Name: Timothy W. Hiles
Type of session: Lecture/Presentation Preferred track: Track 3: Pedagogy and Technology Integration Abstract: How does one make use of the remarkable technological opportunities available and yet maintain those cherished traditional values inherent in the classroom setting? An intriguing solution has been to make an Art History web site available to students that prepares them for active participation in the classroom. Moving beyond a passive presentation of information, the site contains interactive reading assignments,images previously shown only in the classroom, and various study aids. Students played an integral role in the creation of the site, ensuring its practicality. Description: How does one make use of the remarkable technological opportunities available and yet maintain those cherished traditional values inherent in the classroom setting? An intriguing solution has been to make an Art History web site available to students that prepares them for active participation in the classroom. Moving beyond a passive presentation of information, the site contains interactive reading assignments, images previously shown only in the classroom, and various study aids. On our History of Photography web site (http://web.utk.edu/~twh/photo.htm) students have access to nearly five hundred images that in the past have been available only on a slide screen in the classroom. The site is designed as a study aid where students can review the images before and after they are shown in class while examining the text and their class lectures. Also available on-line are the numerous articles assigned during the semester. These articles are to be read outside of the lecture and discussed in the classroom. Each reading is enhanced by HTML links between images described in the article and the actual photographs. Links have also been created between photographic technical terms and their definition. In addition, there is an on-line syllabus, list of reserve-reading library books, and glossary. How do you create a web site with limited resources? The graphics of this site were designed by students in the Art Department. Not only did this foster supportive interaction between the professor and the students, it also led to many innovative ideas that could come only from a student's perspective. A few of the students had taken the History of Photography class earlier and could easily understand the goal of the project. They were also instructive in letting us know what to include and, perhaps more importantly, what to leave out, answering such essential questions as whether or not the site would discourage them from coming to class. Two practicum students from the Department of Library Science scanned many of the images and created several of the HTML links between the articles, images, and terms. Both of these students have since found employment using web technology. The cost of creating the site was not prohibitive. We used our Zenith PC with Windows97 and Netscape 2.01 in conjunction with Adobe and WordPerfect software, a Polaroid Slide Scanner, and an external Zip disk. Student feedback has been extremely positive. One hundred percent of those polled had used the site for study and review by mid term, with nearly eighty percent reporting that they had used it at least once each week. In addition, eighty percent reported that they would be more likely to select an art history course that had a similar web site. Length: 30 minutes Audience: general, faculty Audience level: all, but especially beginning On-site equipment requirements: Ability to access the Web and computer screen projection
Contact Information: Timothy W. Hiles, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Art History The Department of Art 1715 Volunteer Blvd. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-2410 Phone: 423-974-2725 FAX: 423-974-3198 Email: thiles@utk.edu
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