Document Type
Presentation
Publication Title
Elsevier Impact Conference 2026
Abstract
3D models are poised to provide learning experiences that can be equivalent to those provided by physical objects. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, geology professor, Dr. Scott Brande, received NSF funding to enhance teaching rock identification and categorization for introductory undergraduate geoscience classes. He needed an institutional platform to make the 3D models created by his grant discoverable for anyone seeking to utilize them as teaching/learning objects for geology instruction.
This talk will discuss the dilemma faced by the object’s hosting and discovery needs that followed. Discoverability via the library and maintaining object manipulability were both seen as paramount. I’ll discuss some of the potential solutions we considered within the Digital Commons platform, and how we ended up leveraging the Embedly tool, with dual SketchFab hosting, to provide an emulation of the extensibility of the physical rock box experience.
Publication Date
4-16-2026
College or School
UAB Libraries
Supplemental Associated Link
Recommended Citation
Reese, Amy, "Virtual Rock Box – 3D objects as teaching/learning objects" (2026). Libraries Professional Work. 43.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/libraries-pw/43
