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4
Scandinavian_Languages
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203 598 582
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Spanish
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Nursing_(30305)
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291 390 6 5
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Design Design_(60406)
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454 102
444 5 3
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365
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Humanities,Library_and_Information_Science
Information_Studies_(50805) Social_Sciences_(5)
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Environmental_Sciences_related_to_Agriculture_and_Land-use_(40504)
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Other_Humanities_not_elsewhere_specified_(60599)
4 44 1
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Baltic_and_East_European_studies
473
Media_Studies_(50801) Computer_and_Information_Sciences_Computer_Science
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Computer_and_Information_Sciences_(102)
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593
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Social_Sciences,Psychology
Psychology_(501)
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368344
Humanities
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Social_Sciences,Gender_Studies
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559 147564 8 6 3 1
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Humanities,Music_science
483
Evolutionary_Biology_(10615)
627 357
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Ecology,Evolutionary_Biology
Ecology_(10611)
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5 9 240
4 2253
268 2 0
560
283 2 8
167 615
2 2 6 01 6
History_of_Technology_(60102) Ceramics_(20501)
1 3 550 601
169 319
285
Humanities,Musicology Musicology_(60408)
Humanities,Archaeology
171 485
249
170 1 8605
469
Archaeology_(60103)
Natural_Science
Environmental_Science,Natural_Resources_Management
Economy,Cultural_Economy
585 8
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457
476
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580588
579
Technology_(byts_ev_till_Engineering),Glass_Technology Materials_Engineering_(205)
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466 378 264 547
315
Didactics_(50302)
145
339 284
199
Natural_Science,Environmental_Science
213
Cultural_Studies_(60502)
597 401 107
584
Health_and_Caring_Sciences
103
Media_Studies_and_Journalism,Media_and_Communication_Science
8 1
359
Humanities_(6)
522 544
425 120
Visual_Arts_(60401)
302
Media_and_Communications_(508)
491
373317 175
618 617
Philosophy_(60301)
463 586
233
251
219
127
Humanities,Art_science
164
Art_History_(60407)
165
Social_Sciences,Social_Work Public_Health,_Global_Health,_Social_Medicine_and_Epidemiology_(30302)
205
Health_and_Caring_Sciences,Caring_Science
2 7
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2 1
Social_Work_(50402)
9442
8 8
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7 3 198
Social_Sciences,Practical_Philosophy
512
343
493 140 8 9
156
Humanities,Human_Geography Environmental_Sciences_(10502)
Human_Geography_(50701)
6 2
6 1 166 5 2
Humanities,Cultural_Sociology
501
224 310
2
History_and_Archaeology_(601)
596332
Social_Sciences,Sociology
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590 261
207110
558 449
1791 4 516
467
5 0111 464
362
108 7 0565
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509
355 396
517
460 335 191
433
4 0
Humanities,History_Education
387
276
History_(60101)
441
229416331 623
109
589311158
552
616 200 307
423 246190
211
212
537
149 437 131
385
Humanities,History
161 297
155
375 117
1 5
Economic_History_(50203)
9 4 548
486
Philosophy,_Ethics_and_Religion_(603)
572 622 551
554 525
530 446
159 289
178144 414
492440
Social_Sciences,Criminology Law_(505)
Economics_and_Business_(502)
202 351333
Tourism
3 353
262
500 3 2 290
184
3 0 495
360
573
Literary_Composition_(60403)
126
Humanities,Creative_writing
434
Humanities,Study_of_Religions
History_of_Religions_(60304) Religious_Studies_(60303)
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435 436278477
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438 478 312
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303 592
367 366
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128277
461
348 125 282
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481 121
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409 380
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257318
577 568363
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610 496 575
555
349 358
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411497
546451
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526482
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259 270 137
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428429
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Cinema_Studies
523138
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Education_in_Languages_and_Language_Development Language_Technology_(Computational_Linguistics)_(10208) Humanities,Teaching_and_learning_in_French_as_a_second_language
403402 533
450
Computer_Science,Information_and_software_visualization
613400
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427 602535
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Swedish_Language
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227426347 538
248112
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287272
9 0 352 398
395549
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4 6
Lnu.se
978-91-89081-65-9 (print), 978-91-89081-66-6 (pdf)
Digital Humanities is today an integrated part of humanistic research at many universities, and initiatives in the field take a variety of forms. At Linnaeus University, Digital Humanities currently develops as a cross-disciplinary field, building on existing collaborations between faculties in the form of an iInstitute tied to the international iSchool Organization, as part of a research excellence centre on Data Intensive Sciences and Applications (DISA), and European collaboration within the DARIAH-EU network – to mention a few. The papers in this volume emanate from a conference on Digital Humanities, arranged and funded by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Linnaeus University on March 12–13, 2020. It is part of the university’s initiative to implement Digital Humanities across departments and faculties, with both a scientific and pedagogical approach, building on competences already present among its researchers and teachers. Focusing the humanities as such, this volume contains contributions from the scholarly fields of Archaeology, History, Library and Information Science, Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Media and Communication Studies, E-learning, and the Study of Religions.
