ABSTRACT
Technology-enhanced learning has become quite prevalent in foreign-language classrooms in recent years, especially at more technology-oriented institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Following this trend, I conceptualized a team-taught class with my colleague, Francesca Torello, from the School of Architecture entitled Digital Vienna 1900 that not only combined various academic disciplines with one another but also focused on the creation of an enhanced historical map of the city. Using the map as an interactive learning tool, it was our goal to highlight the connections between urban space and the intellectual activity that took place in it by having teams of students from different disciplinary backgrounds research and construct 3D models of particularly important spaces. This chapter outlines the conceptualization and implementation of the class, including its theoretical framework of project-based learning/inquiry-based learning and interdisciplinary teaching, as well as the strategies of assessment we used to monitor students’ progress and gauge our success as instructors and creators of an untraditional and innovative course.
