At the Information Commons, our advanced educational technology facility located in Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, project work is directed to a different type of virtual reality. Using QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) technologies developed by Apple Computer, Inc., staff members have been creating digital models that can be viewed on the web and controlled by the user's mouse. The potential applications for the technology are most evident with anatomy.
Last spring, the Information Commons partnered with faculty member Jerald Moon from speech pathology and audiology to develop an interactive, computer-based tutorial and drill module to help students learn the anatomy of the human skull. Students will be able to rotate an entire "exploded skull" on the computer screen, select a particular bone, and view it from multiple perspectives. In order to aid the student in identifying and learning important features, a short tutorial section will guide the student through the anatomy of the skull. Subsequently, student learning will be reinforced through the use of a computerized drill. All of these functions, including high-resolution QTVR models (unlike the low-resolution versions you see here on our web site), will be packaged within an Authorware product. Our timeline for beta-testing the product is Spring 1999. An overview of the project and costs for hardware and software can be found in this brochure, available in pdf format.
Hardware and equipment for the project was funded by a $5,000 grant from the UI Council on Teaching, one of 11 Instructional Improvement Awards given during 1997-98.
The Information Commons has employed QTVR technologies since 1996, beginning with panoramic VR and the creation of our Virtual Tour. Following contacts made at the 1997 Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference in San Jose, CA, the Information Commons was designated as a "seed" or beta-test site for Apple's QTVR Authoring Studio software. This provided us with an opportunity to use the software five to six months before its release on the commercial market. To learn more about QTVR and our multimedia development work at the Information Commons, please contact us at lib-hardin@uiowa.edu.
Jim Duncan
Head, Information Commons
August 20, 1998
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