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

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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