*Colonial Williamsburg launches iPhone app*
Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg will have a new way of touring the historic area. With the help of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Integrature LLC has launched a CW application for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
The application has audio and video players that allow tourists to see and hear clips of information about the building that they are standing near.
The map feature has a detailed layout of CW that includes the user’s current location and matches him or her up with a pre-recorded tour of the nearest building.
In the two weeks since its release, the application already has close to 1,000 downloads, and will be formally launched next year.
*College ranks high in study abroad participation*
According to the Open Door report released by the Institute of International Education, the College has the highest percentage of undergraduate students studying abroad of any public university offering doctoral degrees.
The report also ranks the College 17th among the top 40 institutions of higher education offering doctoral degrees for undergraduate participation in its abroad programs.The College ranked higher than any other college or university in Virginia.
*‘Green roofs’ College’s new sustainability project*
The College is researching “green roofs” in an effort to increase sustainability. Students in the Committee on Sustainability, the Sharpe Community Scholars Program, the Eco-House and the Student Environmental Action Coalition began designing and building green roofs last month.
“A green roof is a roof covered with vegetation and soil, planted over a waterproofing barrier,” Dennis Taylor, professor of marine science and the faculty advisor for the project said. “Green roofs absorb rainwater, provide insulation, create a habitat for wildlife, and help to moderate indoor air temperatures.”
The project was started in fall 2008 as part of the Sharpe program and was boosted by a grant from the Student Green Fee this past spring.
The roof designs will be tested in the coming spring once the plants have had to time to take root with the goal of having a green roof eventually installed on a campus building.