Brian Gockley and David Gockley (Bucknell University)
In summer 2012, Bucknell’s instructional technology group began working with Profs. Kevin Gilmore (Civil Engineering), Barry Long (Music) and Brian Gockley (Teaching & Learning Center) on developing materials for the new Integrated Perspectives (IP) course, ‘New Orleans in 12 Movements,’ offered for the first time in summer 2014. Our key goal was to help students develop a holistic understanding of New Orleans as an ever-changing, evolving place.
To support this learning, we created a web-based map with 60+ layers of cultural, environmental and historic information about New Orleans. The class map served as an interactive textbook for the course and enabled students to explore New Orleans’ natural environment, built infrastructure and human experience through a variety of lenses. In addition to their work with the map, students composed blog posts on a WordPress site and shared day-to-day observations using the #NOLAbison hashtag on Twitter. Faculty and students accessed the course materials using 3G connected iPads in the classroom and during fieldwork in New Orleans.