fall 2013 / 23
FEATURES
disciplines
have long
been
structured
this way;
after all, you
can’t discuss
a novel in
English class without reading it first.
But for the natural and social sciences,
class time is often used to break down
difficult new ideas or review concepts.
And even those in the humanities
are also finding applications, such as
explaining good persuasive writing
techniques or defining historical terms
via video.
To make this wave of the future
readily accessible, BSC has set up
a battery of equipment for faculty
members to try out this year. At the
college library, they can check out two
Wacom tablets that can be used like a
whiteboard, or a laptop with a built-in
webcam and special software called
Camtasia that allows for easy recording
alongside videos and also enables
faculty to embed quizzes in their
online materials. The IT department
has also bought 10 Camtasia licenses
to enable faculty to install it on their
own computers, and would eventually
like to expand that to every professor
on campus.
“That said, there are other ways
to incorporate the ideas behind a
flipped classroom,” said Jan Pontia,
instructional technologist at BSC.
“There’s so much more than just video.
If you’re just creating video, that’s not
flipping a classroom. It’s getting them
to engage so you can take it to deeper
levels in the classroom.”
don’t have the financial resources or time to go back to
college.
Even more, many MOOCs are about creating a new
community of learners. Some professors require their
students, who may be from far-flung corners of the world, to
team up out of class to work on projects, usually via email,
online video chat, or social media.
Will BSC offer a MOOC? Most likely. Faculty and
administrators are working now to research the best way
MOOCs can work for our college. With Olin 205 ready
to use this fall (see page 24), BSC professors have the
technology to teach online at their fingertips.
POLL: WOULD YOU
TAKE A BSC MOOC?
Scan the code with your smart
phone or other device to take
our online poll. Or go to
.
Education students listen to an interview by a
museum conservator as part of the Smithsonian
virtual field trip.
