Invisible Classroom Online Alumni Course Addresses September 11

Author: Campus Editor in Chief

Last Wednesday, Secretary of the College and Professor of Political Science Eric Davis gave an encore telecast of his enormously popular online alumni class, "September 11: Causes and Consequences." The class, offered to alumni, parents of Middlebury students and their partners, focuses on a variety of topics ranging from the history of terrorism to the political, legal and economic consequences surrounding the current war in Iraq. This online course is the second for Davis, following his presentation in the fall of 2000 regarding the presidential election of that same year. With the success and interest surrounding the first-year seminar Davis taught this past fall on Sept. 11 and the popularity of his last online course, Davis agreed to introduce this most recent seminar as the next installment in alumni education.
The class began in the middle of January, ran weekly and was scheduled to end the week before Spring Break. Due to the popularity of the class and its relevance to the current situation in Iraq, however, Davis subsequently agreed to offer two further telecasts, one last week and a final one in May. The class has encountered amazing success, boasting a list of 345 participants, most of whom graduated within the last 10 years, from countries around the world. Participants from Europe and Asia stay up until all hours of the night in order to hear Davis' live telecast.
Davis' lecture is taped in Old Chapel and transmitted to participants through a Feb hosting company based in Vancouver. Two student assistants are on-call during the broadcast to answer technological questions from the participants and to keep the process running smoothly. The lecture is broadcast simultaneously with Davis' Power Point slides and participants are encouraged to send in questions to the student assistants. Davis promptly answers the queries to promote discussion of the issues. Davis also remains in contact with participants throughout the week between telecasts, compiling questions and ideas for the next week's lecture. Suggestions for related readings are available, as are many links recommended through Davis' Web site from his seminar in the fall.
Davis has covered a very wide variety of topics throughout the course, but some of the main topics discussed have included a history of terrorism from the "Reign of Terror" during the French Revolution to modern groups like al-Qaeda - the actual planning and events of Sept. 11, U.S. national security, concepts and approaches regarding preventative war, Bush's decision-making style, the U.N. Security Council and world reactions to the events surrounding Iraq, from the decision to go to war to media coverage.
Many of the participants' current concerns as expressed to Davis have included the media coverage and its effect on the war. Many participants have discussed the issue of the embedded journalism program as war propaganda rather than objective reporting. In response to this bombardment of media coverage, Davis said he turns to many different sources from around the world to obtain his news. In order to get a wider breadth of opinion, Davis said he looks to the major London papers and the BBC to supplement information from such sources as CNN and other U.S. media outlets.
Davis' favorite part of teaching a course such as this is the ability to maintain contact with alumni and to provide them with an opportunity to stay in touch with Middlebury. Although many alumni stay up to date with Middlebury through various sports and such activities as Homecoming Weekend, Davis said online education offers a unique chance for alumni to access the benefits of the Middlebury community.
Teaching an online course, however, requires the application of different teaching techniques, and Davis finds himself spending three to four hours preparing for his one hour telecast, as opposed to about two hours when preparing for a classroom lecture. There are no assignments to grade, however, which cuts down significantly on the time spent outside the lecture.
Although Davis enjoys teaching this course, he does not see a full transition to online teaching as beneficial for students currently attending Middlebury. He rather sees online colloquiums as an advantageous supplement to the College's current academic program. Davis said he considered the personal interaction offered by a small liberal arts school too important to give up in exchange for an online course.
For those who have already graduated, Davis' course provides an occasion for alumni to engage in current issues.