Here are just a few examples of the many ways that different departments are using computers. In the Art Department, the computer is used as a powerful tool in traditional ways as students create visual ideas and in producing an artistic language of one's own, almost wholly independent of historic styles. Here MacIntoshes are used for a variety of artistic creations. The multimedia foreign language classroom, equipped with Pentium PCs, allows students to speak, read, and write in the languages taught at Wittenberg. There are programs to help with vocabulary, grammar, and reading skills, and we also have software such as Atajo in Spanish and Systeme D in French to help with composition.
Microphones pick up the student's pronunciation for comparison with a native speaker's.
All of the computers are networked, which lets the instructor arrange for students to work in small groups or as an integrated whole. The language authoring program WINCalis allows faculty to write special exercises to help students work on specific problems. The software programs allow faculty to use foreign language news programs and movies to construct speaking and listening exercises that help students stay informed about current events in the countries of interest to them while improving their language skills. The Chemistry Department is using computers in virtually every course in the curriculum. Beginning with introductory chemistry and continuing through the advanced courses and research labs, computers are used to collect and analyze data.