Teaching/Thinking with Technology Ann McClellan Professor and English Department Chair Plymouth State University

What is the Digital Humanities? The intersection between computing and the humanities Curating online collections Data mining (i.e., “Big Data”) Incorporating digital tools into humanities disciplines and research Incorporating digital tools into humanities disciplines and research

Why am I going digital? My personal crisis in the humanities Preparing thinkers for a digital world/workforce Thinking ‘forward’: how are the humanities, and how we experience media, changing?

How I started Currents in British Literature II Who are my students? What are my course goals and learning outcomes for a ‘traditional’ class? What digital projects/tools might fulfill those outcomes? What can students learn about literature AND technology from these activities?

My Course Goals To understand British literature texts in their cultural and historical contexts To learn how to identify and analyze patterns within and among literary texts and periods To develop critical and creative analytical practices To write about texts with depth and clarity To employ research skills in writing about literature and/or film

The “Project Suite” These small-group projects, all defined at the start of class, will be com­pleted on a rotat­ing basis dur­ ing the course of the semes­ter. There are five projects to com­plete. (100 points per project) Project Rota­tion: – Project 1: Tweet­ing and Archiv­ing Class Discussion – Project 2: Blogging—Textual Analy­sis and Crit­i­cal Thinking – Project 3: Podcast—Reading and Analysis – Project 4: Video Essay—2 Minute History – Project 5: Designing a Text Application

Tweeting Class Discussion and Storify Learning Outcomes/Goals: To take effective class discussion notes To be able to determine the most important points, concepts, themes, and elements from class discussion To be able to crystallize complex ideas into efficient pieces of information To be able to build a narrative out of your collaborative notes that best represents what happened in the ephemeral classroom – Examples – Examples: Victorian PeriodVictorian Period – World War Z World War Z – World War Z 2 World War Z 2

Blogging a Text Learning Outcomes/Goals: To practice close reading of a text which focuses on literary argument (i.e., thesis claims), specific textual evidence, analysis and interpretation To initiate and/or build upon class discussion, topics, and themes that relate to individual texts and the overall literary period To employ research skills in finding online materials that will support, challenge, extend, illuminate the text and your interpretation To employ research skills to find and incorporate a variety of media sources into your writing which is reflective of current trends in writing in the digital age To integrate primary text evidence, visual/media elements, and external research into your argument in a meaningful way

Example Class Blogs Wordpress and “Journey of the Magi” and “Leda and the Swan” Wordpress and “Journey of the Magi” and “Leda and the Swan” “Those of Us Who Are About to Die Solute You: Readings on WWI”

Podcasting and the Lost Art of Reading Aloud Learning Outcomes/Goals: To practice reading complex literary texts out loud in creative and engaging ways To practice communicating effectively through speech To practice close reading skills of literary argument, analysis, and interpretation To collaborate with others To learn how to use podcasting technology – Example: Postcolonial Poetry

Two Minute History Videos Learning Outcomes/Goals: To employ research skills in finding relevant, scholarly material on a cultural/historical topic related to class content To learn about literature’s social and historical context To decipher the most important and relevant information to share with others in an efficient yet informative and entertaining manner To utilize the creative possibilities of video to engage and educate your audience in your topic To learn how to use various filming and editing technology

Example Videos “Gentleman’s Hour: The Origin of the English Novel” “Gentleman’s Hour: The Origin of the English Novel” “The Partition of India” “Coffee House Culture in the 18 th Century” “Coffee House Culture in the 18 th Century” “Edward VIII and the Abdication Crisis”

Designing a Text Application Learning Outcomes/Goals: To reimagine a literary text in a new digital format To utilize the creative possibilities of digital apps to engage and educate your audience in your topic To identify and design learning objectives and/or entertainment objectives appropriate to your text and literary period To explain clearly and effectively how audiences will use the app functions To learn how digital app technology is changing and/or enhancing how we ‘read’ and understand texts – Example Apps: “Wordsworth in your Pocket”—Prezi“Wordsworth in your Pocket” – “The Art of Jamaican Language”--PowerPoint

Reflection In a final reflective doc­u­ment posted to Moodle, I would like your group to col­lab­o­ra­tively reflect on the fol­low­ing issues: How did com­plet­ing this assign­ment affect how you understood the literary period? How so? Is there a level of knowl­edge that was pro­vided uniquely by this assign­ment, beyond the ini­tial read­ing itself? What was your expe­ri­ence using Twit­ter? What were the prob­lems and how did you solve them? What would you change about this assign­ment to make it more rel­e­vant, infor­ma­tive, enjoy­able, chal­leng­ing, or interesting? Do you see this project being help­ful for lit­er­ary study? Why and how?

Conclusions FIRST Start with your course learning outcomes FIRST Emphasize and clarify the learning outcomes throughout the projects Remember: digital projects are not really about the technological tools but about the skills and learning outcomes