It displays a variety of cross-disciplinary connections, new research questions, and innovative methodological approaches – all hallmarks of the wide field of Digital Humanities.
Doing Digital Humanities: Concepts, Approaches, CasesJoacim Hansson and Jonas Svensson (Eds.)
Doing Digital Humanities
Concepts, Approaches, Cases
Edited by Joacim Hansson and Jonas Svensson
linnaeus university press
Joacim Hansson is professor of Library and Information Science at the Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University
Jonas Svensson is professor in the Study of Religions, Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.
Doing Digital Humanities
Concepts, Approaches, Cases
Edited by Joacim Hansson and Jonas Svensson
Doing Digital Humanities: Concepts, Approaches, Cases Linnaeus University, Växjö, 2020
Cover design: Richard Jansson, Linnaeus University
Cover illustration: Graph based on data from institutional repository DiVA, representing publication patterns of LNU Arts and Humanities scholars, made by Prof. Jukka Tyrkkö
ISBN: 978-91-89081-65-9 (print), 978-91-89081-66-6 (pdf) Published by: Linnaeus University Press
Printed by: Holmbergs 2020
Content
Introduction ...1 Automatic Identification of Topics: Applications
and Challenges Koraljka Golub ...5 Digitalisation and Its Impact on Archaeological Knowledge Production Fredrik Gunnarsson ...27 Netnography in the Digital Humanities Hanna Carlsson
& Fredrik Hanell ...45 Teaching Humanities Online: Practical Examples
from Linnaeus University Alastair Creelman, Corina Löwe, Maria Nilson & Linda Piltz ...65 Applying Critical Digital Method: Ethics, Sampling Strategies and Analysis Methods Pernilla Severson ...81 How to Catch an Antelope: On Authenticity in Digitised Cul- tural Heritage Documents Joacim Hansson ...99 Digital Archaeology of Death and Burial: Using 3D
Reconstruction, Visualization and Simulation to Frame Past Experience Hayley L. Mickleburgh, Liv Nilsson Stutz
& Harry Fokkens ...121 Honor Culture and Islam in Swedish Public Discourse:
An Example of How Computer-assisted Methods May
Facilitate Humanistic Research Jonas Svensson ...147 The War Years: Distant Reading British Parliamentary
Debates Jukka Tyrkkö ...169 Market Language Over Time: Combining Corpus Linguistics and Historical Discourse Analysis in a Study of Market
in Swedish Press Texts Claes Ohlsson ...199
Digital History: Digitizing and Communicating the Past:
A Case Study Sara Ellis Nilsson ... 219
“Here comes the police! Here they come!”: On the History of a Collective (?) Noun Alexander Lakaw ... 241
Teaching Humanities Online
Practical Examples from Linnaeus University Alastair Creelman, Corina Löwe, Maria Nilson
& Linda Piltz Introduction
The focus in this chapter is on teaching humanities using different digital tools and platforms and how this can both challenge exist- ing practices and develop new ways of teaching subjects like lan- guages and comparative literature.
