Event Title
Student Engagement with Classics: A Long Journey Home
Presentation Type
Panel
Presenter Major(s)
Classics, Philosophy
Mentor Information
Diane Rayor
Department
Classics
Location
Kirkhof Center Area 51
Start Date
10-4-2013 12:00 AM
End Date
10-4-2013 12:00 AM
Keywords
Information, Innovation, and Technology, Changing Ideas/Changing Worlds, Creativity/ Innovation, Ethics, Philosophy/ Literature
Abstract
I am a Classics major, but Homer first came to life for me in a classroom of seven young adults, most of whom were still earning their GEDs. When I first learned of MOOCs, I was thrilled by the idea of making university instruction available to people, regardless of their location or socio-economic status. Yet is wedding technology to a humanities course enough, or is there something special about the face-to-face encounter in the process of learning the humanities? I organized a community Coursera class at the Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center to explore the issue of student engagement. Together we watched the weekly lectures and then discussed the content afterward. Resources and technology presented real challenges, but the experience of interacting with great works of literature like the Odyssey was humanizing for these students. Ideally, universities and innovators would collaborate in delivering high-quality outcomes for audiences who otherwise are not being reached.
Student Engagement with Classics: A Long Journey Home
Kirkhof Center Area 51
I am a Classics major, but Homer first came to life for me in a classroom of seven young adults, most of whom were still earning their GEDs. When I first learned of MOOCs, I was thrilled by the idea of making university instruction available to people, regardless of their location or socio-economic status. Yet is wedding technology to a humanities course enough, or is there something special about the face-to-face encounter in the process of learning the humanities? I organized a community Coursera class at the Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center to explore the issue of student engagement. Together we watched the weekly lectures and then discussed the content afterward. Resources and technology presented real challenges, but the experience of interacting with great works of literature like the Odyssey was humanizing for these students. Ideally, universities and innovators would collaborate in delivering high-quality outcomes for audiences who otherwise are not being reached.