The annual Holiday Lectures on Science, given for pre-college students, have been webcast live by A3MG since 1998. A3MG developed this video on demand (VOD) player which features HD resolution in full screen mode, closed captions, and chapter links so viewers can jump to a specific topic within the videos. Additionally, A3MG created a web app that plays the videos on mobile devices like the iPhone and DROID.
A newly added feature is caption search. Videos that have Closed Captions available also have a search field above the chapter list. Entering a word or phrase in this field will search caption text and chapter names for the current video. Clicking the results below the chapter title will position the player 5 seconds before your search term is mentioned in the video.
Watch the lecture
In 2002 The Virtual Lab Series won the top prize Pirelli INTERNETional Award in the category of Multimedia Education coming from any school, college, and university or research center.
The Transgenic Fly Lab was a finalist at the 2003 Macromedia MAX Awards in the category of Elearning Experiences. This category was for applications created by organizations to teach employees, customers, partners, or students.
More recently, the Transgenic Fly Lab won a MERLOT award in 2010.
A3MG has played an integral role in the development of HHMI’s Virtual Labs project.
Bill Pietsch, A3MG’s President and Creative Director, has been involved with the Virtual Labs project since its beginning in 1996 with the Virtual Immunology Lab. Bill provides creative direction, 3-D modeling, and interface design to the ongoing Virtual Labs project.
Davey Thomas, A3MG’s Vice-President and Media Programmer, became involved with the Virtual Labs project in 1997 with his work on the Virtual Neurophysiology Lab. Davey provides programming and animation on the project.
To date, HHMI has released five Virtual Labs in the areas of immunology, neurophysiology, cardiology, and bacterial identification. The fifth Virtual Lab entitled the Transgenic Fly Lab (shown) was released in 2004.
Links:
HHMI’s Virtual Lab Series Web Site
Learn More About the Virtual Fly Lab Project (5:00)
Awards:
Pirelli INTERNETional Award Web Site
2003 Macromedia MAX Awards
MERLOT Awards: Exemplary Learning Materials
This virtual exhibit was produced for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute by A3MG to supplement the Institute’s annual Holiday Lectures on Science. The temporary exhibit, installed at HHMI, contained artifacts loaned by the Smithsonian Institution