https://wiki.preterhuman.net/index.php?title=THE_ELECTRIC_RENAISSANCE&feed=atom&action=historyTHE ELECTRIC RENAISSANCE - Revision history2024-03-29T11:35:51ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.35.0https://wiki.preterhuman.net/index.php?title=THE_ELECTRIC_RENAISSANCE&diff=31401&oldid=prevNetfreak: Created page with "<pre> THE ELECTRIC RENAISSANCE A Course in the Ether by Ellis L. "Skip" Knox Few people think of history..."2021-02-16T20:10:00Z<p>Created page with "<pre> THE ELECTRIC RENAISSANCE A Course in the Ether by Ellis L. "Skip" Knox Few people think of history..."</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div><pre><br />
<br />
THE ELECTRIC RENAISSANCE<br />
A Course in the Ether<br />
by Ellis L. "Skip" Knox<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Few people think of history as a "high-tech" discipline.<br />
Historians are commonly pictured as dusty souls rooting about in<br />
library stacks or in quaint archives, and struggling reluctantly<br />
with the trailing edges of the computer revolution. University<br />
budgets leave us with computers that confirm the stereotype: why<br />
waste precious resources on us when all we do is word processing?<br />
The truth is, however, that what we do is far too<br />
sophisticated for mere computers. Even the comparatively simple<br />
chore of handling a bibliography in multiple languages causes<br />
most computers indigestion. Ask them to perform a competent<br />
translation and they gibber, thrown by slang or innuendo. Go<br />
further and try to make a computer do what we actually do --<br />
inquire, explain, generalize -- and they draw a blank. Compared<br />
to interpreting the English Civil War, modelling a weather system<br />
is child's play.<br />
Until computers catch up with us, though, they can be put to<br />
use performing other chores. One of the most promising arenas is<br />
in using computers as an adjunct to teaching. This is a report<br />
on one such application: using telecommunications to provide an<br />
alternative to the classroom.<br />
In the fall semester of 1990 I taught "History of the<br />
Renaissance," a course traditional in content but novel in form<br />
in that it was conducted entirely using electronic mail via<br />
computers and modems: we had no classroom, I delivered no<br />
lectures, and the students never met face to face. I used a<br />
personal computer as the host for the class and all the students<br />
had their own computers. Students, teacher, and administration<br />
alike considered the experiment a success, and we have plans to<br />
try more courses using this method.<br />
How can one teach history without a classroom? Quite easily,<br />
it turns out. In order to discuss the course, though, it is<br />
necessary to explain first the mechanics of how the electronic<br />
classroom works before addressing pedagogical issues.<br />
The key to the operation is an electronic bulletin board<br />
system, or BBS. This is a combination of hardware and software<br />
that lets a single computer act as the electronic classroom, and<br />
it provides four main services: messages, bulletins, files, and<br />
doors.<br />
Messages are usually public, and they are readable at any time<br />
by any student. In addition, students and instructor alike can<br />
post private messages that can be read only by the addressee.<br />
Bulletins are analogous to notices posted on a physical bulletin<br />
board, except they can be posted only by the instructor; this is<br />
where I include the course syllabus and other notices and<br />
announcements. Besides sending and receiving messages, students<br />
can also send and receive files; these can be term papers,<br />
articles, even tutorial programs. And doors act as doorways into<br />
other programs; using this feature it would be possible, for<br />
example, to administer a test electronically.<br />
I conducted this class, which I whimsically called the<br />
"Electronic Renaissance," as a cross between a discussion group<br />
and directed readings, so the message feature was both the<br />
foundation and the center-piece. Students would use their own<br />
computers to call the BBS, which had its own phone line and ran<br />
24 hours a day for the whole semester. Using a few simple<br />
commands, they would receive all new messages, and then hang up,<br />
freeing the BBS for use by another student. If the student<br />
forgot to hang up, the BBS would automatically disconnect the<br />
phone after a few minutes).<br />
Students would then use their word processor to read messages.<br />
Some would be questions from other students, others might include<br />
contributions to on-going discussions or private messages from<br />
the professor. Students would read all these, write replies to<br />
some, ask their own questions, or perhaps broach a new subject.<br />
He would then call the BBS back and post his new messages,<br />
thereby making them part of the general dialog.<br />
