teaching with immersive virtual...

Teaching with Immersive Virtual Archaeology

Brian M. Slator, Jeffrey T. Clark, James Landrum III, Aaron Bergstrom, JustinHawley, Eunice Johnston, and Shawn Fisher

Departments of Computer Science, Sociology/Anthropology, EnglishNorth Dakota State University

Fargo, ND 58105

AbstractWe describe an immersive 3D virtual reality environment for Archaeology education.

1. IntroductionThe Virtual Archaeologist is designed to give students an authentic experience that

includes elements of a) exploration of a spatially oriented virtual world, b) practical, field-based decision making, and c) critical thinking for scientific problem solving. Theobjectives of the project include assessment of student performance, evaluation ofinstructor feedback, and incorporation of that information into the continuing design of thesystem. The larger objective is the distribution of this experience to archaeology studentsaround the world. We have started to develop an immersive multi-user 3D virtual environment that

faithfully reproduces an archeological site: Like-a-Fishhook/Fort Berthold (LF/FB). Thesite is rendered as two discrete models, the first representing the site in 1954 (just prior toits destruction by the Garrison Dam flooding), and the second being a mirror of the first,but representing how it was in 1854.This mirroring will support "time travel" that will enable students to visit both times,

and to visualize the relationships between a "dig" and a village a century earlier. The 1954world is built from �distribution maps� of archaeological features and floor plans (or bird�s-eye views) of those features. These archaeological features include linear trenches withwooden post remnants, circular depressions where earth lodges stood (20 excavated) with aseries of stains from structural posts, and a variety of soil discolorations from pits,fireplaces, and other features. In the 1854 world, the archaeological traces are seen astimber palisades, �remarkable� earth and timber lodges, cache pits, scaffoldings, etc.

2. Background: The Like-a-Fishhook Story.Prior to the coming of European Americans, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes of

the Middle Missouri River resided in sedentary earth-lodge communities. Despite a basicsimilarity of economic and social life, these peoples differed remarkably in language andcustoms; the Mandan and Hidatsa speak a Siouan dialect, while the Arikara, related to thePawnee, are members of the Caddoan linguistic group.One of the most important historic sites of the Northern Plains was Like-a-Fishhook

Village, which was occupied simultaneously by all three, known today officially as theThree Affiliated Tribes. Like-A-Fishhook Village, also called Fort Berthold, was locatednorth of the confluence of the Missouri and Knife rivers in central North Dakota. As thelast earth-lodge settlement of the Northern Plains, the site documents an extraordinaryepisode of cultural transformation [1]. The village was initially founded in the aftermath ofa devastating smallpox epidemic in 1837. The Mandan population was most heavilyaffected by the epidemic, being reduced to fewer than 200 individuals. Though not asseverely struck by this terrible disease, the Arikara and Hidatsa populations shrank as well.Ethnohistorical evidence suggests that the first permanent residents of Like-a-FishhookVillage were Hidatsa who arrived in 1845 [1:4-5]. They were joined shortly thereafter by asmaller group of Mandan. At about the same time as the Hidatsa built their first earth

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia (VSMM’01) 0-7695-1402-2/01 $17.00 © 2001 IEEE

lodges, a white trading company (the American Fur Company), established a post at thesite, with log structures and a stockade, which eventually became known as Fort Berthold(dubbed Fort Berthold I by G. Hubert Smith). By 1862, a new trading post (Fort BertholdII), by a different trading company, had replaced the first, which had burnt to the ground.Also around 1862, the Arikara arrived, establishing themselves in a new section of thevillage, building on the site of the first fort.Over the decades, more European Americans moved into the region and the area

surrounding Like-A-Fishhook/Fort Berthold Village changed significantly. In the 1860s,Fort Berthold (by then a mixed community of Native Americans, European Americans, andmixed bloods), �was a base for Federal military units campaigning in the Dakota Territoryagainst fugitive remnants� of Native American tribes in the region [1:17]. In the late 1880sthe village was abandoned, as native residents were forced to leave the site and take upoccupation on new areas of the then Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.Data recovery projects (archaeological salvage excavations) were carried out at the site

