This document discusses plans for synchronous distance learning between Southwestern University and the Vesuvian Institute in Italy. The Vesuvian Institute, located near Pompeii and Stabiae, would serve as an overseas study center and host students from Southwestern University and other institutions. Classes would be taught simultaneously at Southwestern University and the Vesuvian Institute using videoconferencing technology, allowing students in both locations to participate interactively in lectures and discussions. The document outlines the facilities and resources available at the Vesuvian Institute to support such an international synchronous learning program.

1. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Pompeii
Naples
NITLE Shared AcademicsTM
seminar:
“The Synchronous International Classroom: New Directions for Cost
Control of Foreign Study Programs,”
Tuesday July 30, 2013 at 2:00 pm EDT/1 p.m. CDT/Noon MDT/11 a.m. PDT
Prof. Thomas Noble Howe,
Professor and Art and Art History, Chair of Art History, Southwestern University
Coordinator General, Fondazione Restoring Ancient Stabiae, Italy
The Villas of
Ancient Stabiae

2. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Pompeii
Naples
Synergy of three Institutions:
The National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education;
Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas;
Fondazione Restoring Ancient Stabiae, Italy
The Villas of
Ancient Stabiae

3. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The Challenge:
-Liberal Arts Colleges in the U.S. produce about 4% of all graduates, but
also a disproportionate number of professional leaders.
-It is a very expensive type of education (usually), particularly because it
demands a low teacher-student ratio, and close interaction of good
teacher-professors and students in small classes.
-in the last ten years, many more students have entered international
careers, and therefore foreign experience and language education have
become essential to the value of a liberal arts education. (Now,
including China…) Graduates who are not prepared for an international
career may have no career.
-small colleges (well, all colleges, and students) in the U.S. are under
stringent financial stress, and study abroad is expensive, and interrupts
increasingly complicated “sequenced” majors.

4. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The Challenge:
-Is Synchronous Distance Learning capable of reconstructing the
intimate and immediate interaction of the classroom of small Liberal
Arts Colleges?
-Can it work internationally?

5. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The overseas institutional partner:
The Vesuvian Institute of the
Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation:
a multi-functioning research and study center on the Bay of Naples.

6. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
RAS/Tom Leader Studios/LVarone
Excavation:
Villa San Marco
First visitors’ center
Excavation: Villa Arianna,
And On-site museum?
Commuter rail station and
Funicular to Park
Archaeological Park at the Site of Stabiae:
-site with a coherent character
-create concentration activities on the site
-seven minute access from Pompei
Projected global budget: c. euro 140 million,
X
X
X
Site of the
Vesuvian
Institute

7. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Buried in the same eruption that buried Pompeii in A.D. 79
Baiae Puteoli

8. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Stabiae
Pompeii
Neapolis
(Naples)
Ischia Herculaneum
Cumae
Baiae
Misenum
Puteoli
STABIAE is the largest concentration of well-preserved large
seaside Roman Villas in the entire Mediterranean
Oplontis

9. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Management Structure: changing world archaeology
toward sustainable, shared management of major sites
-Master Plan 2001
-The Legal Structure of the Foundation (2002) consists of international board
representation from:
-The Superintendancy of Archaeology of Pompei (Prof. P.G. Guzzo)
-The School of Architecture of the University of Maryland (Prof. Matthew Bell)
-The Committee of Stabiae Reborn, Castellammare di Stabia (Notaio F. Spagnuolo)
Coordinator General: Prof. Thomas Howe
A non-profit cultural institution in Italy as the first foundation of its type created under a 1998 law which
allows for the creation of a new type of semi-public, semi-private institution which can both receive and
spend both state and private funds, from Italy and abroad.
-R.A.S. incorporation in the U.S., 2005 (Washington, D.C.), non-profit 501-3c
-Contratto di Sponsorizazzione, Jan. 2006. Gives RAS the concession to coordinate all other
institutions on the site for execution of Master Plan.
Global Budget: €140 million, 2/3 provided by the Region of Campania if 1/3 can be found by RAS
Foundation

10. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Villa San Marco, May, 2009 First conceptual sketch of
excavation area with
descending ramp to Roman
street, June 1999 (TNH)
1999 TNH

11. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Villa “San Marco:” Excavation 2007-2013 by
Superintendancy and Columbia University,
APAHA program
Villa “Arianna:” Excavation and conservation,
2010-2013 by Hermitage State Museum, St.
Petersburg

12. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Villa Arianna, Great Peristyle court (108 m. long), garden surface of A.D. 79,
Revealed June-July, 2007
Excavations conducted by the Superintendancy of Pompei, Dr. Giovanna Bonifacio, site director, geom. Enzo Sabini,
excavation supervisor; field drawings, summer, 2007, Profs. Lindley Vann, Ian Sutherland, and UMd Students.

13. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
June, 2008
Excavation and Study, 2007-2010, partners from: Univ. of Marylan:, Cornell; Univ.
Birmingham, U.K.; Univ. Mississippi; Univ. of Kentucky: Bologna: Univ. London; Oxford;
Southwestern; Brock, Ont.; Stockholm.

14. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The Visitors’ Center:
A “Private” Building on a public site
Visitors’ services under RAS management.
May, 2009

15. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY,NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY,
Smithsonian Institution,Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C., April 27-Oct. 24, 2004Washington, D.C., April 27-Oct. 24, 2004
ARKANSAS ART CENTER, Little Rock, ARARKANSAS ART CENTER, Little Rock, AR
January 28 – April 14, 2005January 28 – April 14, 2005
NEVADA MUSEUM OF ART, Reno, NENEVADA MUSEUM OF ART, Reno, NE
October 7 2005 – Jan 5, 2006October 7 2005 – Jan 5, 2006
SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART, San Diego, CASAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART, San Diego, CA
February 18 – May 14, 2006February 18 – May 14, 2006
MICHAEL C. CARLOS, EMORY U., Atlanta, GAMICHAEL C. CARLOS, EMORY U., Atlanta, GA
August – October, 2006August – October, 2006
TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART, Toledo, OHTOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART, Toledo, OH
Nov. 11, 2006, Jan. 28, 2007Nov. 11, 2006, Jan. 28, 2007
CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART, U. WISCONSIN, Madison, WICHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART, U. WISCONSIN, Madison, WI
March 17 – June 3, 2007March 17 – June 3, 2007
DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART, Dallas, TXDALLAS MUSEUM OF ART, Dallas, TX
July 8 – October 7, 2007July 8 – October 7, 2007
THE CUMMER MUSEUM OF ART & GARDENS, Jacksonville, FLTHE CUMMER MUSEUM OF ART & GARDENS, Jacksonville, FL
November 7, 2007 - Feb 3, 2008November 7, 2007 - Feb 3, 2008
Four-Year Traveling U.S. Tour:
“In Stabiano: Exploring the Ancient
Seaside Villas of the Roman Elite”

16. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
HERMITAGE STATE MUSEUMS,
St. Petersburg,
Dec. 7, 2007-March 30, 2008
HONG KONG MUSEUM OF ART
(18 Jul - 5 Oct 2008)

17. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
June 15, 2007 Open for International
Educational Groups
-A former Salesian College
-A residential center for undergraduate and graduate international
programs for students and researchers in archaeology, medieval,
Renaissance and Baroque art and history, History of Opera,
Neapolitan folk music, architecture, etc.…
-Hosting academic credit programs from study abroad centers
-Accredited programs in language, culture, archaeology, art
history.
The Vesuvian International Institute for Archaeology and Humanities
of the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation

18. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
A vibrant international study and research center, not a
“ghetto-like” study abroad residence hall
A vibrant international study and research center, not a
“ghetto-like” study abroad residence hall

19. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
A bustling port town at the foot of the hill, a constant stream of
international visitors from Spain, Germany, Russia, Brazil, etc.
A bustling port town at the foot of the hill, a constant stream of
international visitors from Spain, Germany, Russia, Brazil, etc.

20. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Mensa/Dining room
Circumvesuviana
Commuter Rail station
96 bedrooms
Two theaters
lobby
chapel
Playing
Fields, parking
The Facilities: A former Catholic Salesian College, c.
1970

21. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The athletic facilities to the rear: the “bad” view.

22. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Close connections to the cultural
properties of the Bay of Naples, with
easy transportation

23. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
A repertoire of local
consultants who can
offer events or modules
to be inserted into
accredited courses

24. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
A repertoire of local
consultants who can offer
events or modules to be
inserted into accredited
courses

25. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
A local, innovative
cultural and research
institution in the center of
an area a large range of
potential curricular
material:
-Modern language (Italian, Latin,
Arabic and Spanish)
-Classical Archaeology, history
and art history
-Medieval archaeology and art
history
-Early Christian
-Environmental studies
-Cultural properties management
-Opera, folk music, commedia
dell’arte
-food history and cuisine
-geology
-art instruction (drawing
photography, painting),
architectural instruction.

26. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Liberal Arts and “Eclectic Acculturation:”
Southern Italy—located at the unstable crossroads of the formation of
several great world cultures and conflicts—is a locus for young people to
evolve and revise their cultural identity in constellation with many
ancient and recent cultures.

27. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
NITLE, Liberal Arts, I-Technology and
Study Abroad: Activities with
Telepresence Pedagogy
National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education
Alumni Class Audit
NITLE Network Exploration
London/Southwestern Student
Bridge

28. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00
08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Liberal Arts interactive education requires “Synchronous Distance
Learning”
Time zones, seven hour difference, five-hour overlap of the normal working day

29. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Structuring the Synchronous Classroom which relies on the
“theatrics” of .ppt AND teacher-student interaction

30. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The Main Classroom,
with professor, with
.ppt lecture
The Distant Classroom
Lecture screen Screen with
distant
students
Screen with students and prof.
from main classroom
Camera of professor
and classroom
Lecture
screen
camera
Small distant
group
Large
distant
group

31. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The Main Classroom,
with professor (c. 25)
Lecture screen
Screen with
distant
students
Camera of professor
and classroom
projector

32. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The Distant ClassroomScreen with students and prof.
from main classroom
Lecture
projector
screen
camera
Small distant
group
Large
distant
group

33. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
The requirements for facilities and spaces:
The Main Classroom: The Distant classroom:
Small-college classrooms, c. 25-30; small “cubicles” for 1-6 students?
Distant groups at
one or multiple
institutions
Other Main
Classrooms
Standard small
college classes
of c.25
Students at Stabia taking several
classes from home campus

34. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Main Classroom, Italy: courses
projected from classrooms,
archaeological sites, fieldtrips
Stabia, Vesuvian Institute, ITALYHome College, USA
Distant Classroom(s): Individual
or small groups of students takings
courses from Italy (e.g. Italian
language, archaeology, art history)
at one or several colleges
Main Classroom: Courses at
students’ home universities which
allow individual students abroad to
continue following their sequence
of required courses
Distant Classroom, Italy:
Individual or small groups of
students in Italy participating in
telepresence in classes at home
Univ.

35. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Digitally [partly] solving the library problem:
Much bibliography in the humanities is quite old and therefore essential
books are often out of print, making it almost impossible for a new study
abroad center to start an effective teaching library. Digital library
services and e-books may make it possible partly to solve this.

36. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Three types of synchronous distance learning which won’t
work:
Antipasto

37. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Three types of synchronous distance learning which won’t
work:
Primo

38. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
Three types of synchronous distance learning which won’t
work:
Secondo

39. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G

40. W W W . S T A B I A E . O R G
June 15, 2007 Open for International
Educational Groups
-A former Salesian College
-A residential center for undergraduate and graduate
international programs for students and researchers in
archaeology, medieval, Renaissance and Baroque art
and history, History of Opera, Neapolitan folk music,
architecture, etc.…
-Hosting academic credit programs from study abroad
centers
-and non-accredited programs in language, culture,
archaeology, art history.
The Vesuvian International Institute for Archaeology and Humanities