Faculty: Professors Steven Carey and Harladur Sigurdsson
Graduate School of Oceanography
STA: Hui – Tat Lam and Elizabeth McCabe
Date: 2006

Development of an inquiry-based educational module in the field of volcanology 'Mount Vesuvius' to be delivered via the web using web authoring, Macromedia Director, video clips, and QTVR imaging.

This is an educational website designed to help students learn about the processes of explosive volcanic activity through the use of inquiry-based techniques. The exercises use the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius volcano in Italy as a type example of a large explosive eruption that had a significant impact on the local human population. The eruption is well-known for the burial of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Excavation of these cities by archeologists has provided a unique view of everyday life in Roman times.

To view the Vesuvius Camtasia Tour above,
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Visit the Vesuvius website!

One of the great mysteries of Pompeii and Herculaneum is what was it like in these two cities during the fateful two-day eruption in 79 A.D. that led to their entombment for close to 2000 years? In the exercises that follow, students play the role of a team of volcanologists who are trying to reconstruct the event by examining evidence in the volcanic material that buried the cities. They take a virtual field trip to the Vesuvius area where they are able to carry out observations and measurements to help them form their own hypotheses about what happened.

Camtasia was used to provide a means for the STA team to show the site to viewers who don't have access privileges to the actual site. To learn more about Camtasia, click here.