  • RDF schema as an information relationship language
  • Web Ontology Language as a language for ontology declaration
  • The Standard Setting Organization: The World Wide Web Consortium (w3.org) and their contribution to the Semantic Web
     
  • Vocabulary:
    • Knowledge Representation
    • Taxonomy
    • Ontology
    • Software Agent

    Homework

    • Begin designing your own taxonomy for an area of knowledge you'd like to interact with via software agents.

    JUNE
    15th

    taxonomies

    • What do taxonomies provide us?
    • How to use taxonomy software to encode a taxonomy (using Free DELTA software).

    Homework

    • Work on encoding your taxonomy in Free DELTA

    JUNE
    16th

    automating taxonomies

    • Using scripting languages to interact with a taxonomy (Python and PHP)

    Homework

    • Continue working with your taxonomy interaction software solution.

    JUNE
    17 th

    software agents

    • Embedding a taxonomy reader into a software agent.

    Homework

    • Continue embedding your taxonomy reader into a software agent.

    JUNE
    20th

    web crawlers

    • Experience with Web crawling algorithms and available software.

    Homework

    • Work with your Web crawling software from class and consider its relationship to a software agent.

    JUNE
    21st

    ontologies

    • Learning how to create an ontology from a body of knowledge
    • Project Due on June 30th, at 11:59pm

    JUNE
    22nd

    web ontology language

    • Web Ontology Language (OWL)
    • Use OWL to encode and manage your taxonomy in an ontological model

    Homework

    • Consider how to integrate an OWL-encoded taxonomy into a software agent for useful services.

    JUNE
    23rd

    knowledge acquisition

    • Cognitive models of knowledge acquisition
    • Computing models of knowledge acquisition
    • Software agents for knowledge acquisition and presentation

    Homework

    • Work on the software agent you proposed to your colleagues in class.

    JUNE
    24th

    scalable reasoning

    • Building a software agent so it can be incorporated into the Web as a Web service that can be used in conjunction with other services to scale up reasoning processes

    Homework

    • Work on your class projects
    • Projects due June 30th at 11:59pm