Plague of Athens | Chromebook Web App
Interact with History's First Recorded Pandemic
Released: 2022
Platforms: Chrome Browser (Desktop/Laptop, Chromebooks)
Recognition: Reimagine Education | Gold Medal (Best EdTech, Middle East)
Overview
Experience the harrowing Plague of Athens (429 BCE) through Plague of Athens: Chromebook Web App, a cutting-edge, browser-based digital learning application. Originating from the ambitious Global Pandemics series concept—a vision exploring pivotal pandemics across history—this chapter brings the first recorded pandemic vividly to life using advanced web technologies and compelling narrative design.
Players follow the story "To Do No Harm," embodying Nikos, a physician in Classical Greece struggling to uphold the Hippocratic Oath amidst a devastating epidemic. The experience weaves Nikos's personal ethical dilemmas (humanities) with carefully researched historical detail (history) and core scientific concepts related to epidemiology and disease transmission (STEM), offering a unique interdisciplinary perspective informed by science and technology studies.
Designed as a compelling motion comic for the web, the application utilizes modern interaction design, rich web animation (including pathogen simulations and 3D motion design), immersive 360° panoramas, and integrated sound design. This approach creates a stylish, memorable, and impactful learning experience delivered directly through the browser, showcasing the potential of the web as a platform for complex educational media.
Research-Driven Interactive Content
Beyond its compelling narrative and innovative web design, Plague of Athens Chromebook integrates a wealth of thoughtfully researched content, transforming historical and scientific information into interactive elements. The experience draws directly from primary sources, featuring interactive presentations of texts like Thucydides' account of the plague and fragments related to Plato and the Hippocratic tradition.
This rich foundation allows learners to engage deeply with the multifaceted world of Classical Greece during crisis. The app interweaves Nikos's story with explorations of:
Historical Context: Animated timelines and maps situate the plague within the Peloponnesian War, exploring its political and social impact through figures like Pericles.
Ancient Philosophy & Ethics: Encounters with Socratic thought and the principles of the Hippocratic Oath provide crucial ethical dimensions.
Medical & Scientific Understanding: Interactive elements detail ancient medical tools (like the Peytel aryballos), Hippocratic practices, and theories about the plague's nature, contrasted with modern epidemiological concepts via animated pathogen profiles.
Material Culture & Art: Visualizations based on artifacts from institutions like The Met and the British Museum, including grave steles, pottery (lekythoi, kylixes), architectural reconstructions (Parthenon, Pnyx hill), and inscriptions (tribute lists, ostraka), provide tangible connections to the past.
This carefully curated blend of history, humanities, and STEM content, sourced from reputable archives like the Perseus Digital Library and UNESCO sites, creates a layered, multimodal learning experience unique to the web platform.
Key Features
Advanced Web Application: Built with Google's Flutter SDK to deliver a rich, animated experience directly in the Chrome browser.
Engaging Narrative: Follows Nikos, an Athenian physician, through choice-based scenarios exploring medical ethics during the plague.
Rich Multimodal Content: Integrates 3D motion design, complex web animations (simulating pathogens), interactive 360° panoramas, animated timelines, and interactive historical documents.
Historical Context: Provides deep insights into Classical Greece, the Peloponnesian War, early medical practices, and the societal impact of pandemics.
Educational Design: Aligns with principles of game-based learning, narrative studies, and multimodal literacy to enhance student engagement and understanding.
Optimized for Education: Specifically designed for easy deployment in schools using Chromebooks, requiring no installation.
This browser-based digital learning experience
introduces multiple novel technologies
3D Motion Design to Recreate History
Choice-based Narrative Design
Advanced Web Animation to Simulate Pathogens
Interactive Original Historical Documents
Immersive 360 Panoramas of Historical Locations
Media-Rich Adaptive Assessments
Animated Historical Timeline & Maps
Full Product Walkthrough
Explore the complete user experience, showcasing the narrative flow, interactive features, animations, and educational content of the Plague of Athens web app.
Visual & Interaction Design | Explore Gallery of In-App Screengrabs
A gallery highlighting the web app's unique visual style, advanced animations, immersive 360° scenes, and interactive educational components.
Plague of Athens represents a deliberate effort to push the capabilities of browser-based educational experiences. Developed in collaboration with Digital Pomegranate using Google's Flutter SDK, the project translates complex historical narratives and interactive elements into a seamless web application. This approach circumvents the need for native installations, making sophisticated, animated learning content directly accessible on widely used educational hardware like Chromebooks, demonstrating a commitment to both technical innovation and practical classroom deployment.
To Do No Harm | a Story from the Plague of Athens, 4th Century BCE
Building on a rich tradition of digital media and learning research, Plague of Athens Chromebook immerses and engages students through meaningful choice and multimodal interaction design; provide systems-based interpretations that emphasize complexity, interdependencies, and causal connections; played out within a problem space that encourages students to perceive connections between past and present—making that understanding more visceral, tangible, and real—and in the process sparking enthusiasm for learning about the past. Plague of Athens Chromebook offers an innovative solution for engaging millennial students and inspiring curiosity for learning about history.
Over 50 uniquely designed, animated web pages featuring hours of engaging, rewarding learning material for students to explore. The product combines digital storytelling with interactive learning design to craft a complex pedagogical experience that immerses students in the power of story.
Designed for Chromebooks
This project stands as a significant technical achievement, demonstrating Dr. Striker's expertise in leveraging advanced web technologies for impactful educational experiences. Developed specifically for the Chrome browser and optimized for Chromebooks prevalent in schools, it showcases the potential of sophisticated web animation, interaction design, and digital storytelling delivered directly through a browser, pushing the boundaries of web-based learning.
Distinct from the later, fully-rebuilt Plague of Athens VR project (which utilized the Nikos storyline but was created ground-up for VR platforms), this web app highlights Dr. Striker's commitment to cross-platform accessibility and innovative pedagogical design within the web ecosystem. While conceived as part of a larger series vision exploring historical pandemics (including planned chapters on the Black Death, Smallpox, Spanish Flu, and HIV/AIDS), this completed chapter serves as a powerful example of using technology to foster historical empathy and critical thinking about public health crises across time.
Educational Impact & Recognition
The Plague of Athens web app received significant recognition for its innovative design and educational potential, reaching hundreds of thousands of users globally:
Winner: 2022 Reimagine Education Gold Medal (Best EdTech Innovation in the Middle East).
Winner: 2023 Anthem Award Bronze Medal (Education, Art, & Culture - Product).
Shortlisted: 2022 Reimagine Education Awards (Immersive Experiential Learning).
Featured positively in educational press like MiddleWeb and World History Teacher's Blog.
Development supported by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), Northwestern INVO, and NU Provost Grants as part of the Global Pandemics initiative.
Aims to enhance understanding of epidemiology, medical ethics, and the historical role of pandemics, fostering critical thinking and historical empathy.
Discover More
Launch Plague of Athens | Chromebook on Desktop or Laptop Chrome Browser
Read MiddleWeb Review
Read World History Teacher's Blog Review
Press Kit
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