The Communications Department hoped digital technology could provide a way to make the media-rich offerings of this flagship course extend even further. Bonnie Jefferson wanted to make the audio and video clips of the great speeches and other examples she was showing the students available to them outside class for further study. To deepen their experience with these canons of rhetoric, she also wanted to integrate supporting information such as text versions, biographies of major speakers, and supplementary video and audio.
A team of librarians and staff from across Academic Technology Services (ATS) worked with Jefferson to collect a range of material, from inaugural addresses to "teachable moments" in movies and other instances of popular culture, supplementing it with database resources from O'Neill Library and the wider internet. The site has a custom interface, researched and designed by Lisa Cherin Mayer of Media Technology Services (MTS) to present the material in a clear, navigable and appealing format. Besides password protection for the content, the Blackboard Vista system had an unanticipated benefit for this class which typically registers between two and three hundred students: the discussion tool allows for small group interactions under the supervision of a TA.
Project Team - COORDINATION
Consultation on Design and Material
- Bonnie Jefferson Dept. of Communications (A&S)
Project Coordinator
- Sarah Castricum Instructional Designer IDeS
Project Supervisor
- Beth Clark Director IDeS
Project Team - ACQUISITIONS
Acquisitions Coordinator
- Mark Caprio Digital Media Reference Librarian O'Neill Library
Advisor on Media Acquisitions
- Claudia Semper Media Center Manager O'Neill Library
Advisor on History & Political Science Acquisitions
- Bob Bruns Collection Services Librarian O'Neill Library
Assistance with Acquisitions and Technology
- Coleen Dunkley Library Media Technician O'Neill Library
- Eugenie M'Polo Media Services Assistant O'Neill Library
Assistance with Taping
- John Owens Student Assistant IDeS
- Brett Simmers Junior Medfield High School
Film Acquisition
- Dotty Cronin Film Rental Specialist MTS
Film Cablecast, BC Cable
- Darren Herlihy Assistant Director BC Cable Television (MTS)
Project Team - WEBSITE CONSTRUCTION
Site Design & Development
- Lisa Cherin Mayer Multi-Media Consultant MTS
Digitizing of Video Material
- David Corkum Assistant Director Video Services (MTS)
Photography
- Stephen Vedder Assistant Director Photography Production Service (MTS)
Artwork
- Rebecca Lesiak A&S '02
Models
- Carla Breton
- Isaac Goldstein
- Keith Wilkey
- Sarah Gately
- Patrick Albertson
- Coleen Dunkley
- Chris Lam