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Integrating digital media in teaching and learning

[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 1, No. 7  11 - 25 June 2007 ]

Digital technology offers new tools for teaching and research and wider options in how to learn and think. University of Melbourne Voice writer DAVID SCOTT spoke to a number of University of Melbourne academics about how they are using the new media.

Cliff Ogleby, Geomatics, Faculty of Engineering.

“New media and its associated technologies have had a significant impact on both teaching and research in Geomatics. A unit in First Year introduces students to new-media in a computer graphics context.

“A great deal of our visualisation research now uses three-screen real time projection. Outcomes include an eight-screen VR (virtual reality) exhibition on dinosaurs with the Melbourne Museum and a VR reconstruction of Olympia for the Sydney 2000 Games exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum.

“I’m presently working with National Museum Australia to develop an exhibition of the 20 000 years old fossilised human footprints at Lake Mungo, which I documented using 3D laser scanning and satellite positioning.”


Professor Jaynie Anderson, Culture and Communication, Faculty of Arts

“We have a brief from the University to devise computer programs that allow for teaching from the University collections. Shortly after taking up my appointment at the University I devised a program for curating an exhibition of Old Master Prints on line, called The Virtual Print Room. Since then we have created several programs, including the Virtual Condition Report and Curatorial Careers. They have proved to be exciting forms of preparation for the real experience of curating an exhibition in a museum.”


Associate Professor Sundhya Pahuja, Institute for International Law and the Humanities, Faculty of Law

“A Law and Development blog with a virtual reading group component and RSS feeds to sites potentially of interest to students has been established by my colleague Jenny Beard and LLM student Luis Eslava in conjunction with graduate students. The blog contains reading lists, links to full text articles, the column of RSS feeds and the space for students and academics to post their thoughts about the readings.

“We are also designing a web-based Globalisation and the Law course which will be taught in five countries. The course involves role plays and collaborations between students and is totally reliant on the web.”


Dr Raoul Mulder, Zoology, Faculty of Science

“A web-based system, PRAZE, has been developed in-house to facilitate the automation of peer review amongst students and groups of students. The philosophy is one of students reviewing each other’s work prior to final submission, and later receiving feedback on these reviews. Through this process they benefit both by being the recipient of comments on their own work but also through critically reviewing the work of others and reflecting on its positive and negative aspects.

“PRAZE has many similarities to systems used to assist in managing the reviewing of papers for a journal of conference, but it has specific requirements unique to the teaching environment.”


Dr Norm Eizenberg, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

“Improved multimedia resources, such as our An@tomedia (TM) software – which among other things allows virtual dissection and investigation of the human body – enables improved quality and more options for self-learning in anatomy.

“Such multimedia resources provide comprehensive learning materials for medical, allied health and science students at all levels of study – from the beginner through to the specialist surgeon. They can be used in any setting as an adjunct to practical and theory teaching, assessment and in self- learning.

“Resources like An@tomedia can also help transform purely lecture-based courses to practical/tutorial-based courses by assisting in preparing for dissection classes and mastering clinical skills based on anatomical knowledge.”