How to Recover from a False Start?

Experimentation and spontaneity can create a dynamic and exciting classroom environment, but what happens when experiments flop? For over three years now I’ve been teaching American Political Thought online. The students are required to complete weekly readings and short writing assignments in addition to a midterm and a final. But after a very successful summer course on Media and Politics where I had students create and maintain blogs on Tumblr, I decided to try something new. I scraped all of the traditional assignments and replaced them with a class blog called: what would the founders do? The idea was simple: our class would work together to provide robust commentary and insight on contemporary events based on key themes and arguments from our reading. In addition, I challenged the students to develop strategies to build a readership and offered extra-credit points for the articles with the most comments and shares. The possibilities seemed endless. But the project failed to launch. One, two, three weeks passed without a single student posting on the blog. Despite daily reminders, pleas, trouble-shooting technical difficulties only three students out of fifteen participated on the page. Frustrated and at a loss, I decided to change course. In an attempt to recover I scrapped the project and returned to my old syllabus. I gave students an option to pursue a dual track – they could continue writing for the blog or they could do reading responses. Only one student opted for the blog. By changing the syllabus three weeks into the semester, I risked my authority as the professor but it allowed me to reengage the bulk of students who were otherwise lost. While I survived the semester, I paid for it in the number of email clarifications I sent and perpetually tardy assignments. It also meant that this semester, I have been much more hesitant to experiment.

Taking College Classes Public Via Tumblr

The emergence of social media fundamentally changes the way people read, discover and create news.  It has also transformed communication and media strategies for business, non-profits and politicians.  Those who succeed are the ones who can shape the conversation, connect with people and build a coalition of supporters.   

In other words, the people who understand and adapt communication technologies have the best chance at getting elected, advancing policy alternatives and driving change. 

While the technology has changed, the principle remains the same.  Take for example the story of Ben Franklin:  In 1729 the people of Philadelphia debated whether or not to increase the amount of paper money in the colony.   Ben Franklin recounts the story in his autobiography:

“Our debates possessed me so fully of the subject that I wrote and printed an anonymous pamphlet on it, entitled “The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency.” It was well received by the common people in general, but the rich men disliked it, for it increased and strengthened the clamor for more money; and they happening to have no writers among them that were able to answer it, their opposition slackened and the point was carried by a majority in the House.  My friends there, who considered I had been of some service, thought fit to reward me by employing me in printing the money; a very profitable job and a great help to me.  This was another advantage gained by my being able to write.”

Over the last three centuries, there have been monumental changes in communication technology (obviously).  But there is one thing that hasn’t changed: The ability to write, to connect and to communicate effects change.  It matters for politics, it matters for business and it matters for life. 

This summer, I have been teaching Media and Politics at UMass, Amherst.  The class provides a historical and theoretical overview of communication technology and how these technologies have been used to govern and effect policy.  But the class also challenges students to engage the practical application of social media.

The class project asks students to monitor and analyze a single issue across a six week period and record their analysis through blog posts on Tumblr.   The project entails three dimensions: 1) the quality of analysis; 2) a strategy memo on how to build an engage an audience; 3) a reflection paper about what they learned about media and politics.  It asks students to break out of the class, build an audience and connect with the world.   

The results so far have been astounding.  The public component of the blog has motivated the students to produce higher quality content and to be actively engaged in the course.  It also creates an opportunity for the students to not just learn about the symbiotic relationship between media and politics, but to experience and understand it.  

Here are some examples of their work: 

http://kirkpas.tumblr.com/

http://herotraitor.tumblr.com/

http://girlmeetspoliticalworld.tumblr.com/

http://endangeredelephant.tumblr.com/

Using Prezi to Create Dynamic Content for Online Courses

The first time I taught an online class, I wrote and posted 26 lectures.  Originally, I had thought about filming virtual lectures (complete with laugh track).  But I lacked the time, technology and talent to create engaging stylized videos.  Instead, I came up with talking head videos that were more painful to watch than the Nyan Cat on repeat.  So I posted the lecture notes instead. 

This semester, in an ongoing attempt to break out of blackboard, I started to experiment with Prezi – the flash-based presentation software that allows the users to move in three dimensions.  While nothing can replace the face to face experience of the classroom, Prezi adds a dynamic, interactive and playful quality to the information…even more so than video. 

Traditional slide show software like Power Point, are poorly suited to online classes.  Slide shows that artfully incorporate images and key concepts can be great for large presentations.   But they are only ever a compliment to the presentation, not the presentation itself.  Flipping through slide shows without the presenter – even really good slide shows – feels too much like story time at the public library.

But Prezi actual stands in the place of the presenter and encourages the user to have a unique interaction with the content.  It allows you  to move back and forth between the details and the big picture.  It puts the user in charge and allows them to move through at their own time.  They can follow links, watch videos, listen to audio-casts, look at images or simply read the text.