Although OBT&L is not yet a teaching pillar within VU Amsterdam, some examples of applications can be mentioned, both with and without objects from the special collections. The examples listed below are intended to build on and serve as a starting point for expansion.
Heritage objects & 3D printer
Medical models & VR
A set of brains in your hands & throwing dog plushies
University lecturer in applied linguistics, Jing Lin, used 3D-printed brains to bring linguistic processes in the brain to life. Using various cases, the students drew information processing routes on the 3D print. Where does language enter? Which hemisphere processes it? And how does this work in people with an ear infection? Students answered these questions and more by drawing information processing routes.
In addition, students learned how different parts of the brain respond to seeing, hearing and naming by throwing a dog plushie. The lecturer gave the students several cases in which the students had to demonstrate the linguistic information process 'through the brain'. They did this by throwing a dog plushie to different parts of the brain. The students themselves took on roles of the brain.
Want to know more about this and curious about what students thought of this method? Read it in the article we wrote about it.
More examples? Check this link.