| Joan Giesecke Dean of Libraries University of Nebraska at Lincoln |
David Bagby Technology Coordinator, Hixon-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts University of Nebraska at Lincoln |
Despite the development of commercial systems for providing art historians with digital images for classroom use, the practical issue of how to project dual images for teaching art history survey courses in large classrooms remained unsolved. The split screen system found in most commercial products for comparing images does not provide large enough images to be seen in the back rows of classes of 100 or more students. A technology solution was needed to provide full-size dual image projection from one computer that was easy for faculty to use. While the technology was relatively easy to adapt so that two different “slide shows” could be projected to mimic two traditional slide projectors, the real challenge was to address the culture of an art history field that is wedded to slides, and to address the administrative challenges of developing support systems for helping faculty use technology that is different from what is found in most of the large classrooms. At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Libraries and the Art and Art History Department received a joint teaching grant from the University to create digital image collections that would meet the needs of the art historians teaching large survey classes, and to assess the impact on student learning when students have access to the images used in class on a 24×7 basis. A project team of library staff, art historians and the art slide curator, and technologists was created to manage the grant. CONTENTdm was used to create the image collections, and then programs were written to allow dual image projection using PowerPoint, rather that split screens, for the MAC platform. Software from CONTENTdm that supported the PC platform was also tested and used.
In this briefing session, we will describe the challenges of moving from developing digital content to solving the “last mile problem” of how to put the technology in large, general classrooms and then persuade faculty to change their teaching methods to use the new system. Technological, administrative, financial, and instructional challenges will be addressed. The views of an art historian who was reluctant to give up slides and is now using digital images in the classroom will be described. The librarian and technologist will discuss the programming and equipment issues, training issues, and the challenge of helping art historians understand how a key word searchable digital collection can be more powerful in teaching than the traditional slide collection. Lessons learned, including both successes and failures, will be included.
Handout (MS Word)