April 1, 2010

Event will showcase interactive class with students in India

OSHAWA, ON. – In an effort to take the delivery of high-quality education to the next level, Durham College will introduce its first-ever global classroom next Monday when it links up with a college classroom in India for a session of one of its General Education elective courses, Short History of the World. The unique initiative will create a twin class between students more than 11,000 kilometres apart.

Don Lovisa, president of Durham College, along with 55 students enrolled in the popular course and an additional 22 students from the college’s Film Culture Studies course, will be joined by 16 students from the prestigious Mahindra United World College in Maharashtra, India for a real-time class that will focus on the issues of human progress and the limits of the planet. The global classroom will be broadcast using state-of-the-art Cisco WebEx equipment.

Short History of the World, introduced in fall 2009 and taught by Lon Appleby, a professor in the School of Communication, Language & General Studies, is a general education elective course that examines how the modern world was shaped and the escalation of globalization, and what knowledge this can bring to students’ life choices. The curriculum also includes maintenance of a student-designed website and an engaging talk show feature.

The event will begin with a screening of the award-winning documentary, Manufactured Landscapes, based on the work of internationally acclaimed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky and directed by Jennifer Baichwal, also from Canada. The documentary features Burtynsky’s photographs of landscapes of areas that have been transformed by human activity. Following the screening, the students will be joined via webcast by Burtynsky and Baichwal from their respective locations in Toronto and Alliston, Ontario.

The global classroom will eventually be a permanent fixture on Appleby’s website which will be launched in early May where globally-minded youth can share their work and thoughts on human history. Developed along with Chris Klimek, e-learning content developer at the college’s Innovation Centre, the website will host, record and post additional global classes in order to attract other colleges and universities to this innovative twin-class format.

The website will also encourage students from around the world to join these classes to contribute their own research papers, blogs, videos, graphic novels and other media worldwide.

When:
Monday, April 5 at 10 a.m.

Who:
Don Lovisa, president, Durham College;
Mary Blanchard, dean, School of Communication, Language & General Studies;
Lon Appleby, professor, School of Communication, Language & General Studies;
Edward Burtynsky, photographer;
Jennifer Baichwal, director, Manufactured Landscapes;
Students from Short History of the World and Film Culture Studies courses; and
Students and faculty from Mahindra United World College in Maharashtra, India.

Where:
Gordon Willey building, Room SW109
Durham College
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, Ontario

Parking:
Enter off Simcoe Street and proceed to Commencement parking lot.

For more information, please contact:
Michelle Roebuck
Communications, Marketing and External Relations
Durham College

michelle.roebuck@durhamcollege.ca

 

Disclaimer: The contact information provided in archived news releases was current at the release date. For current information please contact Communications, Marketing and External Relations.