in 1950-52 and 1954 by the State Historical Society of North Dakota, under contracts withthe National Park Service (NPS) and by the River Basin Surveys of the Smithsonian. Risingwaters from the Garrison Dam and Reservoir project ultimately inundated the site, whichnow rests about a mile offshore under the waters of Lake Sakakawea (Garrison Reservoir).Although many individuals were involved in that work, the final report was written by G.Hubert Smith and published by the NPS, U.S. Department of the Interior in 1972 [1]. In thepreface to his book, Smith wrote of this important site:�The former earth-lodge settlement of the Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara Indians, known

both as Like-a-Fishhook Village and as Fort Berthold Indian Village, was one of theimportant historic sites of the upper Missouri Valley. � The abandonment of Like-a-Fishhook Village marked the close of a decisive era of Indian history in the NorthernPlains� [1:v].

2.1. Background: Historical and Anthropological Significance of the Site.The unification of these three tribes tells of the significant impact that the coming of the

European American white man had upon Native American cultures. Peoples with similarbut distinctive Native American heritage closed ranks and banded together, setting asidetheir differences in response to increasing pressures brought upon them by contact with thewhite man.The sites of Like-A-Fishhook Village and Fort Berthold I and II, though no longer

extant, have, historically, held a significant role in the discipline of anthropology. The rollcall of explorers, archaeologists, ethnographers, ethnologists, historians, and artists whohave visited, studied, and recorded the lifeways of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara isimpressive, and testifies to the wealth of information available for use in development ofthe virtual LF/FB project. Among the first explorers to encounter and record the Mandanand Hidatsa was Pierre Gaultier La Vérendrye (journals 1738-43), followed by HenryAlexander the Younger (journals 1798-1814), and Meriwether Lewis and William Clark(and by extension Thomas Jefferson) during their historic explorations 1804-5); GeorgeCatlin (artist 1830s); Maximillian, Prince zu Weid (explorer, scientist) and Karl Bodmer(artist) during 1830s; Rudolph Freiderich Kurz (explorer/artist 1848-1852), Lewis HenryMorgan (anthropologist, kinship systems 1860s), J. V. Brower (ethnology and ethnographycollections 1896), George F. Will and H.J. Spinden (excavation 1905), Gilbert L. Wilson(numerous studies 1907 until his death in 1930), Edward S. Curtis (film and photography),George Gustav Heye (Founder of the National Museum of the American Indian; ethnology1906 forward), Robert H. Lowie (numerous studies 1912- early 1920s), Frances Densmore(ethnomusicology 1923, ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology 1973), Edward Kennard(linguistics 1936), Mary Warren Beckwith (ethnography, ceremonial organization,mythology 1937), Alfred L. Bowers (social and ceremonial organization 1950;


archaeological excavation 1929-1930), G. Hubert Smith (NPS excavations, 1950-1954),Raymond W. Wood (excavations 1954), Sol Tax and numerous students (1948-1952), JohnCanfield Ewers (numerous ethnology, ethnography, and ethnohistorical works 1930s-1990s), Edward M Bruner (ethnography 1940s- 1950s), Douglas R. Parks (ethnography1970s-1990s), and Stanley Ahler (1970s to present). In some ways the story of LF/FB is amirror of the study of Anthropology in America. We have compiled an extensiveb i b l i o g r a phy o f manu s c r i p t s and pub l i c a t i o n s on l i n e a thttp://vcell.ndsu.nodak.edu/fishhook/

2.2. Context: The Digital Archive Network for Anthropology (DANA).The Archaeology Technologies Laboratory (ATL) of North Dakota State University

