MIT HiSTORY SERIES ON DIGITAL HUMANITIES | 2
Digital Zombies and Virtual Reality
Juliette Levy on digital history in the classroom
Juliette Levy; photo by Gia Goodrich
“Complete concentration on a specific event or action is being launched in a part of the brain that does not get engaged when [students] are reading or talking," says Levy. So the VR experience ends up "bypassing cognitive obstacles” that might otherwise hinder learning.
Digital History at MIT — Introducing the Digital Humanities series, Jeffrey Ravel, Head of MIT History, explained that the series is part of the History faculty's ongoing exploration of computational methods for research and teaching — a growing practice that is referred to as "digital history." Over the past 15 years MIT historians have led several substantial projects in digital history ranging from the Comédie-Française Registers Project, an analysis of French theater in the 18th century, to Visualizing Japan and Visualizing Imperialism and the Philippines, 1898-1913, two MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) developed by the department. The current seminars on innovative digital history projects are especially timely given the recent founding of the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, which will equip MIT faculty and students in any discipline to use computing and AI tools and also, equally, will enable faculty from all MIT disciplines to inform and guide the development of new technological tools. "Writ large," Ravel said, "this seminar series is a space for us to reflect on our forthcoming engagement with the new college."
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Weekly podcasts, a virtual reality experience involving Che Guevara, and a learning game with zombies are among the digital platforms a history professor has used to enhance her teaching and make the subject engaging, especially for large classes of hundreds of students.
Juliette Levy, an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside, described her experiences in the second of three lectures on digital history sponsored by the MIT History Section.
Key to Levy’s approach to teaching is putting the student first in curriculum design. Often, she said, “courses are designed to deliver content, and the student is sort of incidental to the equation.”
As a result, among other techniques, she incorporates into her teaching technologies that today’s students are quite familiar with. “There are profound structures of learning that are totally different today than they were 20 years ago, and we need to think about that,” Levy said.
Digital Zombies
She emphasized, however, the importance of a hybrid approach that also encourages more traditional assignments. For example, the Digital Zombies learning game she developed includes seven “missions.” One of these is to talk to a librarian. “This gets students to engage with an expert, which helps them to recognize that there are hierarchies of knowledge in the vast digital expanse. Not all text is the same.”
This physical mission is also important because Levy has noted a decline in research literacy among undergraduates. When queried at the beginning of a class, “some 75 percent of my students say they never use library resources.”
Digital Zombies, she said, refers to “all the people who are constantly on their phone and consider that that is the only thing they need to survive.”
Levy also teaches a 20th century world history survey with 420 students. Rather than deliver a lecture in person, she creates weekly podcasts, each about 30 minutes long, that students can listen to when and where they want. This makes for a more efficient learning environment for both students and teacher. Traditional lectures can often last 50 minutes due to downtime when, for example, people are getting settled. Plus, Levy’s found that often her students listen to the podcasts more than once.
Students in the class still have an opportunity to “meet” and ask questions about content through online discussion sessions led by Teaching Assistants. Each section of about 25 students includes ”tiles” for each person present (like the opening credits to the Brady Bunch). Unlike the podcasts, students sign up for discussion sessions at specific times.
Virtual Reality
Levy is currently developing a virtual-reality experience based on Che Guevara that is in its third round of testing. In it, students are immersed in a Cuban jungle that includes blocks of information related to Guevara and his speeches. They manipulate and sort these blocks in an exercise aimed at teaching them to analyze sources.
Then, students are asked to go to a library, talk to a librarian, “and essentially replicate what they’ve done in VR,” Levy said. “Because the whole point of VR is not to be in VR, it’s to learn something in VR then do it in the real world.”
Levy also believes that the immersive experience of VR and its interactive environments — complete with sound — helps students remember what they’ve learned. “That complete concentration on a specific event or action is being launched in a part of the brain that does not get engaged when they’re reading or talking,” she said. So the VR experience “ends up bypassing cognitive obstacles” that might otherwise hinder learning.
Nevertheless, Levy said, “digital pedagogy is as much about using digital tools thoughtfully as it is about deciding when not to use digital tools.”
Suggested links
Jeff Ravel, Head, MIT History
Juliette Levy, Associate Professor of History, University of California / Riverside
Digital History Seminar Series
Seminar 1: Cameron Blevins: Computation and digital media in history research
Seminar 2: Juliette Levy: Digital zombies and virtual reality - digital history in the classroom
Seminar 3: William J. Turkel: Computation and the practice of 21st-century history
MIT Digital Humanities Program
Online Courses and Resources from MIT History:
Visualizing Imperialism and the Philippines, 1898-1913, an MITx MOOC
Visualizing Japan, an MITx MOOC
Stories
3 Questions: Jeffrey Ravel on bringing data to cultural history
MIT conference stems from data-rich historical project on French theater
Interview: Ravel on French History
A global French history conference at MIT
MIT reshapes itself to shape the future
Gift of $350 million establishes the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, an unprecedented, $1 billion commitment to world-changing breakthroughs and their ethical application.
Making a path to ethical, socially-beneficial artificial intelligence
Leaders from government, philanthropy, academia, and industry say collaboration is key to make sure computational and AI tools serve the public good.
Online Courses and Resources from MIT History
Visualizing Imperialism and the Philippines, 1898-1913, an MITx, edX MOOC
Visualizing Japan, an MITx, edX MOOC
Stories
3 Questions: Jeffrey Ravel on bringing data to cultural history
MIT conference stems from data-rich historical project on French theater.
Interview: Ravel on French History
A global French history conference at MIT
MIT reshapes itself to shape the future
Gift of $350 million establishes the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, an unprecedented, $1 billion commitment to world-changing breakthroughs and their ethical application.
Making a path to ethical, socially-beneficial artificial intelligence
Leaders from government, philanthropy, academia, and industry say collaboration is key to make sure computational and AI tools serve the public good.
Story prepared by SHASS Communications
Editorial and Design Director: Emily Hiestand
Writer: Elizabeth Thomson
Published 28 March 2018