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VISUAL ARCHIVE FOR HUMAN EVOLUTION COURSE

Pedagogical goals:

This project was to develop a visual archive through which students in my Human Evolution course could gain easy access to a wide range of images of the fossil remains of hominids and their ancestors, and, to a lesser extent, their material culture. Much of the course concerns interpretations of physical remains, so providing ready access to the materials that are the objects of interpretation and debate is critical. Typically large class size, combined with the apparent reluctance of students to use materials on reserve in the library, make digital archives, accessible through a server, the ideal medium for providing this access. The digital visual archive allows students to review material presented in lecture as well as to view related materials that were not shown in class. Two objectives of the course are to make students aware of the most recent discoveries in the field, and to enable students to access the importance of these discoveries and the plausibility of theories developed to explain them. Being able to present visual materials associated with recent discoveries (in some cases published the day before lecture) greatly facilitates achieving these objectives.

Strategies:

The database was assembled using File-maker Pro and Adobe Photoshop. One feature of the database is that it includes detailed information about the books from which the images were derived (in those cases in which scanned images are used), in the hope that students will be inspired to use library resources that are in print form in order to pursue their particular interests. I developed the data base with the idea that it should be readily augmented and accessible to students, and to this end, developed standardized procedures and organizational protocols for its continued expansion, which will be further developed and modified for use in the visual archive for the Anthropology of Art course I will be teaching in the Fall. Mentoring Javier Trevino in the production of his visual data archive proved quite helpful in revealing what instructions might be required for a novice user of the relevant software.

Assessment:

It is difficult to assess the full impact of the data base as the component intended for student access was not completed until the end of the semester. Judging from student evaluations, the use of digitized images in the classroom setting, and manipulating them through the various tools provided in Adobe Photoshop, has definitely enhanced the course. I will ask for detailed student feedback on their experience with the data base next semester, when I teach the course again.

Dissemination:

As many of the images in this data base are derived from published images, it is impossible to make this data base available to anyone but those enrolled in the course, to whom a password will be made available for the semester.

By shifting the focus of my efforts I have been able to complete the By shifting the focus of my efforts I have been able to complete the equivalent of only one and a half of the projects originally proposed. I will further develop protocols and procedures required specifically for the Anthropology of Art course over the summer, coordinating my efforts with the Art History slide digitization project in whatever ways will make our archives compatible, with the proviso that the software involved must be user-friendly to encourage student participation. I will test these protocols and procedures with students in my Anthropology of Art course that I will teach in the Fall. I hope that the LTLC committee will be able to support the completion of the Anthropology of Art archive project once the Fall semester is under way.








Last updated on 6/9/99; 2:01:08 PM
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