Video Report: Teaching History in Virtual Reality

It’s one thing to imagine what Rome looked like in ancient times. It’s another thing to wander around a virtual-reality simulation of ancient Rome learning about buildings as you go by clicking on them. Sorin A. Matei, an associate professor of communication at Purdue University, is experimenting with various ways to blend databases with digital maps or 3-D models. I put together a short video report. —Jeffrey R. Young