Occasionally the student might download a file i.e., retrieve<br />
a document or other file from the BBS; even more rarely they<br />
might upload a file i.e., send a document to the BBS, but 90% of<br />
the course was comprised of sending and receiving messages --<br />
that is, in dialog. The creation and management of this<br />
computer-mediated dialog formed the bulk of my duties as<br />
instructor and dictated the design of the course.<br />
The discussions themselves were both similar to and different<br />
from a live classroom, with similarities outweighing differences<br />
substantially. As in a classroom, some students were hesitant to<br />
voice their viewpoints, others spoke up almost from the first,<br />
while still others tended to ask questions rather than to write<br />
opinions. Some messages were clearly stated while others were<br />
murky or ill-informed.<br />
For all of that, the differences were quite obvious. The most<br />
evident and most annoying was the delay between responses. A<br />
student making an observation might not read some responses for<br />
several days, by which time the original "speaker" had moved on<br />
to other issues. We all had to learn to accomodate ourselves to<br />
a more leisurely pace of conversation. The fact that the BBS<br />
could keep track of several discussion topics at once compensated<br />
somewhat for the slower pace.<br />
At the same time, the constraints of the medium caused other<br />
differences that I welcomed. The most notable of these was the<br />
students' discovery that they had to cite their sources. They<br />
quickly found they could not discuss the material without stating<br />
the book and page number that formed the basis of their question<br />
or observation. From early in the course I began to see messages<br />
with quotations or paraphrases followed by an author and page<br />
number. This also tended to keep the discussion focused on the<br />
ideas presented in the books; I saw very little pure opinion<br />
giving of the sort that I often hear in classroom discussion.<br />
The tone of the discussion was not only "this is what I think,"<br />
but also "this is the source from which I draw my opinion."<br />
My major role in all of this was as moderator. I posted the<br />
initial questions and made opening statements. I brought the<br />
discussion back on track when it wandered or lost focus, and I<br />
tried to liven it when it flagged. In short, I did what any<br />
professor does in a discussion class or seminar, only I did it in<br />
writing.<br />
Student participation formed a quarter of the final grade.<br />
This, plus the requirement that each student post a minimum of<br />
three messages a week, ensured participation by everyone. Some<br />
messages were obviously meant to meet only that minimum, but<br />
because there were no lectures and the students had to make their<br />
way through the readings on their own, they tended to ask a lot<br />
of questions.<br />
As I began to create my syllabus, I found myself rethinking<br />
almost every aspect of the course: What really were my<br />
objectives? What should students learn about the Italian<br />
Renaissance? What was vital and what expendable? The change in<br />
the medium provided a catalyst for me to reevaluate form and<br />
content -- a worthwhile exercise in itself.<br />
I decided, ultimately, not to try to reproduce my lectures.<br />
All my lecture notes were in my computer and I could easily have<br />
posted them, but they were outlines and nothing more. The<br />
students, moreover, had purchased five books that covered various<br />
aspects of the subject thoroughly. I had deliberately chosen<br />
books with differing viewpoints, and posting my "lectures" would<br />
have given away my own point of view. I wanted the students to<br />
grapple with the material directly. Besides, my goal was<br />
changing rapidly. Rather than worrying about covering a certain<br />
amount of information in a semester's time, I believed the more<br />
important goal was to encourage the students to ask questions and<br />
to form opinions, since only that would produce discussion.<br />
Once the course began, it became evident that certain kinds of<br />
background information were needed that were not supplied by the<br />
books. I found myself writing messages of 100 lines or so as the<br />
need became evident from the discussions; for example, an<br />
explanation of medieval money, or a brief excursion into Church<br />
hierarchy. What my students told me during and after the course<br />
was that they much appreciated these little essays. If I teach<br />
this course with any regularity, I can envision building a<br />
library of these, to be pulled out as the occasion demands.<br />
One obvious question that several faculty asked was: What<br />
about the art? After all, how can one teach the Renaissance<br />
without teaching the art? I toyed with the idea of transmitting<br />
pictures. This is technically possible, but I could not know<br />
