Although now a term applied to many different types of digital learning and entertainment applications, interest in the production and use of interactive media escalated with the proliferation of multi-media capable personal computers more than twenty years ago. Until then the exclusive province of complex and expensive onsite installations in libraries, museums and corporations, the unique learning opportunities of interactive media were suddenly opened up to a much wider audience.
The Interactive Guide to the Noble Sanctuary
The introduction of the interactive CD-ROM was a significant landmark in this development, temporarily solving the problem of what was then a massive digital storage problem. Many innovative educational programs were developed by publishers eager to unlock the potential of multi-media for enhanced learning. The Interactive Guide to the Noble Sanctuary was developed in this spirit, to increase awareness and appreciation of the immense wealth of historical and spiritual treasures reflected in the art and architecture of the al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem.
Production Details
Concept, research and text for the Interactive Guide to the Noble Sanctuary by Robert Spiker. Project management, design and graphics by New Andalus Productions. Photography by Peter Sanders, Robert Spiker and Muhsin Kilby. Programming by Chris Dolan Associates. Site access and original research materials in cooperation with the the Islamic Waqf Administration in Jerusalem. Special assistance and support from the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque Restoration Committee, Resident Architect Isam Awwad, Resident Archeologist Yusuf Natsheh, and Head Librarian Khader Salameh.
The Noble Sanctuary Internet Site
With the emergence of the internet, and most significantly, the broadband internet with hitherto unimaginable bandwidth and downloading times, CD-ROMs soon became irrelevant. The research and innovation that went into developing educational programs for them has transferred to the internet however, and through it, to a much larger and more international audience. New Andalus Productions is currently involved with integrating the more than 2,000 photographs, information cards, audio and video files that were developed for the original CD-ROM production of the Interactive Guide to the Noble Sanctuary into a comprehensive internet site that will be available for all who want to explore and understand the history and significance of this important site in depth.