VRoma and Other Technological Resources for Latin Teachers
Barbara F. McManus, College of New Rochelle Michael Arnush, Skidmore College

LATIN SOFTWARE ON DISK AND CD-ROM

• Software Directory for the Classics (prepared by Rob Latousek for the American Classical League)
• Aurelium
• Bolchazy-Carducci
• Transparent Language

LATIN FREEWARE ON THE WEB

• Latin parser and translator 0.96 (programmed by Adam McLean)
• Latinitas for the Macintosh
• Lingua Latina
• Scriba (exercises for Oxford Latin Course, John Gruber-Miller)

LATIN TEACHING AND TRANSLATION AIDS

• Ad Fontes Academy Latin Library (on-line texts)
• CyberLatin
• LatinTeach (an email discussion list for Latin teachers, maintained by Sharon Kazmierski)
• Latin Teaching Materials (Claude Pavur)
• On-Line Supplement to Intermediate Latin (selected passages from Ovid, Pliny, Catullus, Cicero—still in beta version)
• Perseus: On-Line Latin Texts and Translations
• Perseus: Lewis & Short Latin Dictionary
• Perseus: Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar

RESOURCES ON HISTORY, CIVILIZATION, CULTURE

• Collection of Lexica and Search Engines for Classicists
• Diotima: Materials for the Study of Women and Gender in the Ancient World
• Lacus Curtius: into the Roman World
• Library of Congress Classics Resources Home Page
• Maecenas: Images of Ancient Greece and Rome
• Rome: Republic to Empire (Barbara McManus)
• Age of Augustus Internet Resources (Michael Arnush)
• Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins
• VRoma Image Archive
• VRoma Links Page
• VRoma MOO (visit via the web gateway using “guest” as your charactername and no password, or via the anonymous browser)

THE VROMA PROJECT

1. VRoma is first and foremost a community of teachers and learners; the project includes teacher training (through summer workshops) and community building (through follow-up mentoring and ongoing reflective conversation).

• VRoma Home Page
• Role of Community in Educational Technology
• Comments of VRomans

2. As an on-line virtual environment, VRoma contextualizes and situates linguistic and cultural information within a simulated space, a virtual "city" containing historical places (a simulation of the city of Rome circa 150 CE) and non-historical places (simulations of various types of spaces that imaginatively evoke ancient life).

• Comments of VRomans
• Significance of Multimedia Technology
• Sample Assignment: VRoma Treasure Hunt
• VRoma Web Gateway

3. The project brings together pre-college and college Classics faculty and students.

• Comments of VRomans
• Plautus, Aulularia
• Circus Maximus Project; quote from its creator

4. The project emphasizes pedagogy and assessment, encouraging not only the development of teaching resources, but also the testing of their effectiveness and the publication of assessment results and models for classroom use.

• VRoma Pedagogical Objectives
• Steps in Outcomes Assessment
• Comments of VRomans
• Aulularia Collaborative Course Assessment Plan
• VRoma: Technology and the Standards for Classical Language Learning
• Two 1998 Assessment Plans

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS

1. Tremendous potential of computers, particularly internet technology, to improve educational practice in the direction of more project-based, student-centered learning.

2. Crucial role of community in this process, including hands-on, discipline-specific teacher training and long-term mentoring and support.

3. Importance of incorporating goal-driven assessment into every step of the process.