At Linnaeus University (LNU) we have extensive experience of developing online courses but there is a constant need to strengthen digital pedagogy in order to meet both the expecta- tions and the needs of new students. For example, teaching online requires a different kind of scaffolding than teaching on campus and the importance of developing the digital literacy of both teachers and students is crucial. If the goals of humanities are to discuss and develop an informed critique, to provide a different way of looking at the world and to question it, a practice that has been taught in very similar ways using the seminar model where teacher and students present and challenge each other’s analyses, how can this practice be moved from a physical room to a virtual
66
one? Can using digital tools actually improve these decades-old humanist didactical practices?
Using two examples from Linnaeus University; the open online course: Fantastic Fiction and Where to Find It and blended learn- ing including a MOOC in a course for academic writing, this chapter discusses both challenges and opportunities in teaching humanities online using a variety of digital tools.
Teaching Online: MOOCs
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have a well-docu- mented history originating in a course devised by George Siemens and Stephen Downes, Connectivism and Connectivity Knowledge, at the University of Manitoba in 2008. The course was offered to 27 fee- paying campus students and then extended as an open, free course attracting 2,200 participants from all over the world. The aim was to investigate the potential of collaborative learning in connected networks in line with the concept of connectivism as defined by Siemens (2005). It also coincided with and was de- pendent on the growth of open educational resources and open education where educators share, reuse and adapt teaching re- sources using open licenses such as Creative Commons. These early MOOCs shared this collaborative and open approach and were generally aimed at educators and researchers, generally re- cruiting through online communities and with little or no finan- cial backing.
In 2011 however, the concept hit the headlines as a Stanford University MOOC in artificial intelligence attracted 160,000 reg- istrations. This prompted a rush of high-profile universities into the field resulting in the formation of the global MOOC consortia that still dominate the market today: Coursera, EdX, Udacity, Fu- tureLearn and many more. The MOOC boom of the period 2011–2014 was characterised by massive registration numbers,
low completion rates and considerable debate around the instruc- tional nature of the majority of courses with a standard format of recorded lectures plus multiple-choice quizzes. This contrasted sharply with the collaborative and less massive nature of the orig- inal variety of MOOCs that still continued to thrive, though very much in the shadow of the headline-grabbing consortia.
Over the last eight years, the concept of the MOOC has been interpreted in many different ways to the extent that the term is rather misleading today. In particular, the term open may be ques- tioned since many consortia today charge fees for certification, access to tuition and even for registration. Furthermore, the teaching material in most MOOCs is fully copyright and cannot be reused and the course material is only visible to registered us- ers.
Despite this, the commonly held definition of a MOOC is ex- pressed as follows:
MOOCs are online courses designed for large numbers of participants, can be accessed by anyone anywhere as long as they have an Internet connection, are open to everyone with- out entry qualifications and offer a full/complete course ex- perience online for free. (Mulder & Jansen 2015)
Although there are many examples of MOOCs being offered for university credits, as well as full degree programs being offered using MOOCs (with significant fees), the majority of courses are offered as lifelong learning, offering an introduction to a topic or focusing on a specific skill. Institutions who offer MOOCs today see them as an integral part of their outreach activities; showcas- ing the institution, raising its national and international profile and attracting students to regular programs. For this reason, it is gen- erally not fruitful to compare MOOCs with for-credit courses (ei- ther campus-based or online). One often reported benefit of of- fering MOOCs is the spin-off effect they have on developing the
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quality of for-credit programs in terms of using digital platforms and tools (Macleod et al. 2015).
Interest in MOOCs in Sweden has not been particularly strong although a number of institutions have offered courses through the major MOOC consortia. The considerable investments needed to offer courses via the global consortia mean that smaller institutions have needed to find other channels for offering open courses (massive or not). There are, therefore, a considerable number of smaller open online courses run on a variety of plat- forms and offered without major marketing campaigns. These are often bottom-up initiatives where groups of teachers decide to offer an open course in order to attract new student groups to their subject area and where the course material developed for the open course is also reused in regular for-credit courses. This is the case in the courses described in this article developed at Linnaeus University.