(NDSU) is collaborating with the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND), todevelop a digital database for the LF/FB collection. This database differs from otheranthropological databases in several ways. Most notably, it contains three-dimensional(3D) models of material objects that are sufficiently precise to allow for a wide range ofmeasurements through the application of specially created �virtual tools.� Along withserving as a tool for information management, the database will be used to enhance thedisplay of artifacts recovered from LF/FB. Furthermore, the database will ultimately be partof a larger, Internet-based network of interoperable databases forming a global DigitalArchive Network for Anthropology (DANA) that will link researchers, students, and thegeneral public to realistic, accurate, visual representations of a variety of objects of interestto anthropologists [2]. The LF/FB database, and the larger DANA, will improve the abilityof researchers and preservationists to generate, communicate, organize, store, and analyzematerial culture data.The project described here draws on the digital models and associated database of the

LF/FB collection. Artifacts from the collection are transported to NDSU for scanning and3D model construction at the ATL. The database structure has been developed by ATL incollaboration with Fern Swenson, Chief Archaeologist and Deputy Director of HistoricPreservation for the SHSND, and her staff.The ATL is equipped with a Minolta Vivid 700 Non-Contact Laser Digitizer, a Kodak

260 digital camera, a Dell 610 dual-processor workstation, Polyworks Modeler software,DeepPaint3D with the Texture Weapons plug-in, and Photoshop 5. This digitizingequipment and software allow the lab to produce full-color digital 3D surface models ofphysical objects.The digitizing process emits a laser beam that is reflected off a mirror causing the laser

beam to spread out from a point reflection to a horizontal line reflection. As the mirrorrotates the laser beam reflects back from the artifact. This process can be referred to as"painting" the artifact. As the reflected laser beam returns to the digitizing lens, the Vivid700 calculates the 3D location of each point at which the laser began its return trip to themachine�s data capture lens. Once the laser beam line reaches the bottom of its reflectingrange, the laser and mirror are returned to their original states, ready to paint the artifactagain if necessary. Then, the digitizing lens takes a digital photograph of the artifact. The3D point data (and its associated digital photograph), are then compiled by the Vivid 700.Once in the Vivid data-capturing software, the completed scan is turned into a 3D

polygonal mesh. This mesh models the contour of the surface area of the artifact and alsohas associated mapping coordinates so that the digital photograph generated by the capturelens can be viewed as if it were reflected as light from the actual physical object. After onearea of the artifact has been digitized, the artifact is rotated so that a second area can bedigitized. The process is continued until the total of the completed scans digitally recreatesthe entire surface contour of the physical artifact.


2.3. Context: The NDSU World Wide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC).WWWIC (http://www.ndsu.edu/wwwic) is a multi-disciplinary group of NDSU

faculty engaged in developing virtual/visual worlds for science education that communicateboth the scientific method and discipline-specific content. These worlds are role-based,goal-oriented, learner-oriented, immersive, and exploratory [3]. These worlds employconsistent elements across disciplines and foster the sharing of development plans andtools.The goal of this research is to evaluate the use of active synthetic environments on

student learning of scientific, problem-solving skills, such as those that would be learned ona virtual archeological "dig." The objective is to produce a software product to bedistributed nationally. With this distribution, we hope to teach current curriculum better andto add curriculum not taught before. This project is being undertaken through collaborationbetween the Department of Computer Science and the Department ofSociology/Anthropology at North Dakota State University, in cooperation with teachers ata comprehensive four-year public university, Minnesota State University Moorhead(MSUM), Jamestown College, a private four-year liberal arts college, and Fort BertholdCommunity College, a two-year institution.

Figure 1: Archeological drawing of Hidatsa Lodge #1 floor plan, based on1950s excavation

3. The Virtual Environment.To achieve these goals, we have begun to construct a highly interactive virtual

environment (on two levels: 1954 and 1854) that provides "live" simulations forexploration and discovery that will engage learners while treating them to a plausiblesynthetic experience. Within this context, the student makes decisions similar to those of anarchaeologist, using simulated tools and the techniques of archaeology in conjunction withactual data from a real excavation. We have implemented similar systems to teach in a"learn by doing" manner the scientific method and the strategies of deductive problemsolving, along with fundamentals of geology [4] and biology [5].The 1954 level is being constructed using an engineering drawing tool (AutoCAD 2000;

