A Web-Based Digital Learning Environment for Archaeology Students

A Web-Based Digital Learning Environment for
Archaeology Students

Jeanne
Sept
Anthropology Department Indiana
University
sept@indiana.edu

Martin
Siegel
Center For Excellence In Education Indiana
University
msiegel@indiana.edu

1999

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

ACH/ALLC 1999

editor

encoder

Sara
A.
Schmidt

All faculty teaching introductory survey courses in the social sciences and
humanities face a dilemma: how to give students a broad overview of the
fundamental issues in a field while at the same time engaging them in
problem-solving, using the analytical methods of their discipline. We are
exploring this pedagogical challenge in the context of introductory archaeology
classes. We are developing a Digital Learning Environment for use on the World
Wide Web (WWW) that we propose can not only transform student-teacher
relationships in archaeology, but also model an innovative strategy for
improving the quality of learning opportunities for students across a range of
disciplines.
With support from a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the
Department of Education (FIPSE) we are designing a Web-based visualization tool
called TimeWeb that allows students to query a complex relational database on
African archaeology, and examine the time/space relationships of the
archaeological materials that they find. Asked to evaluate the earliest farming
in Africa, for example, students can search for sites with dated evidence of
food production, such as plant remains or artifacts, and display the search
results chronologically on a dynamic time scale, on a choice of integrated maps,
or as a sortable list. They can then link from any site displayed in TimeWeb to
a web page that contains archaeological data and multimedia information for that
site. Students can use information they discover at individual sites to refine
their next TimeWeb research queries.
We have done formative tests of TimeWeb in two archaeology classes, taught at
Indiana University during the 1998-99 academic year by J. Sept. While our
database is still in an early stage of development, preliminary classroom
results suggest that students are eager to use these web-based tools to explore
complex datasets for themselves. However, they initially need more structured
class time and digital tools to work cooperatively, both to develop team
strategies for problem-solving, and to integrate and interpret their research
results and discuss them with other members of the class. The next phase of our
project will be addressing these issues of curriculum and technological
development.