whether the students' machines would have the speed and power<br />
needed to display the pictures. I decided, instead, to spend<br />
only a couple of weeks on art and even there to concentrate more<br />
on patronage and other non-visual aspects.<br />
I had two special projects for the course, one that worked<br />
well and one that did not. Both were predicated on the<br />
assumption that this medium is well-suited to cooperative tasks<br />
with common goals. The one that worked well was a time line<br />
students built together. Everyone was required to post weekly a<br />
minimum of five contributions to the time line. The events were<br />
to be related to the area currently under discussion; thus, if we<br />
were focusing on religion, they should be related to that. I<br />
gathered the various contributions, eliminated duplicates, and<br />
merged all into a common time line that I posted as a file that<br />
the students could download and view or print. I wanted the<br />
students to finish the course with a conception of Renaissance<br />
events that was of their own making.<br />
A secondary goal of the time line project was to force the<br />
students to make some decisions as to relative historical<br />
importance. I arbitrarily decided that the time line would be of<br />
a fixed length and would not be expanded; so, when I ran out of<br />
room, I asked the students which events were "worthy" of being<br />
included and which should be taken off. Unfortunately, due to<br />
the small size of the class, we did not reach this point until<br />
almost the end of the semester, by which time the students were<br />
preoccupied with their term papers. I would certainly use this<br />
project again, although I would simply force the issue earlier.<br />
Students are often told what is important -- by teachers and<br />
books; learning to decide some of this for themselves, I believe,<br />
is a vital part of their education. This exercise made that<br />
process explicit: they could see their own choices, compare them<br />
to those made by others, and reach a consensus through debate.<br />
The project that did not work effectively failed primarily<br />
because I did not prepare well enough. I had each student choose<br />
a city that, for the duration of the course, would be their<br />
responsibilty. As discussions developed I hoped each student<br />
would be an advocate for his or her city, commenting on larger<br />
events from, say, a Venetian or Milanese perspective.<br />
The problem, however, was twofold. First, I did not provide<br />
enough structure. I should have seeded the discussions with<br />
material that would inherently bring out differing points of view<br />
(e.g., relations with the papacy or with France). Second, the<br />
students really needed more material to work with. I should have<br />
selected the source readings, and maybe even one of the books,<br />
with a view to supporting this project. While the students made<br />
an effort at developing a local point of view, they eventually<br />
lost interest as stimulating debates failed to emerge.<br />
I have detailed these two projects in an attempt to show the<br />
strengths and weaknesses of teaching through this medium. In a<br />
traditional classroom one could draw a common time line and<br />
collect contributions, but it would be difficult to keep track of<br />
who contributed what; the administration of the project might<br />
turn into a nightmare. The BBS approach, on the other hand,<br />
automatically provides the tracking needed for grading purposes<br />
because every student's message is date- and time-stamped.<br />
But organization and planning are the key, as the failure of<br />
the second project attests. The teacher has to have clearly in<br />
mind not only the rationale and objectives but the implementation<br />
as well. If the course is not structured to support the project,<br />
then the project is not likely to succeed. Because the students<br />
are at a distance, it is difficult to make ad hoc changes that<br />
require additional readings or other materials; the teacher<br />
cannot merely put an extra book on reserve in the library!<br />
I decided early on that this course would have to be more<br />
highly structured than my traditional courses, that the students<br />
would need to know clearly what was expected of them, and so my<br />
syllabus contained more detail than usual. As the basis of the<br />
class was discussion, it was especially important that everyone<br />
read the material at the same time. The syllabus therefore laid<br />
out the reading assignments week by week (not my usual practice),<br />
along with general topic headings. The students kept up with<br />
their work and the class generally ran smoothly.<br />
The only serious hurdle I faced was the accessibility of<br />
library resources. This was an upper-division history course,<br />
and a term paper was required. But I had students living in<br />
