Computer movies for education

A summary is presented of the initial experience acquired at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in developing computer graphics teaching aids for use in undergraduate education. The basic approach used was to produce computer-graphics-based modules consisting of a 5-10 min computer-generated movie together with an accompanying written text to provide background information and a running description of the movie, together with sample frames taken from it. The system developed to record the computer movie directly onto video tape using a computer-controlled recorder is described, and the kinds of modules which have been produced are discussed. Topics covered include graphics opportunities in education and engineering, the VAX-based movie generation system, and the symbolic visualization of abstract and physical phenomena