See Figure 1), to precisely replicate the site according the archeological record. This givesus a "to the inch" model of the location of structural features; wooden posts, underground


caches, etc. The 1854 level is being constructed by loading these AutoCAD models into anarchitectural modeling program (we are currently using Form-Z; See Figures 2 and 4), andthen "extruding" the architectural features to give a faithful-as-possible rendering of thevillage as it is likely to have looked. We have accomplished one such extrusion of HidatsaLodge #1, and we are in the process of creating more (see http:// atl.ndsu.edu/ props/fishhook/ slide.htm for a 2D view of this preliminary work). We propose eventually tocapture the entire 40-acre site in this manner, using the archeological and topographicaldata as recorded in 1954. This includes the village site, the fort, an associated cemetery, andthe flood plain where crops were grown. This "mirroring" of time levels is needed tosupport the "time travel" that we propose.To maximize the authenticity of the 1800s site, we employ detailed renderings of the

structural and non-structural features of the site. For this detail we are using a varietymaterials: excavation notes and maps; photographs, paintings, and drawings (e.g., byBodmer, Catlin, de Trobriand) depicting the village or other earth lodge and/or forts in theMiddle Missouri from the mid and late 19th century; photos and plans of earth lodgesalready reconstructed by the State Historical Society at other sites; and numerouspublications.

Figure. 2: A JPEG image of a Form-Z model extruded from an AutoCadrepresentation of the floor plan in Figure 1. Note the support beams

are irregularly spaced and doubled up in some places.

In addition to the landscape and structural recreation, we envision one furtherinnovation: archaeological artifacts in context. In other words, we have begun to create 3Drenderings of artifacts from the site and to "salt" the environment with them. Students willnot only explore two faithful reproductions of an archeological site, they will "discover"faithful reproductions of artifacts authentic to the site, and in the locations they wereunearthed. For some examples of these 3D artifact models, including a bell with sound, seehttp://atl.ndsu.edu/props/ fishhook/main.htm, and Figure 3 below. It is on this foundationthat we are building a system to teach students how to think and act like archaeologists: by"doing" archaeology in an accurately and faithfully re-produced virtual context.To accomplish this, we have secured access to the original materials (documents,

photos, artifacts, etc.) stored at the North Dakota State Society Historical Museum, and wehave begun to create 3D digital models of selected artifacts. These artifacts are also beingadded to the DANA database (described above). Further, we have already developed thefirst version of a VRML "salting" tool (one could think of this as a sort of "level editor")


that allows us precisely to place small VRML objects into the context of a larger VRMLview.Lastly, during the 2001-2002 academic year, we plan to embark on a small experimental

detour by making the virtual environment available to the faculty and students of the newNDSU Writer�s Program as a platform for developing authentic historical fiction. In brief,student writers will be invited to explore the simulation and asked to write short �fictions�about the site or artifacts they find. These fictions will be revised and edited, first under thedirection of English department faculty and later according to critiques from ouranthropology and history consultants. If, after all this, these fictions are judged to be ofsufficient quality and authenticity, they will be included in the simulation as �fictionpoints� that archaeology students can click on and experience as part of their explorations.We are hopeful these will serve to �enliven� the simulation in pedagogically sound ways.However, we will proceed cautiously at first, and will keep the fiction points �hidden� fromarchaeology student eyes until we have solid data supporting their value.

4. Implementation Detail.The Archaeology Explorer is designed on the client-server model with client software

implemented primarily in Java and server processes hosted on LambdaMOO [6]. This is theusual technique for WWWIC projects and one with which we have a great deal ofexperience. The client software will be delivered over the Internet using standard browsersoftware.The Archaeology Explorer will most closely resemble the Virtual Cell [5], which is a

educational simulation for Biology education using the Virtual Reality Modeling Language(VRML) to render the interior of a cell and allowing students to study cellular organellesand processes first hand. The NDSU Digital Archive Network for Anthropology (DANA)is another project we draw on heavily, both for code and content. As with all WWWICprojects, this one leverages software and design experience from previous efforts. This is aconscious decision on our part, and allows us to re-use software and build on earlier work.

