Curricular Modules: 3D and Immersive Visualization Tools forLearning

许多科学原理本质上是动态的，但通常通过教科书和黑板等静态二维媒体来呈现，让学生在两者之间建立联系。在一些科学课程中，我们正在尝试使用3D动画来增加学生对这些概念的理解。早期迹象表明，使用这些技术的学生已经对这些概念有了更深入的理解。有了这笔资金，我们将扩大使用这种方法的课程数量，并通过使用沉浸式和虚拟现实进一步发展这种方法。我们将通过将来自不同学科的学生和教师聚集到康涅狄格学院艺术与技术中心来研究、设计和实施新的学习模块来实现这一目标。这些模块将以3D的沉浸式环境呈现科学概念，供课堂使用。我们将开发的模块包括人体生理学、图论、物理入门、有机化学和生物化学、细胞生物学以及小学数学和科学教育。这些模块由跨学科的学生和教师团队创建，将在创新的视觉环境中开发复杂的图形和清晰的信息设计。每个模块将以三种形式呈现：沉浸在虚拟现实环境中，UNIX工作站的CD-ROM和3D Web版本。我们将在为其开发的课程中测试这些模块的教学效果，然后向更广泛的教育界传播。

Many scientific principles are dynamic in nature but are commonly presented through static two-dimensional media such as textbooks and blackboards, leaving the students to make the connection between the two. In several science courses we are experimenting with the use of 3D animations to increase the students' understanding of these concepts. Early indications are that the students using these techniques have developed a much greater understanding of the concepts. With funds from this grant, we will expand the number of courses that use this approach and develop this method further by using immersion and virtual reality. We will accomplish this by bringing together students and faculty from different disciplines to the Center for Arts and Technology at Connecticut College to research, design, and implement new learning modules. These modules will present scientific concepts in a 3D, immersive environment for use in the classroom. Specific subjects for which we will develop modules include human physiology, graph theory, introductory physics, organic chemistry and biochemistry, cell biology, and math and science education in elementary schools. Created by cross-disciplinary student and faculty teams, these modules will be developed with sophisticated graphics and clear information design in an innovative visual context. Each module will be presented in three forms: immersion in a virtual reality environment, a CD-ROM for a UNIX workstation, and a 3D Web version. We will test the pedagogical effectiveness of these modules in the classes for which they have been developed, and then disseminate them to the wider educational community.