2 /PSH NEWS CA bruary 1, PITAL TIKES
Fe 1999
Humanities profs to develop multi-media teaching too
Matt Hunt
Capital Times
You are sitting in your Western
Tradition I class. The instructor punches
some buttons on a classroom computer
and images from a CD-ROM illustrate
city planrung and architecture in Ancient
Greece and Romc
Welcome to the classroom of the
future. And its not as far away as you
might think
Instructors at Penn State Harrisburg,
headed by Associate Professor of
Humanities and Art History Troy Thomas,
are developing . - .Lch a CD-ROM to
support instruction in the Western
fradition course
It is a project that Thomas describes as
part of the multi rmedia classroom which
has been a goal of the humanities division
. some time non .
The project i c funded by a grant from
t'enn State's Computer-Based Education
l aboratory.
CBEL accepts only 25 percent of the
applications it receives, Thomas said.
In addition to city planning and
architecture of Ancient Greece and Rome,
the CD-ROM will illustrate 11 topics.
.iirrently, Thomas said, he and his
COLD, from page 1
don't they fix it!"
Pucciarella said when she complained
to the housing office, the woman she
spoke with told her to just leave the
bedroom door open to get heat because
there weren't any space heaters left. After a
call to the coordinator of residence life,
George Young, Pucciarella said she
received a heater within an hour.
At least five students bought their own
heaters, said Karen Barbosa, a senior
colleagues are concentrating on just two
examples--the Acropolis of Athens and the
Forum of Trajan.
Thomas said the CD will be used both
inside and outside the classroom. Users
can select images from any part of the
disk.
But the disk is not just for images,
Thomas said The CD-ROM can also be
used to understand the philosophy behind
the architecture and the city planning. The
C1)-ROM is also designed to be
interactive.
"It will be possible for students to go
to the computer lab and use the CD-ROM
to reinforce what they learned in class,"
Thomas said "They will be able to
explore the Acropolis in a way they
cannot during a lecture for from a sketch
or drawing."
Thomas said that this will create a new
learning experience for the student.
Also working with Thomas on the
project are Associate Professor of
Humanities and History Louise Hoffman
and Assistant Professor of Humanities and
Writing Matthew Wilson. Assistant
Director of 'Computer Information
Systems Terry Majzlik is contributing
computer expertise.
Thomas said the project could take at
least live years to complete.
management information systems major.
"We have to turn up our heat at night to
80 degrees," Barbosa said. "We didn't say
anything about it because they
[maintenance] don't fix anything else in
the house."
Matinchek said only two men maintain
all 140 Meade Heights homes.
Concerning the heating problem,
Matinchek said: "I've been here for 12
years and the same heating system has
been in there. You're bound to have
problems, but this is the first year people
have complained."
He added that he would be glad to check
any houses if the students tell him.
Maintenance can be reached through the
housing office at 948-6244.
HIGH-TECH HUMANITIES -- Troy Thomas, Associaf , r'rofessor of
Humanities and Art History, is heading a team of humanities faculty that is
developing a CD-ROM to teach ancient art and architecture.
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