Example 1: The First MOOC
As the Swedish Higher Education Authority points out in the re- port Öppna nätbaserade kurser (MOOCs) i svensk högskola (2016), many international higher education institutions offer MOOCs (UKÄ 2016, 6). Nevertheless, as mentioned before in this chap- ter, the interest in MOOCs in Sweden has not been particularly strong and only a few Swedish higher education institutions have been or are involved in MOOCs (UKÄ 2016, 6). As Löwe, Nil- son, Piltz and Creelman mentions in a Moonlite-report (2019), the Department of film and literature’s MOOC Fantastic Fiction and Where to Find It was the first department at Linnaeus Uni- versity to organize a MOOC (Löwe et al. 2019, 11). Furthermore, the Department of Film and Literature at Linnaeus University was also a pioneer in the field of comparative literature since the MOOC included content found in for example genre studies re- lated to fantastic fiction and fantasy (Piltz 2018, 5).
So why should a higher education institution get involved in MOOCs? What are the strategic purposes and benefits? Accord- ing to an internal report and a report from the Erasmus and MOONLITE-project, the strategic reason of the MOOC Fantas- tic Fiction and Where to Find It, can be linked to several factors (Piltz 2018, 6f; Löwe et al. 2019, 6–7). To begin with, a MOOC can raise interest in the university, raise its international profile and offer participating students an international learning environ- ment without the need for physical mobility. Moreover, a MOOC can create opportunities for collaboration between researchers, create opportunities for global, national, regional and local dia- logues, and contribute to social benefits and collaboration with the rest of society. Secondly, a MOOC can contribute to spread- ing social, cultural, global and democratic values and open up for sustainable education, learning and development overall. Thirdly, a MOOC can reach students that are difficult to reach otherwise, such as first generation graduates and/or international students who lack the financial conditions for a traditional university edu- cation. As a result, MOOCs can contribute to widened participa- tion in higher education. Moreover, the web-based courses can serve as a kind of entrance point to higher education as well as inspiring and motivating lifelong learning (UKÄ 2016, 6f). In terms of financial goals, a MOOC offers the opportunity to reg- ister more students than a traditional campus course, and a MOOC has the potential to attract thousands of students to each course. Furthermore, developing a MOOC creates opportunities for developing digital learning, digital higher education and digital competence (UKÄ 2016, 6–8) for teachers. The development process of a MOOC can also improve the quality of other courses, both campus courses and online courses, and the study material produced for the MOOC can be used in other courses:
a very positive side effect that also can lead to an important finan- cial benefit.
70
Regarding Fantastic Fiction and Where to Find It, the begin- ning of the open online course can be traced back to a small group of dedicated teachers who were – and are – committed to making education accessible to a broad audience (Löwe et al. 2019, 8). All of the teachers have researched fantasy literature and wanted to share their knowledge with interested students from all over the world. Moreover, fantasy and fantastic fiction are extremely pop- ular globally. In March 2017, the project became a pilot project at the Communication office at Linnaeus University and because of this opportunity in combination with generous financial support from the Department of Film and Literature, the MOOC could be finalized (Piltz 2018, 7; Löwe et al. 2019, 11). To date, four iterations have been completed. On the four iterations com- pleted, there have been 1,750 registered participants. A minority of these participants have been LNU students or students from other Swedish universities. In addition, there have also been par- ticipants from Sweden who have no previous experience of aca- demic studies or higher education in general. However, the ma- jority of participants has been international students, with and without academic experience. This in turn can create opportuni- ties for international exchanges and perspectives in general, as well as attracting and increasing recruitment of international stu- dents to higher education programs in Sweden.
To highlight some basic facts, Fantastic Fiction and Where to Find It consists of five modules: “Introduction to Fantasy Liter- ature”, “Children’s Fantasy Literature”, “Time Travelling Fantasy Literature”, “Feminist Fantasy Literature” and “Horror and Fan- tasy Literature”. The layout in each module follows the same model: Firstly, a short presentation of the teacher who is respon- sible for the module. Secondly, expected learning outcomes for the module. Thirdly, lectures and interviews. The participants can choose to watch the lecture on the video platform LnuPlay or
read a written version of the lecture. Fourthly, links to re- quired reading and additional study material. All study materials are free and available online. Lastly, each module ends with a quiz and a discussion assignment that deals with the topic presented in the module. In order to pass the course and get a MOOC-cer- tificate, the participants must finish all five quizzes and discussion assignments. However, several participants choose to not do the entire course, which in relation to MOOCs should not be seen as something problematic or negative (Hubbard 2015, 14). Regard- ing the focus on fantasy and fantastic fiction, this can be linked to the department’s other courses, potential hybrid courses and the teachers’ areas of research interest.
