During the early pandemic, I took two terms off from Carleton and did self-guided learning through the MOOC platform Coursera. The courses I took were:

  • Learning How to Learn (McMaster University & University of California San Diego)
  • The Bible’s Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future (Emory University)
  • The Modern World, Part 1: Global History from 1760 to 1910 (University of Virginia)
  • The Modern and the Postmodern (Wesleyan University)
  • Greek and Roman Mythology (University of Pennsylvania)
  • Buddhism and Modern Psychology (Princeton University)
  • Frozen in the Ice: Exploring the Arctic (University of Colorado Boulder)

Much of the material consisted of video lectures in combination with suggested readings, as well as online discussion forums and virtual writing assignments. As the pandemic pushed academics much further into the digital realm and I voluntarily undertook these online classes, I found myself thinking about the possibilities and limits of digital pedagogy. For example, I wondered whether Coursera assignments could have both an essay option and the option of a non-traditional project, which could introduce a new digital tool or method and be more creatively engaging. I think this is especially important for a platform that caters to a broad audience of learners beyond those in higher education institutions. Digital platforms also open up the possibility of using digital games for pedagogical purposes.

Image credit Yuko Honda, “Today’s latte, Coursera.org,” Flickr, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0.