Q Feb 22, 2001

Re: Q: The scholarly use of CD-Roms (2)

Marion Deshmukh

Hello,

One CD-ROM which may be of interest to both historians and art
historians is a series (Western Civilization, American History, World
History) which a company by the name of Instructional Resources Corp. puts out.

Our dept. is putting together a series of TV scripts to be used in an
introductory West. Civ. course and we are keying a number of images and
video clips from the CD with the script. There are about 4000 images per
CD-Rom and they include art objects, architecture, graphics, photos,
maps, etc. grouped in thematic and chronological order. Each CD costs $
US 90.
There is a website as well.

Best,
Marion Deshmukh
Department of History and Art History
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030 USA
(703) 993-2149
(703) 993-1251 fax
e-mail: mdeshmukgmu.edu

From: RSarkissiaol.com
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 06:32:42 EST
Subject: Re: Q: The scholarly use of CD-ROMS

I think new means of communicating images, such as through CDs, can be
ideal in many respects, as you mention in the email: economically for
students, an innovative method (the very function of art and technology), less
heavy,
etc.
If such an approach has not been welcome by many academics, as mentioned
in your email, I suspect it is because the weight of work on the shoulders
of the lecturer might become multiplied. There would need to be "prep"
work and handouts of basic info and literature to students on a weekly basis.
Yet I think the advantage of filtering art historical literature to key
points through handouts can be quite productive, as it will allow students to
retain central ideas rather than elongated texts that many students may
not have the will OR time to read and re-read in order to derive key
concepts.
So I find the use of handouts supplemented by CD images and vice versa
to be innovative pedagogical means. As much as I admire the wealth of
information and interpretations in books and textbooks, I sense that the
limited amount of time for a single course renders their use somewhat fictional
(both for students and faculty). I am always open to explore new pedagogic
approaches.

All the best,

R. S.

Reference:
Q: Re: Q: The scholarly use of CD-Roms (2). In: ArtHist.net, Feb 22, 2001 (accessed Mar 29, 2024), <https://arthist.net/archive/24316>.

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