Digital Innovations in Teaching and Learning: Interactive Computer Environments in the Undergraduate Classroom

Authorship
  1. 1. Lisa M. Snyder

    University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Work text
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Instructional use of interactive three-dimensional computer
models is transforming undergraduate education at the
University of California, Los Angeles. A surge of faculty
interest in virtual environments over the past ten years has
resulted in a broad spectrum of projects now making their way
into Humanities and Social Sciences classrooms. Art history
and architecture students can now interactively explore the
digital Roman Forum developed by UCLA’s Experiential
Technologies Center (the successor organization to the Cultural
Virtual Reality Lab) in place of filmic slides or PowerPoint
presentations. Near Eastern Languages and Cultures students
can tour through Qumran, the settlement associated with the
Dead Sea Scrolls, in a computer reconstruction developed by
the Qumran Virtual Reality Project, or compare the first century
Herodian Temple Mount with the eighth century Umayyad
structures on the site through the real-time visual simulation
model developed jointly by the Urban Simulation Team at
UCLA and the Israel Antiquities Authority. Archaeology
students can experience the ancient Egyptian sites of Karanis
and Karnak created with support from UCLA’s Office of
Instructional Development and Academic Technology Services.
Spanish and Portuguese students can culminate their studies of
the pilgrimage route in Spain with a virtual visit to the
Romanesque Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, complete
with authentic period music. In American History classrooms,
students can experience the wonders of the World’s Columbian
Exposition of 1893 by interacting with a model developed by
the Urban Simulation Team.
The proposed paper will describe the results of over 600 student
surveys administered in the past two years by the UCLA
Experiential Technologies Center (ETC) staff to solicit reactions
to this new form of instructional technology. The survey
instruments were completed following regularly scheduled
class meetings held either in a technology-enabled classroom
or UCLA’s Visualization Portal (a campus facility with a 160
degree spherically wrapped projection screen specifically
designed for displaying these virtual environments). In the
surveys, Likert-style ratings gauged the students’ overall
experience with the computer model, their understanding and
interest in the content of the virtual environment, and their
reactions to the technology as a learning tool and compared to
more traditional types of instructional technologies. Multiple
choice and ranking questions explored the students’ interest in
using the virtual environments outside of the classroom and
the aspects of the environment most important for creating an
engaging learning experience. Short answer questions delved
into the students’ likes and dislikes, and thoughts on the learning
benefits of interactive computer models.
The paper will also explore instructor reactions to the classroom
use of interactive computer models. Concurrent with the student
surveys, ETC staff administered instructional technology
questionnaires to twenty five undergraduate instructors from
around the country who participated in an NEH Summer
Institute focused on “Models of Ancient Rome” and conducted
personal interviews with twelve instructors actively using the
models in their classrooms to explore faculty reactions to
teaching with virtual environments. The results of these surveys
identify the perceived challenges and benefits to classroom use
of interactive computer environments, general concerns about
instructional technology, curricular integration, perceived and
experienced pedagogical impacts, and instructor expectations
for virtual environments.
The paper will conclude with an analysis of how the student
and instructor reactions to the UCLA environments are
informing ongoing project development, and a discussion of
future research regarding digital pedagogy in the Humanities.
Associated websites:
• UCLA Experiential Technologies Center (<http://www
.etc.ucla.edu>)
• UCLA Academic Technology Services (<http://www.
ats.ucla.edu>)
• The Urban Simulation Team at UCLA (<http://www.
ust.ucla.edu>)
• UCLA Office of Instructional Development (<http://w
ww.oid.ucla.edu>)

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Conference Info

Complete

ADHO - 2007

Hosted at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States

June 2, 2007 - June 8, 2007

106 works by 213 authors indexed

Series: ADHO (2)

Organizers: ADHO

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  • Language: English
  • Topics: None