but since that is not possible at the moment, I might need to start a bit smaller.
Certainly this institute has made me appreciate the importance of sound to our understanding of the world. I think this was something I already knew from previous experience, but sometimes you need people to tell you the things you already know so that you can remember.
As we discussed the silence of early American life, I thought back to a story a college friend relayed about her experience of silence during a solo camping trip. At first, it was oppressive and overwhelming; but as time progressed, she embraced the silence and wrapped it around her. Upon her return, the noisiness of modern society was jarring and disconcerting. Increasing my students’ awareness of the impact of sound on daily life could help them to relate to people from different historical periods in new ways.
At the very least, I want to remember to incorporate more music into my courses. In the past, I had used music fairly regularly to set the tone of different periods, but this practice fell away as my attention became pulled in too many directions.
I liked the idea of incorporating podcasts into class projects. A podcasting assignment would force students to embrace the elements of good writing practice AND force them to revise–something they seem increasingly reluctant to do in their written work. I think a podcasting assignment might be appropriate for one of my 200- or 300-level courses, where I have a bit more flexibility in terms of learning goals. Or perhaps it might be best to run an experimental course to test out some of these digital techniques without needing to live up to established expectations. Either way, I believe that a podcasting assignment (with or without video) could provide a powerful platform for student development and outreach.
Yes, I must teach All the Technology Things (a little bit at a time).
