With Colgate’s Innovation + Disruption symposium just around the corner, the Benton Scholars have launched a summer project that will take students to the very heart of digital learning.
Their project will have multiple phases. During the first, students will sign-up to take a non-credit online course during the summer on a subject of their choice. The course can be offered through any provider–including edX, coursera, and Khan Academy–but must include both content delivery and assessment mechanisms. So far, students have expressed interest in subject material ranging from Global Health and Humanitarianism (offered by the University of Manchester through coursera) to Introduction to Computer Science (offered by HarvardX through edX).
Phase two will draw these first-hand experiences into dialogue with a lively campus conversation about Colgate and the future of “classroom” learning. While enthusiasm for online education is not lacking for press coverage, seldom are student voices actively incorporated, and rarely are shifts in social power dynamics considered. Consequently, throughout the fall semester, the Benton Scholars will bring a small group of digital educators, as well as champions and critics of online education, to campus for a series of intimate lectures and discussions. A full schedule of events and guests will be announced later in the summer.
Keep following the Benton Scholars blog for more information.