As Fantastic Fiction and How to Find It is now on its fourth iteration, we have made a few changes. The course is now open for six months, giving students ample time to finish the course if they wish to do so. We have added a module focusing on teaching fantasy literature in the classroom, as a number of our students were teachers. This module is not an official part of the course, but a non-mandatory addition. The most important change we have made regards scaffolding. We now have a more active pres- ence on the course with a TA who every week makes an an- nouncement, encourages students to discuss with each other and, now and then, joins these discussions, urging students to continue them. When students are “seen”, when their assignments are read, not only by a TA but also by other students, it helps motivate them to complete the course.
Example 2: MOOC in a Campus Course on Academic Writing in a German Class
A course in academic writing is part of the second semester of studying German. This course has many challenges for the stu- dents. First of all, they need sufficient language skills to read aca-
72
demic texts, to produce texts fluently in German and to work in- dependently. Secondly, they have to master the features of the genre “Academic essay”: starting with finding relevant research questions and formulating a research thesis, grasping the state of research and moving up to formal aspects for instance; how to cite appropriately. For many students, this is new territory if they have moved directly from high school to university. If they al- ready have previous experience in writing English or Swedish es- says, they may find that the German scientific tradition is quite different. All this is covered by the four ECTS credits course Ac- ademic Writing (Vetenskapligt skrivande), with the aim being to prepare students for their future Bachelor thesis. The workload is calculated to be about 40 hours over four weeks.
Due to decreasing student numbers in language courses over the last years, teachers cannot offer so many direct teaching hours for the course. This is a dilemma since the students’ language skills have also deteriorated over the years and teachers cannot compensate with enough classroom lessons. Obviously, there was a strong need to rethink the course concept. When Linnaeus Uni- versity participated in the Erasmus+ project Moonlite in 2017, we redesigned the course (see also Traeger et al. 2018, 114–115). The primary aim of the redesign was to ensure more time for individ- ual support for the course students.
With a blended learning concept, a learning model combining both formal (traditional seminars) with non-formal (online course) methodologies, we have replaced a couple of lessons with materials from a MOOC. The MOOC, Wissenschaftliches Denken, Arbeiten und Schreiben, has been produced by Fach- hochschule Münster on the platform Iversity. The MOOC is a self-paced course, consisting of eight lectures, accessible all year round. The course provides filmed lectures, articles, short assign- ments and quizzes. The students can either follow the whole course or choose several films and lectures. In the study guide,
the teacher lists the films that are necessary to fulfil the assign- ments. Although the schedule for the course has slightly changed over the years, the basic working principles have remained the same:
- Week 1: The course starts on campus with an introduc- tory lecture, where the teachers present the course aim and structure, discuss examples and present the work with the MOOC.
- Week 2: The students work in parallel with the MOOC and step-by-step develop their thesis project.
- Week 3: Students send their project proposal to class- mates for feedback. Seminar: Students present and dis- cuss their PM.
- Week 4: Students work with their thesis, mentored by the teacher. Students work with the MOOC. Students send their thesis for the next round of feedback to their study group. At the end of week 4, students send their thesis for review to the teacher.
After the first session, the students and the teacher expressed their satisfaction with the course. The students mentioned as pos- itive elements the ability to watch the lectures several times. The access to the content from anywhere, anytime and on any device created an individual and flexible learning environment and this was much appreciated. The follow up-seminars in class helped the students to keep deadlines, reflect and get input on their work.
The clear structure of the course prepared the students for the seminars. Classroom time could be effectively spent answering questions. It was not difficult to access both Linnaeus Univer- sity’s learning platform MyMoodle and the MOOC platform Iver- sity, even if students would have preferred all material to be in one place. Some minor problems occurred. Some students were
74
already skilled in writing academic papers and therefore felt it un- necessary to both watch films/do the tasks on the MOOC and attend lectures. One student mentioned that he/she liked campus lectures better and another one did not use the MOOC at all.
