ATHENS, Ohio -- This summer the staff at the Visual Resources Library (VRL) headed by Curator of Visual Resources Laura Paris began the process of integrating digital images into the collection for the purpose of classroom instruction. The Internet-delivered images will be used primarily for survey level courses in Art History and Interdisciplinary Arts during the beginning stages of use.
On Friday, Oct. 11, from 3 to 4 p.m. Paris will conduct a demonstration of the digital imaging database in Mitchell Auditorium in Seigfred Hall for anyone who is interested in learning more about the new technology.
Beginning in 1996, James Madison University (JMU) developed the Madison Digital Image Database (MDID) as an educational tool for innovative learning. By October of 2001, JMU offered a free download of the database to any institution wanting to include a digital database to supplement course instruction. Over 150 different institutions have asked about the new software as part of their curriculum. In one year, Paris with the help of Alastair Thorne, instructional technology specialist for the College of Fine Arts, was able to implement the technology necessary to start the process of a digital database. Bill Bitunjac, the imaging systems consultant, was responsible for helping to set up the database in the VRL by creating standards and protocols for digital imaging. In addition, Bitunjac also was responsible for overseeing employee training on the new equipment necessary to add images to the database.
The MDID is an image search engine and multimedia learning system, designed for instructors to present a web-based slide show for students in the classroom. Professors and students alike that use this new multimedia form of learning will be witness to the finest projections of art images. Instructors create a slide show through the use of digitized images stored in the database. Through the search engine, instructors search for images based on the requirements for the class. In the SlideShow Builder, the images are organized, annotated, and stored. In the classroom, the professor utilizes the ImageViewer to download the slide show onto the computer and project the images for the students to view. Students can access a course Web page and view selected images as a study aid at the end of each lecture to prepare for exams. The slide shows that are created by the professors for a lecture can be archived in the database for future a class.
In the age of computers, this new system appeals to students for many reasons. Computer-based learning increases student engagement because the system can be used outside of the classroom setting. This creates a more innovative way of learning due to higher student interest in digitally based methods of learning.
There are many bonuses for implementing a digital slide collection. First, digital images require little ongoing maintenance relative to analog slides after the initial scanning and cataloging. Also, many instructors can use one image simultaneously. Finally, slide shows can be customized from any local campus computer; this makes it unnecessary for professors with time constraints to make a trip to the VRL to pull slides for their lecture.
Charles Buchanan and Laura Fry are the first two instructors to use this new digital database at Ohio University. Buchanan is teaching the Interdisciplinary Arts course Arts in Antiquity. Fry, who is teaching Interdisciplinary Arts 117, said she is enjoying using the Digital Imaging Database in her class this fall. Fry also feels that the system offers her students a more interactive experience and is a great time saver for her.
According to Laura Paris, the VRL digital collection currently totals over 600 images with the expectation of adding an additional 1000 images by spring quarter. It is her desire to achieve campuswide involvement using innovative technology to show fine arts images at Ohio University. She also feels that the digital imaging database directly relates to President Glidden's State of the University address on Oct. 1 because the database supports and involves undergraduate students in an environment of interactive technology on campus. A system that embodies innovative teaching such as the new digital imaging database is important to create lifelong learning.
