WanderSight
Learner Resources
Online Travel and Learning:
Fred's Presentation Methods
Travelers go to a place for distinct reasons; they have a purpose that is their own. This doesn’t mean they are closed off to the wider experiences. It simply means they wish to explore certain characteristics of a place and its culture. In my courses, I select locations where I have explored, filmed and have written about. I have also lived in some of these places for varying lengths of time. They are also places where I have led other modern-day explorers who wished to see and experience something specific for themselves. When online, these are some of the methods I use.
A New Way to Travel and a Better Way to Learn
The pandemic demonstrated that much of the academic and educational world were not ready for effective teaching and learning online.
The pandemic also forced the global traveler to find other ways to satisfy their wanderlust.
For almost twenty years as a college professor I have combined my teaching of the arts and humanities with my personal travels from South America, Asia, Europe and American Southwest.
Teaching Asian culture from Asia - Presenting a course in Mesoamerican art from Peru and the Yucatan.
COURSE FEATURES
Like travel itself, my courses are arranged as any global journey would be. Interesting, interactive, and surprising. Many of these features are designed and recorded along the way in whatever course you are in.
These platforms and learning methods have been used for a decade in my college courses.
DOCUMENTARY VIDEOS AND interactive MEDIA
Since 2008 I have created documentaries of the places I go, and the people I meet. From my shorter WanderSights videos to longer narratives, I document how I travel, the people I meet, and the experiences of a place that reveals its history and culture.
ON LOCATION DISCUSSIONS
Being There. There are places on this planet that take our breath away. This is the sublime. When our hearts feel at peace, this is the picturesque. I look for such places in my travels. Then, I set up my cameras and record a discussion to share with you of me being there.
GROUP and 1-to-1 CONVERSATIONS
Online Learning can be a solitary activity through reading and personal travel. Fred often prefers solo travel. To reinforce what we learn, to find a purpose in what we come to know, requires collaboration and conversation. Through webinars, scheduled conversations with me, and our community, we stay in touch and share what we learn.
PODCASTS AND AUDIO PRESENTATIONS
You bet, we will visit actual art galleries and museums. What I will also present are my own curated online galleries that highlight the art and architecture we have seen and studied along the way. Consider this The Best Of.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE GALLERIES
You bet, we will visit actual art galleries and museums. What I will also present are my own curated online galleries that highlight the art and architecture we have seen and studied along the way. Consider this "The Best Of."
VOICE OVER SLIDE PRESENTATIONS
For years I taught art bistory in a darkened lecture hall while I projected slides and discussed the content. There was something magical about this. These presentations come close but also add elements of learning I could not use in the classroom.
SELF-GUIDED TOURS
Tour guide or just wandering around? Choose Your Own Adventure. This online platform lays out many of the sites we visit. By clicking through the pages I lead you into the spaces while you can read a bit, listen to the ambient sounds I record there, and sometimes watch a short video.
INTERACTIVE WEBPAGES
These webpages are created with dynamic layouts. As you scroll you are presented with a variety of learning options. Each webpage is built around a topic related to the study module. These are designed to be a mini-course. My mLearning courses are created almost entirely with this platform.
project-based learning
Just as we need to learn those subjects and ideas that define our humanity. Learning should be what we need for the moment, but gives us something to think about for a lifetime. One way to accomplish this is through the design of interactive media projects.
photography & video instruction
Since I am a photographer and media producer, I know many of you would enjoy photo tips and ideas along the way. I have photographed around the world with film from medium format to large view cameras. Broadcast quality video and digital SLRs. Oh yeah, and the occasional iPhone picture.
writing our journeys
WanderSight courses are developed with travel, art, and the planet as guiding themes. Through our WS Communities, you can submit your own journal-style writing. At the conclusion of a course, you can download my journal that represents the journey we took together.
The Well-Traveled Scholar
Learning resources to support your study and travel, I provide an extensive library of digital books, musem catalogs, journal articles, and other materials free to download in the courses you take.
Both online learning and remote teaching each require delivery platforms unique to the course objectives.
Desktop learning and mobile learning differ in primarily three ways:
- learning styles
- length of a course
- objectives and type of content being studied.
The device you use, whether it's a mobile phone, tablet, or a desktop/laptop computer, determines how you access and interact with the course content.
When it comes to the university semester courses I teach, accessing them on a desktop is preferable. There is usually a significant amount of content which could be tiring to study on a phone. Completing a typical two-week learning module can require around nine hours of your time. For some of my WanderSight eLearning Courses, it is best to view the content on a larger screen while comfortably seated. Such as my travel-based courses like Buddhist Spaces. Some of my courses which focus on art and architecture, where a larger screen size is needed, a desktop is preferable.
On the other hand, the m-Learning or Mobile Courses that I teach are designed specifically for mobile devices. These courses have shorter modules, involve less reading, and most importantly, can be accessed without being seated at your desk. This is why they are referred to as mobile learning.
Both the development and content of a mobile course are primarily tailored for phone and tablet access.
This is a H2 heading
Fred's desk in Siem Reap, Cambodia. A room with a view.
