Barak's Virtual Reality in Soil Science page
This page has been superceded by the
Virtual Museum of Minerals and
Molecules, by the newly formed Minerals & Molecules Project.
--P. Barak, 6 Jun 1998
Barak's collection of molecules and minerals in soil (limited
edition):
(Hint: you know that you are manipulating the models correctly
when you can zoom in and spin the 3D models on your browser.)
Legalese: These images are not public property and all
rights are reserved to the author, Phillip
Barak. They may not be modified or used in a distributed work without
written permission from the author. This means the images may not be copied and
added to other web pages accessible on the world wide web without permission.
Direct links to these images, however, are welcome and efforts will be made to
keep them available at their current locations.
What do you need to see them?
There is a subtle minimum computer configuration requirement in much of
this. I would judge a 486/66 or equivalent as a minimum computer for rendering
the simpler models, with a suitably good graphics card since this is a
processor- and video-intensive activity. Fast Pentium machines or Mac
equivalents are definitely preferable. The 3D models themselves are quite small
and often smaller than a well-rendered 2D image, so bandwidth on a modem is not
a particularly severe problem.
Why use 3-D models in soil science education?
Students are used to interactive, 3D games and toys in their play and
modern science education must keep pace. We can ask students to build a few
physical models in their educational career but the time involved may not be
justifiable. We can instead ask them to examine preconstructed physical models
within the context of a lab but, even so, their exposure is rather limited in
time and they have nothing in hand to take home and study. Most books have show
2D representations of 3D objects, both molecules and crystals, and these are
the only study aids that students really have in conventional education.
Three-D computer models offer both portability and interactivity, and
can be used both in class by the instructor with a computer-driven projector
and by the student at home/campus microcomputer lab equipped with a modem. VRML
is only one of many 3D programs/plug-ins that could be used for this purpose
but its marriage to the worldwide web makes its use attractive, particularly
since most new browser versions ship with VRML plug-ins and such plug-ins are
freeware. Chime offers different advantages, mainly its ability to render
output files from many common chemical modeling programs and to process RasMol
scripts for producing buttons.
What experience exists on 3-D models in the soils classroom to
date?
I developed VRML pages for my students during the Spring '97 semester,
showing molecular models of FeEDDHA. Students seemed
receptive and comfortable with the technology after an initial in-class
exposure with the computer-driven projector. No method of testing the advantage
of 3D presentations over conventional 2D presentations was devised and, indeed,
it is difficult to imagine a methodology to test 3D knowledge as opposed to 2D
knowledge. Instructor/colleagues likely to introduce computer technology
themselves were positive about the teaching applications of VRML. I used them
again with an introductory soil science class in the Fall '97 semester. I have
prepared webpages for use with Chime for the Spring '98 semester.
It is my experience that the greatest obstacles to use of web-delivered
3-D visualizations in instruction were: 1) ascertaining that the appropriate
plugin is indeed installed and operable and 2) the user knew how to operate the
navigation controls of the 3D model. I found it necessary to contact system
administrators for installing plug-ins in the microcomputer labs around campus.
Why am I posting these models and this page?
Input from instructors and students is desired. Correspondence is
particularly encouraged. I'd like to know if you find an advantage to embedded
or framed VRML or Chime pages, or whether you prefer seeing the models "neat"
with no text anywhere. Let me know!
Where do we go from here?
I have put together a small, but intrepid, team consisting of Ed Nater
and Ann Hill Duin (Univ. of Minnesota, Twin Cities), Janis Boettinger (Utah
State University), and myself for a USDA-Higher Education Program grant
proposal entitled "Interactive 3-D Visualization of Molecules and Minerals in
Soil Science Instruction". We're looking for some money to build dozens of
webpages (and entertain your requests!) and to test their use. Wish us
luck!
Last modified: 18 Apr 98 by Phillip
Barak (pwbarak@facstaff.wisc.edu). Dept.
of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
