Lecture: How Technology Transforms Learning at Colonial Williamsburg

Lisa Fischer, Director of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Digital History Center

See history’s future on Tuesday, April 1 when Lisa Fischer, Director of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Digital History Center, visits Washington College to talk about how digital approaches are revolutionizing displays and bringing history alive at historic sites such as Williamsburg. Sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College, her talk is free and open to the public. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, John S. Toll Science Center, and will be followed by a reception.

Starr Center Deputy Director Ted Maris-Wolf describes Fischer as “a key architect of the new twenty-first-century museum” and says Colonial Williamsburg has “given new life to the living history museum through path-breaking work in the digital realm.” Several interactive online and onsite programs are sparking exploration, engagement and learning at America’s largest outdoor history museum. A portal to Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeological, architectural, and historical research, eWilliamsburg invites the virtual visitor to investigate the colonial town. Clicking on mapped landmarks uncovers brief historical insights about events that shaped Williamsburg’s history, as well as an option to read detailed research reports. Virtual Williamsburg captures one day in time in a 3D model of the town. And RevQuest: Save the Revolution! ™ challenges gamers to identify a threat that could affect the outcome of the American Revolution, immersing them in online-onsite alternate reality quests.

Prior to her current position, Lisa Fischer was a historical archaeologist in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Department of Archaeological Research and at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. She received a master’s degree in anthropology with a specialization in historical archaeology from the College of William and Mary, a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, and a certificate in Geographic Information Systems from Pennsylvania State University.

The College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is dedicated to fostering innovative approaches to the American past and present. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, and a special focus on written history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between the academic world and the public at large. For more information on the Center, visit https://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.