Themes

Drawing and Recording in Archaeology - Reusable Learning Object development

The Subject Centre, in collaboration with the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Reusable Learning Objects (RLO-CETL), is developing a ‘proof of concept' simulation to assist archaeology students develop their drawing and recording skills.

Drawing and recording, although fundamental to archaeological study, are often difficult skills for students to acquire. A lack of site access and the insufficient stratigraphical detail which photographs can provide contribute to and compound these difficulties. This simulation will therefore use animations in order to ‘map' plans and sections onto photographic representations of the surfaces under consideration, allowing students to ‘see', even when off-site, how archaeological features can be represented.

A pedagogical framework will be provided for this simulation and the package will thus be a reusable learning object: a stand-alone, web-based e-learning resource, However, the development team (comprising academic experts and a learning technologist) also intend that this learning object should be as customisable as possible, and therefore will explore the ways in which it can be made re-usable and re-purposable in the future. A ‘mobile' version which can be viewed via a mobile phone will also be developed, and the development team is examining ways in which GPS data can be incorporated into this learning object.

Following evaluation of the learning object for pedagogical effectiveness, using the RLO-CETL Evaluation Tool-kit, it is intended that further examples of this learning object will be developed and evaluated. The format will then be available from the Subject Centre and RLO-CETL to interested tutors for use within their teaching.