Learning with digital artifacts: gaining a sense of the object
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720210474244 |
| Date | 01 September 2002 |
| Pages | 14-21 |
| Published date | 01 September 2002 |
| Author | Janet Rountree,Robert Hannah,W B.L.illiamWong |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Learning with digital
artifacts: gaining a
sense of the object
by Janet Rountree, Robert Hannah,
and B.L. William Wong, University of
Otago, New Zealand
Keywords: Digital libraries, Teaching,
Learning
Abstract: In this article some thoughts on the
use of digitised artifacts for teaching visual
analysis in Classical art are presented. In
order to employ digital images as effective
teaching tools it is important to be able to
describe your expectations for the media in
relation to the learners' task; to consider how
to use the type of presentation (e.g. still
photographs or virtual reality) to best
advantage; and to identify critical insights
students may either obtain (or have
diminished) as a result of the media
presented to them.
Introduction
Cheap to produce, easy to copy, and fast to
disseminate: the digital image proliferates. Via
CD-ROMs and the Web, museums, libraries, and
galleries offer us virtual reproductions of artifacts
for view on our computer screens. Digital images
are becoming a valuable resource for scholars,
students, and the interested public. Yet how does
this reproduction reflect the original work? What
does digitisation mean for an eye that has less
experience in visual observation and critique? Do
digital photographs present informative images?
Does the change in visual aesthetic alter the
quality of experience?
Light reflected from, or absorbed by, the surface
of an artifact is different in nature and experience
from light shot through phosphors on a flat
computer screen. Scale is also an issue: our
awareness of size is relative, so how discerning is
the viewer to altered visual dimensions? Of
course, any reproduction of a work of art
intended for study must deal with assuring
quality of colour, and will likely not match the
original in dimensions. The limitations of
hardware and software make the display of
digitised artifacts on off-the-shelf computers
particularly susceptible to the degradation of
visual experience.
In this discussion, we present our perspective on
the issue of using digital artifacts as teaching
materials in Classical art. Students in the first-
year course on Classical art and architecture at
the University of Otago have the opportunity to
attend museum tutorials where they learn a
process of systematic observation and
description. To be successful at this task a student
needs to be able to assess the organisation of the
visual elements, interpret style, appreciate the
original context of the work, and share communal
meaning and experience with other viewers. The
use of still digital photographs and virtual reality
to help teach students how to look at artifacts
raises the following questions:
.What are the effects of using digital
artifacts when teaching students visual
analysis?
.What understanding or insights may be
lost through the use of digital artifacts?
.What advantage or value may be gained
through the use of digital artifacts?
To explore these questions we undertook two
small case studies. The first considered the study
of ancient Greek vases (Rountree et al., 2002)
where students saw the real artifact, still digital
photographs, or a single-level virtual reality (VR)
artifact (i.e. one which rotates only about the
vertical axis). The second involved the study of
sculpture (Rountree et al. in press) for which
students saw either a single-level VR, or a multi-
level VR (i.e. one which may be rotated about
both the horizontal and the vertical axes) of a
marble head.
The intention of this paper is to provide an
overview of our thoughts on the use of digitised
artifacts for teaching image analysis. It is our
opinion that in order to employ digital images as
effective teaching tools it is important to be able
to describe your expectations for the media in
relation to the learners' task; to consider how to
#MCB UP Limited, ISSN 0305-5728, DOI 10.1108/03055720210474244
14 Ð VINE, Volume 32 Number 3 2002, Issue 128
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