{"id":64,"date":"2021-09-01T12:44:35","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T16:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/?p=64"},"modified":"2025-10-09T12:12:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T16:12:02","slug":"a-digital-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/a-digital-course\/","title":{"rendered":"A DIGITAL COURSE"},"content":{"rendered":"

A \u201cdigital course\u201d is a course designed to operate entirely online, from the texts it assesses to assigned student writing, and simultaneously consider the impact of digital formats on content. Students are asked to write and respond to one another\u2019s blog posts publicly using a pseudonym, aiming their writing toward a public audience in tone and content. Students examine the impact of computer technology and the internet on the subject of their inquiry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rhonda Cobham-Sander, professor of Black Studies, English, Latinx and Latin American Studies at Amherst College, runs a course almost entirely on a digital platform called Digital Africas. In the course, students examine the impact of the internet on African literature, exploring how African writers utilize digital platforms and incorporate digital technologies into their work. The students critically respond to the literature digitally on WordPress and Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n

A three-day symposium convening writers, editors, and experts on emerging African literature came about as a result of Cobham-Sanders\u2019 course design, and was integrated into the course, with students attending, meeting panelists, and writing about the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Methods<\/b><\/p>\n

Cobham-Sander\u2019s course is described in an<\/span> Amherst news release<\/span><\/a> and in the Amherst <\/span>course catalogue<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the course, the class is assigned readings including \u201cfictional works in print, serialized narratives on blogs, and literary products that circulate via social media.\u201d They then produce blog posts responding to these works on a WordPress site. The students are asked to respond to one another\u2019s posts throughout the semester.\u00a0 Students are also \u201cintroduced to a selection of digital humanities tools that will assist them in accessing, analyzing and responding to these works.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The students are required to self-assess. At the end of the semester, they complete a self-evaluation that by and large determines their final grade in the class. Evaluation of each student by other students in the class, required within the self-evaluation questionnaire, also plays a role in grade assignment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Examples<\/b><\/p>\n

Please refer to these additional resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span> blank self-evaluation form<\/span><\/a> and an<\/span> example self-evaluation<\/span><\/a> filled out by an Amherst student. The student\u2019s self-evaluation describes examples of blog posts produced by students throughout the course.<\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span> sample response and grade assignment<\/span><\/a> from Cobham-Sander.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning Goals<\/b><\/p>\n