Projects of 2006


Baja Atlas Project
Backus, David and Johnson, Markes (Geosciences) & Ice Cream

Imagine you are a bird flying along the coast of the Baja peninsula with the ability to see the geological makeup of the coastline. With high resolution satellite images, elevation model data, and ArcGIS software, you can. For this project, short movie tours of various parts of the peninsula and islands in the region were created for DVDs that will be sold with an atlas, to be published in the near future. Here are three samples: 1) Isla Angel de la Guarda; 2) Punta Chivato Isla San Marcos; 3) Isla Carmen.

Chemcasts ( )
Bingemann, Dieter (Chemistry) & Ice Cream

The only time in your daily routine that hasn't yet been exploited for learning purposes is your daily workout. Chemcasts are interesting stories about chemistry in the form of short podcasts, so that students can automatically download them from iTunes and work out while listening. Find out, for example, how to keep soda from exploding, why ice cream doesn't refreeze properly, and why diamonds actually are not forever.

HHMI Science Grant website
Raymond, Wendy (Biology) & Ice Cream

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Grant funds many projects for Williams and the community. This website is the first time all of these opportunities are organized in one place for easy access and informational purposes.

Williams in New York website
Jackall, Robert (Williams in New York) & Ice Cream

Williams in New York is a pilot program with an existing website that was structured in such a way that did not convey the excitement and opportunity that the program offered. The project's goal was to restructure and redesign the site so that it would be more dynamic and enticing for future potential students, as well as alum who could help enhance the program.

EnzymAtion
Hutson, Lara (Biology) & Oh Bother!

EnzymAtion is a collection of the reactions of glycolysis with specific emphasis on the PFK-1 enzyme in the third step of glycolysis. This enzyme illustrates many principles of biology such as feedback inhibition and allosteric inhibition. This collection will serve as a useful tool to students to learn the process of the glycolic pathway, allowing them to view each step as it happens with the appropriate explanation.

Field Botany Website
Art, Hank and Edwards, Joan (Biology) & Oh Bother!

The Field Botany Website incorporates two previous sites’ worth of content: the Botany course website from 1999 and the recent Blackboard site. The aim was to provide a site that students could easily use for reference while taking the course. The site includes a plant manual with descriptions and images of plant species and families, videos of plant habitats, PowerPoint presentations on evolutionary botany and much, much more!

Haystack Bicentennial Documentary
Spalding, Rick (Chaplain’s Office) & Oh Bother!

The Haystack Bicentennial Documentary was made to be shown during the opening ceremony of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Haystack event, when five Williams students decided to devote their lives to spreading Christianity as missionaries. The film recounts the events of that day and tells the story of the development of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

High-Speed Physics Videos
Whitaker, Dwight (Physics) & Oh Bother!

Using a high-speed camera taking thousands of pictures per second, Professor Whitaker shot videos of various phenomena that happen at speeds too fast to see. These pictures were compiled into videos that show, in extremely slow motion, events such as a wine glass being shattered by sound waves and a balloon being punctured. These videos, with descriptions of the physics behind them, were put into a website designed by the team to be viewed by physics students and the general public alike.

Biology 101: The Survival Guide
Raymond, Wendy (Biology) & Pixel Pirates

This website was designed with the goal of making biology appealing to non-majors. Making the subject less intimidating, the website consists of study strategies, research opportunities, resources for students, and a facebook of mentors, t.a.s, and professors. A video of how to approach professors was also created and will be up on the website. The video describes good and bad ways to approach professors to make the process of getting to know professors easier for first year students.

Japanese Katakana Assessment
Yamada, Reiko (Japanese) & Pixel Pirates

Consisting of 3 categories- Identification, Reading Comprehension, and Listening Comprehension, this website was designed purely for classroom purposes. For Professor Yamada's students taking japanese, this website offers a variety of exercises and practice problems ranging from identifying clip art objects to reading and listening to japanese vocabulary (the site is available only on campus).

Renaissance Music and Saint Donatian
Bloxam, Jennifer (Music) & Pixel Pirates

An annotated score and listening component will be up on the website. The music was composed by Jacob Obrecht who was commissioned by Adriane de Vos in the 15th century to write a mass in the memory of her deceased husband Donaes de Moor. The website will also consist of an accurate historical account of what happened as this was an unusually well-documented event. Here are two examples (flash is required): Christe and Credo

The Gallery of Planetary Nebula Spectra
Kwitter, Karen (Astronomy) & Pixel Pirates

A complete revisioning of the current astronomy site making it more assessible to users as well reorganizing the table of Nebula Spectra which consists of over 120 spectra. The goal was to make everything about the website more inviting and to make it look less text-based.

Ethics Bowl Web Sites
Pedroni, Julia (Philosophy) & Tragic Productions

We are creating two websites: the first one is for the Williams College Ethics Bowl where team members can discuss cases and get information about the Ethics Bowl and anyone who is interested in the Ethics Bowl can learn more about it; the second one is the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl site that is there to inform people about the Regional Bowl and emphasizes more the logistical and rules oriented side of the competition.

Gaudino Educational Initiatives
Greene, Carrie, Cassiday, Julia and Riehl, Dale (Dean's Office) & Tragic Productions

A website that is inviting to all people to discover the legacy of Robert Gaudino. It is a site where students, factuly, alumni, and the general public can come and discover: what the purpose of Winter Study 99s is and how to apply for funding; the initiatives of the Gaudino Scholar; the mission of the Robert L. Gaudino Memorial Fund. The site is there to help advocate experiential education and uncomfortable learning as means to a greater and fuller educational experience inside and outside the classroom.

Lane Faison Video
Reynolds, Linda (Art) & Tragic Productions

S. Lane Faison, professor of art history from 1936 to 1976 and director of WCMA for more than two decades, was one of the key figures in the art restitution process after World War Two. He interrogated Nazi art collectors, wrote the official report on Hitler's personal trove, and briefly oversaw one of the major redistribution centers in Germany. The video project substantially augments archival footage of a lecture by Faison in 2002 and incorporates newly recorded interview material.