4.1. Client Detail.The client applet is a wrapper for three main components: 1) a telnet application for

connecting to the Archaeology Explorer MOO server; 2) Java3D libraries for supportingthe VRML rendering and navigation control; and 3) additional code and data for interfaces,interactivity, and so on. The student will have access to a set of virtual tools, such as thevirtual calipers we have developed for the DANA project, for taking a variety of objectmeasurements. They will store their measurements and record other observations in apassword-protected "personal logbook" that will persist between sessions. The NDSUVirtual Cell has proven to be successful and well accepted in user testing over the last twoyears [7], and we only plan modify the model as our user group demands.

Figure 3: 3D artifact models from Fort Berthold (pipe, bottle, bell).


The principal innovation necessary for the client side interaction is the development ofan �utterance constructor� to allow students to make statements in their logbooks abouttheir findings. These statements need to be coherent and interpretable by the system so theycan be automatically evaluated for accuracy. We have developed a prototype of such aninterface, which is mainly a set of sequential menus of word choices allowing the student toselect vocabulary from lists and compose sentences from them. This has the advantage ofrequiring the student to generate their statements rather than selecting from predeterminedchoices, while being tractable to implement (note also that a large number of choices areavailable to a student at any point, as they choose from a sequence of lists of nouns, thenverbs, the prepositions and so forth; the "space" of possible statements can be quite large,which is good, and not limiting). Similar interfaces have been implemented elsewhere (e.g.[8]), although ours will differ somewhat in being contextual and server-loaded.

4.2. Server Detail.The Virtual Archaeology server is built on a LambdaMOO core, as with all WWWIC

projects. The server database hosts the simulation environment, manages student logins andhistory records, synchronizes the interactions between multiple simultaneous users, andeffectively stores everything necessary for maintaining a consistent and coherent immersiveexperience. In particular, the server maintains the different time levels of the archeologicalsite, stores the descriptions and orientations of the geography and structures, and thelocations of the embedded artifacts we will �salt� throughout the environment. Thus, theserver will contain the information necessary for the client to know which VRML elementsto load for a player�s current state and what information a student is requesting orrecording.

5. Agents in Virtual WorldsWWWIC systems focus on developing and employing intelligent agents to help provide

effective learning experiences. From the perspective of intelligent tutoring systems, theagents of interest must fundamentally support models of the knowledge of a domain expertand an instructor. However, it is desirable that the agents have a number of additionalcapabilities as well.A common problem with simulations is that, like the real world, students can foul things

up and not know why. Unlike the real world, though, all the information for the simulationis readily available, and can be used to generate explanations or warnings. Tutoring agentsare based on the design and information in the model, and are triggered by user actions.Here the "utterance constructor" plays a critical role. Students will use this device to

express their conclusions and their findings. Happily, the utterance constructor insures thatall these statements are well formed. The challenge is to develop the server-side knowledgestructures necessary to interpret them. This mechanism will take the form of string andconcept matching, and will allow the system to determine which statements are accurate,which are close to correct, and which are flat wrong. We have experience with a similarmechanism in the Geology Explorer [4].The idea is that intelligent tutoring agents are looking over your shoulder as you play.

They should be there when you need them, but when you know what you're doing (or whenyou think you know), you can ignore the agent. These tutors work from knowledge of thearchaeological site, knowledge of the "experiments" needed to confirm or deny an assertionor interpretation, and the student's history; all of which is encoded or recorded and availableto the tutoring agents.

6. The Educational GameIt is 1954 and a Native American site is about to be inundated by floodwaters caused by

the construction of a hydroelectric dam. This site is a potential source of invaluable


anthropological and archeological knowledge, and so an emergency team has beendispatched to conduct a high intensity, high-speed (3 year!) excavation. Work hasproceeded at a furious pace, and much of the site has been excavated. However, while theexcavation has largely been completed, the documentation and interpretation of the site haslagged far behind. An emergency message is posted nation-wide, "Report to Fort Berthold,and help us save the site. History depends on it".