rural communities and at some distance from the university<br />
library.<br />
This was a real concern, but our university library has<br />
agreements with area public libraries for interlibrary loan<br />
services, and I worked out the details beforehand. For my<br />
course, I used my computer to connect to our library's electronic<br />
system, where I searched for Renaissance-related books. Using a<br />
feature of the catalog system, I was able to transfer the search<br />
results to a disk file, which I edited and then uploaded to the<br />
BBS. Any student in a distant community now had the ability to<br />
download this customized bibliography, identify needed books, and<br />
order them through the local library. As it turned out, all my<br />
students were within 25 miles of Boise and all drove to campus to<br />
get their books, but the approach was viable even if unused.<br />
The library loan arrangements work for undergraduate research,<br />
but that is as far as I would want to push it. Students could<br />
not, for example, use interlibrary loan to get a book from<br />
another university to their local library. Likewise,<br />
interlibrary loan will not cover reference material, documents,<br />
maps or archival sources. If a student were 150 miles from Boise<br />
and engaged in extensive graduate-level work, these constraints<br />
would be too severe. There is, in other words, an academic limit<br />
to what one can do with this method. I expect the limit to<br />
expand, but only slowly.<br />
Registration, add-drops, books, and other administrative<br />
matters could in some places be a problem. Our Continuing<br />
Education division, though, has had long experience in handling<br />
students who are physically remote from the campus, and it<br />
administered this course, too. If a course like this is not<br />
coordinated through Continuing Education, or an equivalent<br />
division, teachers might have to attend to some of these matters<br />
themselves.<br />
Because I ran this class in part as an experiment in distance<br />
education, I chose to teach the whole course by modem. Others<br />
would not want to go quite so far. One easy application is for<br />
the large lecture hall -- or even for the not-so-large -- where<br />
it is all but impossible to hold discussions. By setting up a<br />
BBS service, a teacher can readily add a discussion element.<br />
Once set up, not only can teachers create and moderate<br />
discussions, they can post documents and students can use it to<br />
communicate among themselves and even to form study groups. The<br />
key is that this is all done outside class time.<br />
Obviously I believe the electronic classroom has potential,<br />
but what did the students think of it? They thought very highly<br />
of it indeed, liking this format as an alternative to traditional<br />
classes. None of them want to do away with live lectures, which<br />
always seem to be the preferred medium. For my students,<br />
however, time was a premium. They found themselves unable to<br />
attend any but night classes, and upper-division courses were<br />
rarely available at night. Although what I did is placed under<br />
the rubric of "distance education," the important element for my<br />
students was not so much distance as time. They either had to<br />
take a class in their free time, at odd hours, or they simply<br />
could not take the class at all. They were unanimous in favoring<br />
this aspect of the class best because, with the BBS running<br />
continually, they could send and receive messages at any time, as<br />
could the professor. No one was ever ignored, no one was ever<br />
interrupted, and the teacher knew exactly the extent and quality<br />
of participation.<br />
They also told me, quite independently and after the class was<br />
over, that they had worked harder in this course than in most<br />
others. They wanted their messages to look respectable, not<br />
foolish or sloppy, so they gave them careful attention. Instead<br />
of proceeding carelessly through a class and only being rigorous<br />
for the term paper and the exams, they found they had to -- or<br />
wanted to -- perform at that level throughout the course.<br />
Moreover, because all of the factual information was in the books<br />
and they could not rely on classroom lectures, some students said<br />
they read their books more carefully and thoroughly than in their<br />
other courses.<br />
The medium, therefore, seems to have some real, if rather<br />
subjective, educational strengths. My own reaction was in<br />
harmony with the students: I thought the general quality of<br />
student response was quite good. Perhaps this is because only<br />
highly-motivated, well-organized students would risk a class like<br />
this, but I have heard a number of reports from other teachers at<br />
computer conferences who have used this approach and say much the<br />
same: students like the format, they work hard, and the level of<br />
