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Learning With Another Dimension

3-D video enters the classroom

Digital learning is going 3-D.

This spring, faculty can explore the use of 3-D video cameras in teaching and learning as part of the Duke Digital Initiative (DDI).

The 3-D exploration builds on growing interest in multimedia production and use at Duke, where thousands of faculty and students have experimented with video in more than 500 classes in the past year, according to DDI's coordinators in the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Center for Instructional Technology (CIT).

Newly adopted standards for 3-D formatting and viewing led to the development of consumer-grade cameras, which have only been available in recent months.

"If you wanted to shoot 3-D video a year ago, you would have had to buy a professional-level camcorder for $22,000. Now we have the capability to do it without a lot of hassle," said CIT consultant Randy Riddle.

A limited number of the 3-D cameras - similar to Flip cameras, but able to shoot both 2-D and 3-D - will be available for loan.

Users can edit the video using software like iMovie and upload to YouTube for 3-D viewing with special red and blue glasses, available at the Multimedia Project Studio.

"Most people think of 3-D as movies where things pop out and scare you. But it's not a gimmick if you're using the technology to elucidate something you can't see without that depth," such as identifying plant species, exploring sculpture or architecture, or analyzing a dance or theater performance, Riddle said.

Craig Roberts, assistant director for education at Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, is interested in using 3-D as a tool to help students learn about neuroscience methods.

For his class this spring, Roberts is producing a set of short 3-D videos of scientists demonstrating and explaining key lab techniques such as delicate tissue dissections and microscopy.

Not only is video more efficient for training a large number of students, but "there's more informational content in 3-D, and a lifelike and engaging presentation," Roberts said. "We believe that helping students understand the tools we use as neuroscientists, and what the process looks like, will enable them to have a more productive research experience."

3-D also provides a kind of experiential learning that could improve retention, he said.

"Students can conjure up their own mental images or look at 2D drawings to model processes, but this technology can potentially augment our representation of the real world and enhance student understanding," Roberts said.

While 3-D isn't new - the technology was invented in the 1880s and has gone through several "waves" since then - the popularity of recent films like "Avatar" has spurred a growing interest among students, said Josh Gibson, who teaches experimental filmmaking in Duke's Arts of the Moving Image program.

Last year, a student in his capstone class tried to build his own 3-D camera by mounting two Flip cameras next to each other.

Gibson said he sees 3-D as an addition to the filmmaking toolkit.  He expects interest in the technology to be high when Duke launches its new Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts in fall 2011.

"It's a new window upon reality," Gibson said. "I could see 3-D documentaries emerging as a new form. The possibilities are limitless, and students will drive that progress with their interest."

In addition to the cameras, DDI coordinators hope to set up a 3-D "exploration station" in the Multimedia Project Studio East in the spring, where faculty and students can experiment with 3-D modeling, creating virtual environments such as those on display in the Duke immersive Visual Environment (DiVE), a six-sided virtual reality chamber in the Pratt School of Engineering.

Since its inception in 2004, DDI has supported the application of a range of technologies in teaching and learning. Funded by the Provost's Office, the program provides training to help faculty and students use the tools effectively.

To learn more about other DDI programs, visit the DDI website.