Watch the Port of Charleston in action and Charleston's new Cooper River Bridge (Arthur Ravenel Bridge) Grow

The Bridge Blog
A dialog about our new bridge and these web pages

Overview. As a pointy-headed university professor, my weekend project of bridge photography and building these web pages generated many questions and introduced me to just-in-time learning. I enjoy chasing my curiosity and want to identify ways to encourage younger learners to also enjoy curiosity chasing and learning.

Learning usually requires repetition while forgetting occurs when I infrequently use information. Many young learners do not understand the importance of repetition. Weekly visits to the bridge provided the repetition necessary to detect changes in the bridge and consequently generated many questions and opportunities for learning. Over the course of the bridge project, I had access to few experts for answering questions. Rather than a liability, this became an asset and pushed me to improve my search skills with Google. Soon, I found that answers to questions encountered during my weekly photo shoots were often only a Google-search away - (see Restoring the Joy in Learning). Consequently Google + Internet became dependable extensions of my memory.

The bridge story is a work in progress and is evolving from a simple collections of photographs to an experiment with Internet-centric just-in-time learning. Insights I gain from you will find their way into the learning centers of MUSC. Palmetto Bridge Constructors, a joint venture between Tidewater Skanska and Flatiron Constructors, as well as High Steel Structures, Freyssinet, the SCDOT and the Federal Highway Commission Office of Bridge Technology guided much of my learning. I also learn from many of you and from Google-linked resources. More important is the e-mail encouragement I receive from many of you.

Mon, 04 Jul 2005

July 4, 2005:
Le Tour de France and our International Family

The 2005 Map of Le Tour de France: A one year anniversary of close encounters with bridge builders:

Almost a year ago (July 21, 2004), David Wurtz gave me my first bridge building seminar on the platform of the west span. As part of our seminar we made a visit to one of the cable construction stations in the interior of the west pylon which is how I discovered Freyssinet. Later Olivier Forget, the leader of the international Freyssinet team, as well as Eduardo, Cyril, Jose, Pavil, Bruno, Philiu and Niko joined our seminar and helped me to understand the design, construction and testing of stay cables. Now, a year later, the Tour de France has just started and I am remembering the excitement of my first visit to the main span. Wade, Peo, Marvin, Brian, Lori, Wilbur, Derik and many many others gave these pages a bit of life. Thanks to all of them!

posted at: 10:00 | path: | permanent link to this entry

The Bridge Blog A dialog about our new bridge and these web pages

Mon, 04 Jul 2005

The Bridge Blog
A dialog about our new bridge and these web pages