Figure 4: Form-Z model of Hidatsa Lodge #1 showing excavation boundariesvisible in Figure 1 and Figure 2.

Students journey to Fort Berthold from far and wide. When they get there, they aregreeted by a robotic presence, a software guide, who greets them and says "Go north andwest from here until you find the XU5 excavation site, which is one of the remarkable earthand timber lodges in the Mandan/Hidatsa section of the site. It is clearly marked, but you'vebeen given a map to help you find it, just in case. Once you are there, try to determinewhere the entrance was. This should be fairly easy � look for a well-defined set ofpuncheons" (students check a glossary for definitions).Note: instructions from the guide are chosen semi-randomly so that students at each

level get slightly different goals, but of equal rigor; also note: at this point the student isexploring the modern-day site, which is somewhat barren looking to the unpracticed eye.The guide continues by pointing out what sources of help and information are available

in the system, and describes the virtual tools and instruments the students have at theirdisposal, including a �time arcing device� allowing them to visit the site as it was 100 yearsearlier. In addition to locating the feature or artifact they�ve been assigned, the student isasked to describe and interpret what they have found (in this example, to give anexplanation for why the puncheons are angled towards the southeast). Students areinstructed on how to use their �utterance constructor� to form sentences from lists of word-choices and phrases; these score points for the student and are stored in their electronic


logbook, which is the portfolio they accumulate as they progress through the simulation.Students are also advised that software tutors will visit them if they are stuck or need helpproviding their answers.

Once the students complete their first goal they are immediately assigned another one(this is a hallmark of WWWIC systems, students always have a goal assigned), in this caseto go back to the XU5 excavation site where they are to locate a likely cache pit, then usethe digital calipers to record the precise measurements of this cache in their logbook. Theymust also make a list of the contents of the cache. Following that, students are told tochoose one of the items in the cache and write an explanation of its use in the NativeAmerican culture. They can then travel back in time to check their interpretation against thevirtual site. In some instances students will also be provided with interpretations of similarfeatures or artifacts published by an eccentric archaeologist many years previously. Thestudents will asked to assess the validity of those interpretations against their interpretationof the archaeological data, as well as their observations back in time. The interpretive goalswill increase in complexity as the game progresses, eventually leading to interpretations ofmore abstract socio-cultural phenomena (e.g., region).So the experience goes on. Students will be able to visualize artifacts in context using a

3D viewer built into our client software, inspect them from all angles, and use digitalcalipers to take measurements, and then use an utterance constructor to record theirfindings; from two different time frames. In addition, students will have access to theDANA digital archive for networked anthropology, from which they will be able to searchand retrieve similar artifacts, along with their provenience data, in order to compare themwith their object of study.Please note the following features of the preceding scenario: the student is given an

active role in the environment and a sequence of goals requiring they engage inarchaeological reasoning, and also places them in an immersive context that we can showpromotes role-based learning [9].

7. Conclusion: Integrating Digital Libraries with EducationThis project differs significantly from previous efforts in that we will be creating an

immersive, 3D virtual-reality environment of an actual site, significant in American history.That site is the Like-a-Fishhook Village, also known as Fort Berthold. This is a dual-levelenvironment representing the identical place at different times. One level will be circa1954, at the time when the site was being excavated. For pedagogic convenience, allexcavation, which actually took place over a three-year period, will be condensed into asingle season of work. The second level will be the virtual recreation of the site (as itexisted) a century earlier (ca. 1854). Student users will be able to do what probably everyarchaeologist has dreamed of: to travel back in time and see how artifacts were really used,what soil features really represent, what activities really took place at some location, andmuch more. Through the use of authentic immersive environments, students can jump backand forth through time, from excavation evidence and lab analysis to the past where theycan check their conclusions. They will be able to interact with these objects in theircultural--albeit virtual--context.While we fully intend to teach archaeological methods, the Virtual Archaeologist will

teach scientific methods and critical thinking in a way that is much more broadlyapplicable. In other words, this learning experience is designed to go beyond teachingdomain-specific content. At the same time, we decided to base the immersive environmenton an actual site rather than invent a site. First, and foremost, we strive to make theimmersive experience as authentic as possible. Experience shows that students find theassignment more enjoyable, or fulfilling, when they know they are working on an actualsite and with actual data. Thus, while it would be easier in many respects simply to create a


site, unfettered by the constraints of reality that would, we believe, be less satisfying tostudents.Second, even though we are designing the game explicitly to teach students how to