Over all, the good results – all students passed the course with good grades – encouraged the teacher to continue with the con- cept. From the teachers’ viewpoint, more benefits were clear: the students were much more engaged in their learning process and took more responsibility. The workload for the teacher was man- ageable and more focused on individual mentoring. Due to the semi-structured course format, the teacher did not need to pre- pare all lectures (PowerPoint presentations, learning resources).
The course enhanced the students’ digital skills. Moreover, be- cause the MOOC was originally made for German students, it also developed their linguistic skills.
From the perspective of the department, the redesign of the course was a success because classroom time was used more ef- fectively. In addition, the saving of lectures on campus also re- duced travel time and costs for the students. All in all, the benefits exceed the few criticisms.
The course on academic writing is one of several in which MOOC components were integrated and tested. The Moonlite project team conducted interviews with teachers and their feed- back is still worth to bear in mind when integrating a MOOC into a course module (Traeger et al. 2018, 116–117):
- Compatibility/matching with the academic year. Many study courses in Sweden are taught in compact blocks and therefore might be scheduled for one month. It is difficult to foresee or plan if a MOOC course with a re- lated content will be running at the same time.
- The choice of courses. A course description provided by a MOOC platform does not really give an idea if the
course matches the aims of the syllabus. The teacher needs to participate in the course or maybe in several courses to be able to choose one that matches the sylla- bus. Most MOOCs cannot be previewed by the teacher without enrolling and participating. This process is time consuming.
- Syllabi with defined course descriptions, learning materi- als used, workload and forms of examinations must be decided one year before the course start, thus limiting flexibility.
- Matching of course content: university courses are de- signed for specific purposes and often with a Swedish perspective. Clearly a MOOC can contribute with differ- ent perspectives, but within a given time frame and de- fined course content there is also a risk of overloading a course with learning material.
- In Swedish Higher Education there is a strong focus on gender equality. This is not always the case in MOOCs offered by different providers and should be discussed with class.
- Students need to sign up for the course at another uni- versity. They might wonder why they also are asked to sign up once again for a MOOC course with a name that differs from their chosen course.
- Students not used to technical learning environments might struggle with the setting and require more guid- ance.
Conclusion: Why Teach Humanities Online?
The two examples discussed above both focus on different ways of using MOOCs in teaching humanities online. At Linnaeus Uni- versity we have a long tradition of online courses and there are
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many more examples we could have discussed and new ways to develop online teaching and learning is a continuing process.
In the introduction to Understanding Digital Humanities D.M.
Berry argues that one of the reasons the field has arisen is because the technology has been available. As we now have the ability to use digital resources, humanities should take advantage of this as society at large has become more and more digitalized (Berry 2012, 1–20). This of course also applies for teaching where digital tools could help us reach more/other students but also help us develop our pedagogical approaches since a teacher who remains stagnant generally is not a very good one. Another important as- pect is the responsibility we have as teachers to help students de- velop their digital literacy as this is something they will need, and this is something that takes time. Doug Belshaw argues that:
Digital literacies are transient: they change over time, may involve using different tools or developing different habits of mind, and almost always depend on the context in which an individual finds herself. They can be scaffolded and de- veloped but to do so, involves more than training, it involves education. Digital literacies cannot be developed in one-off contextualized half-day workshop. (Belshaw 2012, 204)
In preparing students in humanities for a modern workplace, we not only need to give them knowledge about our subjects, but we also need to help them develop several different skillsets and mas- ter tools, for example digital ones.
But could there be another dimension to teaching humanities online? From 2019 and onwards one of the most shared quota- tion online is the following statement from Gus Speth,an Amer- ican environmental lawyer and advocate:
I used to think that top environmental problems were biodi- versity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these
problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that. (Speth 2019, Web page without pagination)
In addressing the global warming and pollution and the need for radical changes, Speth says that as a scientist he is unable to han- dle the changes needed to society. How to initiate a “cultural and spiritual transformation” is not something he is trained to do. An- other perspective is needed. In a presentation by Gunlög Fur, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, in which she talked visions for the future at Linnaeus University, she quoted Speth and made a point of how we, as scientists in the humanities actu- ally can answer these questions. The intellectual “skillset” fostered by the humanities are now in demand. For example, HUM- TANK, the Swedish think tank where several Swedish universi- ties participate, has for several years argued how the humanities have an invaluable expertise needed to both develop and strengthen academic endeavours, but also to help build a sustain- able society.