discussion is much higher than in a live classroom. They also<br />
have noticed that "shy" students speak more freely when on-line<br />
and that racial and sex stereotypes are downplayed precisely<br />
because the social cues that come into play in a face-to-face<br />
discussion are absent in the electronic format.<br />
Again I wish to emphasize that the advantages noted are quite<br />
appropriate for our discipline. Discussing issues, asking<br />
questions, and presenting arguments are at the very core of what<br />
we do. A live classroom allows for some of that but the<br />
electronic classroom may actually be superior in this regard.<br />
For those wanting to know more about the computer technology<br />
involved, what follows is a summary of the technical side of the<br />
Electronic Renaissance. For additional details, please contact<br />
me directly.<br />
The host computer was an IBM XT running DOS 3.3 and PC Board<br />
version 14.2, with a 1200 baud modem. I ran QMail 2.1 as a door<br />
out of the BBS, though only one student actually used this<br />
feature. We ran a single phone line but had two phone numbers:<br />
one for local calls, plus an 800 number, to handle out-of-town<br />
calls, that was rotored onto the local exchange. The students<br />
were allowed to have any hardware and software combination they<br />
wanted, but we strongly urged a particular combination that was<br />
PC-based.<br />
This combination was a communications program called Robocomm<br />
and an off-line reader called EZ-Reader. Robocomm is optimized<br />
for communicating with PC-Board and specifically for talking to<br />
mailer programs. EZ-Reader takes the mail packets from QMail,<br />
unpacks them, and lets the user read messages and write replies.<br />
Uploads and downloads were handled within Robocomm. These two<br />
products, in conjunction with QMail running on the host reduced<br />
daily connect time to under five minutes. This made the 800<br />
charges affordable. These programs are shareware and the<br />
students who chose them paid the registration fees (the shareware<br />
authors gave us a discount).<br />
Support for this configuration took perhaps a total of ten<br />
hours in the first two weeks of the course. After that, things<br />
ran smoothly. The board never crashed, though it did go down<br />
once as the result of a power failure in the building; it came<br />
back up by itself when the power returned. Students did call me<br />
once in a while, but none of the problems were serious, though<br />
solving them certainly would require more knowledge than most<br />
faculty have. I have run the campus BBS since 1986 and so was<br />
comfortable with this technology, but that is admittedly an<br />
unusual situation. Most campuses would have to turn tech support<br />
over to someone other than the instructor.<br />
History courses lend themselves to the medium of asynchronous<br />
communication. Historians deal primarily in words and ideas, and<br />
in the processes of inquiry, analysis and communication, which<br />
are just the kind of services a BBS provides. One traditional<br />
format for history study is the seminar; my BBS-based system<br />
adheres closely to that approach.<br />
The workload for the instructor, as with a lecture-only<br />
course, can vary widely. I certainly spent less time on this<br />
course than I would if it had been live, but I could also have<br />
spent far more than I did. This is driven more by the ambitions<br />
and goals of the instructor than by the demands and limitations<br />
of the technology.<br />
Students favor the format. They like the flexibility for<br />
their own schedules, the freedom to speak whenever they wish, the<br />
idea that they can speak publicly or privately to anyone. They<br />
also like the feeling that they are active participants in their<br />
own education.<br />
The technology is affordable. Even my full-bore approach was<br />
relatively cheap, and there are alternatives that are more<br />
limited but that are free or nearly so. Administrations will<br />
probably like it. Distance education is popular, and faculty may<br />
be able to get monetary support from your deans or academic<br />
vice-presidents. Who knows, there is even the possibility of<br />
creating a publication out of the experience!<br />
<br />
Ellis L. Knox works in the Computer User Services group at<br />
Boise State University as a consultant to faculty; he also<br />
teaches courses for the History Department. For more information<br />
he can be reached via Internet at dusknox@idbsu.Idbsu.Edu,<br />
through voice phone at 208/385-1315, or at Boise State<br />
University, 1910 University Drive, Boise Idaho, 83725.<br />
<br />
Ellis "Skip" Knox dusknox@idbsu.idbsu.edu<br />
PC Coordinator & Faculty Computer Lab Supervisor<br />
Professor of History<br />
Boise State University Boise, Idaho<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
[[Category:Essays]]</div>Netfreak