News & Updates
A World of Perspectives: Hamilton College Launches Massive Open Online Courses
By Hamilton X Team
March 11, 2015
In partnership with edX, the online learning initiative launched by Harvard and MIT, Hamilton College has produced two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Over the next several weeks over 6,000 participants from over 132 countries will be learning from two of Hamilton’s professors. The two courses offered include: Spirituality and Sensuality: Sacred Objects in Religious Life led by Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate, and Incarceration’s Witnesses: American Prison Writing, presented by Professor of English Doran Larson.
What goes on behind the scenes to create a successful MOOC?
For the last several months, HamiltonX, a multi-talented LITS team consisting of educational technologists, librarians, a videographer, and administrators, has partnered with Brent Plate and Doran Larson to develop the courses. From producing video lectures to ensuring copyright compliance and planning interactive assignments, HamiltonX has played a key role in the development of these courses. In addition, the team worked tirelessly to build the structure of the course within the edX platform, which involved coding skills, course design, an understanding of how information is organized, and an eye for detail. Now that the courses have officially launched, the work continues as new content is released each week. Throughout each week, HamiltonX, student TAs, and the professors work to finalize content; respond to, facilitate, and moderate student discussion contributions; summarize and act on student feedback; and troubleshoot technical problems.
Not only are the courses offering unique learning opportunities to participants around the world, but also to the students who are assisting with course delivery. Student TAs (who have previously studied with Professors Larson and Plate) participate in the discussion prompts, share their knowledge, encourage contributions, and help participants think more deeply and consider different perspectives. These student TAs are true partners in the course creation and facilitation process, and are gaining first-hand experience with online education and the teaching process.
The interactions between participants have been particularly rich. For example, hundreds of people have posted about objects that have spiritual meaning in their life. Others have posted their relationships with the legal system; and their reactions to the witness of a man incarcerated for life (who recorded his narration of an essay he wrote about the problems with prison over a monitored telephone line). Hundreds more, in turn, have responded to these posts, creating a rich tapestry of discourse that spans continents.
Curious about just who makes up the HamiltonX teams?
For design, development and technical support, the teams are:
Incarceration’s Witnesses: American Prison Writing
Faculty: Doran Larson
Videographer: Forrest Warner
edX Platform Wrangler/Technologist: Ted Fondak
Instructional Design Team: Reid Larson, Carl Rosenfield, Nikki Reynolds
Mapping: Deborah Reichler
Course Beta Testers and Discussion Moderators: Abi Glasser, Allison Goodman, Hanna Kingston, Katie Jickling, Leonard Collins, Malindi Chesnut-Tangerman, Sabrina Hua, Shannon O'Brien
Spirituality and Sensuality: Sacred Objects in Religious Life
Faculty: S. Brent Plate
Videographer: Forrest Warner
edX Platform Wrangler/Technologist: Ted Fondak
Instructional Design Team: Lisa Forrest, Bret Olsen, Ben Salzman
Mapping: Deborah Reichler
Course Beta Testers and Discussion Moderators: Carrie Cabush, Danielle Gomes Rodrigues (Dani), Dumitru Kaigorodov, Elizabeth (Molly) Root, Jasmin (Jazz) Thomas, Molly April, Sophia Henriquez
Interested in learning more or participating in a HamiltonX course? Explore both of these MOOCs at https://www.edx.org/school/hamiltonx.
