3D modeling software allows users to create or view 3D objects or environments. There are a wide range of uses of this software, from special effects for films to illustrating books or graphic novels. In education, the software is typically used for students to view and manipulate scientific models or environments for building and manipulating models or prototypes. By building and exploring 3D models, students can gain insight into how reconstructed historical spaces might have been used, explore how spaces have changed over time, or investigate how objects or spaces are constructed.

One of the emerging tools used at Duke for engaging students in the process of creating and exploring 3D models is Google SketchUp. Available for Windows and Mac, the software is a powerful, easy to use program that allows you to create 3D objects and environments. Items can be exported in a variety of ways and even used in other programs. Google also offers an online library, 3D Warehouse, where SketchUp users can upload and share objects created in SketchUp. SketchUp is available in a free downloadable version suitable for many classroom uses and a “pro” version that adds some enhanced features for more in-depth work.

Some faculty are also using Autodesk Maya at Duke with courses. Maya is a professional level commercial software package that has been used for computer aided design and 3D work for several years. ISIS, for example, has offered courses where students can explore representations of spaces and data using Maya and the software is used for constructing spaces for use in the Duke immersive Virtual Environment (DiVE).

Through building 3D objects, students can gain “real world” experience in a wide range of fields where 3D is used for building and prototyping. Architects and urban planners are using SketchUp and other 3d software to design buildings and structures, engineers for designing facilities and products, and historians recreate and explore spaces and structures.

If you are new to using 3D software, SketchUp is an easy way to get started. You can download the software and view some basic tutorials on Google’s website. Explore the Google 3D Warehouse to view a wide range of models and objects, developed by users of the software, that may be useful in your courses. Some that might be of interest include:

• Bridges (149 models)
• Museums (168 models)
• Frank Lloyd Wright (39 models)
• Egyptian monuments (7 models)
• Places of worship (259 models)
• Thessaloniki, Greece (22 models)

Event: “Innovation in Education, Technology, and Gaming”
When: September 15, 2008 (8a – 2p)
Where: UNC Charlotte Campus / Halton Arena
What:

Keynote: Robbie Bach, President, Entertainment & Devices Division, Microsoft Corporation
Panel Discussions Highlighting Top US Gaming & Education Experts, Exhibits, Gaming & Simulation Demos, Networking & Student Give-A-Ways!

Meet representatives from the NC Department of Public Instruction, CMS, CPCC, JCSU, NCSU, UNC Charlotte, Epic Games, Red Storm Entertainment, Virtual Heroes, The Kauffman Foundation, The Charlotte Chamber, Microsoft Corporation, and key Technology Companies & Educational Institutions.

The Event is FREE, but Attendees Must Register At:

https://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/NNC/events/NNC2162526.html

Google has just made public Lively, their virtual worlds application that’s similar to Second Life. Although it currently only works with Windows XP/Vista and Firefox/IE, it allows you to create your own rooms that can be embedded in blogs and web pages, similar to YouTube videos. There’s no unified world, like Second Life, so Lively could be used to create “ad hoc” virtual worlds spaces that are limited to particular groups that share an interest or are working on a particular project. Google has posted a video preview of Lively at YouTube.

An article at Campus Technology discusses a NEH funded project that allowed art history students to create 3d models of the ancient Greek site of Delph in a cooperative project between Arkansas State University and Coastal Carolina University.

Dubbed Ashes2Art, the project aims to encourage students to use 3d software to recreate and study ancient ruins, a type of work typically done by professional modeling firms.  A variety of software tools were used in the project, but many of the students gravitated towards Google SketchUp, a free software package that is easy to use.

The students are encouraged to do historically accurate renders, drawing on excavation reports and other published archeological evidence.  In some cases, for a project focused on Florence, students had to translate original materials from French as part of their research process.

article at Campus Technology

Ashes2Art website

DigitalDelphi website

Two recent articles have highlighted popular teaching content (and the professor- stars who have created it)

The New York Times proudly proclaims: At 71, Physics Professor Is a Web Star. Professor Lewin’s course materials, including videotaped lectures are available on OpenCourseWare at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at iTunesU.

Fans e-mail him from all over the world, discussing both his inspirational style as well as the concepts he has taught them from watching his videos. Even people who are not students have a new appreciation for physics after watching his presentations.

Two mathematics professors, Douglas Arnold and Jonathan Rogness, at University of Minnesota have created a YouTube hit about Möbius transformations; in the 6 months since this was posted, it has received over one million hits. An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education describes the animation.

We may be able to all have our 15 minutes of fame on the internet. Or, use someone else’s popular content in our teaching.

The medical students have some medical exercises with physicians from around the world at Ann Myers Medical Center in Second Life. See some snapshots as examples at http://scienceroll.com/2007/08/09/live-blogging-today-first-medical-simulation-in-second-life/

Before practicing medicine on real patients, nursing students at Tacoma Community College, in Washington, get to practice on virtual ones in the world of Second Life. Visit the article “To Save a Second life” from The Wired Campus.

“Authentic learning”—or learning-by-doing— engages students in the multidisciplinary problem solving and critical thinking researchers and experts use every day. Advances in technology enable access to a greater range of real and virtual environments. Why Today’s Students Value Authentic Learning, a white paper from the Educause Learning Initiative (ELI), explores student attitudes toward authentic learning, highlighting its benefits as well as potential concerns.

Haptic technologies are one way to make learning more realistic for students. Haptics simulate physical properties such as weight, momentum, friction, texture, or resistance through interfaces that let users “feel” what is happening on the screen. For example, medical students may use haptics for a simulation of giving an injection or performing a surgical technique. ELI’s paper on The 7 Things You Should Know About Haptics provides a simple overview of how haptic technology can enable authentic learning.