�think like an archaeologist,� there are other domains of learning that will be incorporatedthrough the use of an actual place and time. Virtual Archaeologist will also provide alearning environment for cultural anthropology, as students come to understand, forexample, how a tobacco pipe or house altar fit into, and informs us about, the belief systemof a group of people. We are also creating an environment in which students will virtuallyexperience a significant period of American history. Along with archaeology,anthropology, and history, students will be exposed to information and techniques inethnohistory, Native American Studies, and culture change. We further seek to teachstudents not just about the process of archaeology, but also about Native American studies.

References1. Smith, G. Hubert. 1972. Like-A-Fishhook Village and Fort Berthold, Garrison Reservoir North Dakota.

Anthropological Papers 2. National Park Service. US Department of the Interior. Washington, D.C.2. Clark, J. T., A. Bergstrom, J. Landrum III, F. Larson, and B. Slator (in press). Digital Archiving Network for

Anthropology, in Proceedings of the Virtual Archaeology Between Scientific Research and TerritorialMarketing Conference, Arezzo, Italy, November, 2000. Edited by F. Niccolucci. BAR International Series:Oxford.

3. Slator, Brian M., Paul Juell, Phillip E. McClean, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Donald P. Schwert, Alan R. White,Curt Hill 1999. �Virtual Environments for Education.� In Journal of Network and ComputerApplications, 22(4), pp. 161-174.

4. Schwert, D.P., B.M. Slator, B. Saini-Eidukat, 1999. �A Virtual World For Earth Science Education InSecondary And Post-Secondary Environments: The Geology Explorer.� International Conference onMathematics/Science Education &Technology, March 1-4, San Antonio, TX, pp. 519-525.

5. White, Alan R., Phillip E. McClean, and Brian M. Slator 1999. �The Virtual Cell: An Interactive, VirtualEnvironment for Cell Biology.� In World Conference on Educational Media, Hypermedia andTelecommunications (ED-MEDIA 99), June 19-24, Seattle, WA, pp. 1444-1445.

6. Curtis, Pavel 1998. Not Just a Game. High Wired: on the Design, Use, and Theory of Educational MOOs.University of Michigan Press.

7. McClean, Phillip, Bernie Saini-Eidukat, Donald Schwert, Brian Slator, Alan White 2001. Virtual Worlds inLarge Enrollment Biology and Geology Classes Significantly Improve Authentic Learning. In SelectedPapers from the 12th International Conference on College Teaching and Learning (ICCTL-01), Jack A.Chambers, Editor). Jacksonville, FL: Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. April 17-21,pp. 111-118.

8. Kass, A., R. Burke, E. Blevis, M. Williamson 1994. �The GuSS Project: Integrating Interaction and PracticeThrough Guided Simulation. Institute for the Learning Sciences, Technical Report #94-34.� NorthwesternUniversity: Evanston, IL.

9. Brown, John Seely, A. Collins, and P. Duguid. 1989. �Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning.� InEducational Researcher, 18(1), pp. 32-42.

AcknowledgementsThe NDSU World-wide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC) research is currently supported by

funding from the National Science Foundation under grants DUE-9981094 and EIA-0086142, and from the USDepartment of Education under grant P116B000734.

The NDSU Archaeology Technologies Laboratory research is currently supported by fundingfrom the Northwest Academic Computer Consortium under the grant heading of Technology Dissemination,and the NDSU Grants-in-Aid Program grant #1126.


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