So what does all this have to do with teaching online? For a long time, the ideal teaching “tool” in the humanities has been the seminar, a remnant of the Socratic conversation where a teacher and students talk together on various subject. The teacher leads the conversation, but the students are expected to partici- pate and encourage to question everything said. When all the var- iables are in place, this kind of teaching leads not only to the stu- dents learning something, but also offers a way for the teacher’s own assumptions to mature. It is not only the student who learns.
Today the humanities all over the world are faced with a harsher economic situation that often leads to less time in the classroom and fewer opportunities for this ideal kind of seminar. Online teaching provides not only tools that can counteract this but also
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tools than can help make the seminar as it should be, a forum where everyone’s voices is heard (and not just those who are good at talking). In the classroom setting there are always students whose voice is seldom if ever heard and the opinions voiced are often spontaneous and not always fully developed. Collaborative digital spaces such as forums, video discussions, shared work- spaces and collaborative mindmaps give all students the chance to contribute to the discussion before, during and after the syn- chronous meeting. Such digital spaces can be much less suscepti- ble to group pressure than a classroom and the opportunities for the “silent” students to find their voice are therefore increased.
Combining verbal with written discussion posts, encouraging stu- dents to create their own discussions and as a teacher “take as step back” is in a way easier online than in the classroom.
Naturally, there are challenges in teaching online. How do we get students to work with each other and not just focus in their own learning goals but see a course more as a joint effort? How do we assess and reward collaborative competence? How do we build scaffolding that helps both students and teachers in a situa- tion where resources are limited? And how can we in new ways develop critical thinking in a digital environment? Even if we see many advantages in teaching online, there is still much more work to be done.
References
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Berry D. M. (2012). Introduction: understanding the digital hu- manities. In: Berry D.M. (ed.). Understanding Digital Humanities.
London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hubbard, R. L. (2015). Getting the Most out of MOOC: Massive Open Online Courses. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.
Humtank. Retrieved from http://humtank.se/in-english/
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List of Contributors
Hanna Carlsson, Senior Lecturer in Library and Information Science, Depart- ment of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.
Alastair Creelman, E-learning specialist, Section for Higher Education Devel- opment, Linnaeus University.
Sara Ellis Nilsson, PhD, Researcher in Nordic Medieval History, Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.
Harry Fokkens, Professor Dr. Emeritus, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University Koraljka Golub, Professor of Library and Information Science, Department of
Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.
Fredrik Gunnarsson, Archaeologist/Digital Coordinator and PhD student in Archaeology, Graduate School in Contract Archaeology (GRASCA), De- partment of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University/Department of Mu- seum Archaeology at Kalmar County Museum.
Fredrik Hanell, Senior Lecturer in Library and Information Science, Depart- ment of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.
Joacim Hansson, Professor of Library and Information Science, Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.
Alexander Lakaw, Lecturer and PhD Student in English Linguistics, Depart- ment of Languages, Linnaeus University.
Corina Löwe, Senior Lecturer in German, Department of Languages, Linnaeus University.
Hayley Mickleburgh, Postdoc in Archaeology, Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.
Maria Nilson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Film and Literature, Linnaeus University.
Liv Nilsson Stutz, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, Department of Cultural Sci- ences, Linnaeus University.
Claes Ohlsson, Senior Lecturer in Swedish Language. Department of Swedish Language, Linnaeus University.
Linda Piltz, Lecturer, Department of Film and Literature, Linnaeus University.
Pernilla Severson, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication Studies, De- partment of Media and Journalism, Linnaeus University
Jonas Svensson, Professor in the Study of Religions, Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University.
Jukka Tyrkkö, Professor of English Linguistics, Department of Languages, Linnaeus University.
