“ColorWeb” by Spalter

The ColorWeb installation is a subset of Web-based materials created in the Exploratory Project at Brown University. An exploratory is a computer-based combination of an exploratorium and a laboratory that embodies an approach to learning by experimentation and investigation. It provides multifaceted, interactive microworlds that model objects, concepts, and phenomena, and that exhibit appropriate behaviors when interacting with students.

Our current implementation embeds Java applets in a hypermedia framework that (a) provides an immediate context for both the individual applet and for the larger conceptual frame of reference, and (b) enables students and teachers either to work within the framework provided or to place the applet in an environment of their own choosing.

The first set of exploratories on this site teaches basic concepts in additive and subtractive color mixing. These modules are being used in our introductory computer graphics course as classroom demonstrations, in assignments, and for self-directed learning. They are appropriate for a wide audience and assume no prior knowledge of color theory or computer graphics. The second set is designed to develop an intuitive feeling for the signal processing aspects of color perception and has been used by teachers around the world in their existing curricula. These exploratories are appropriate for a general technical audience.