What are your current experiences and plans with humanities curricula and learning methods? Please include also Open Distance Learning

Answering institutions:

• Linköpings universitet
  Department of Computer and Information Science, Natural Language Processing Laboratory
• The Robert Gordon University
  CRiAD- Centre for Research in Art and Design Gray's School of Art
• The University of Sussex
  School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
• Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
  Departamento de Linguistica, Lenguas Modernas, Logica y Filosofia de la Ciencia
• Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour
  Faculté des Langues, Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Département d'Anglais

Replies

• Linköpings universitet
  Department of Computer and Information Science, Natural Language Processing Laboratory :
  
  The thought which is currently most in my head is how the tools that we use in computational linguistics can be used and adapted to the needs of general linguistics and general language teaching. I don't know whether that is beyond the scope of the network, but it seems to me to be a more pressing issue than the computational linguistics curriculum itself.
  
  
• The Robert Gordon University
  CRiAD- Centre for Research in Art and Design Gray's School of Art:
  
  Within the Centre for Research we are at present developing a distance learning Research Methods Course in Art and Design, which directly addresses the issue of learning located within professional practice. (see above Open Learning and Web based courses) This is linked with other developments at Gray's School of Art both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Traditionally at undergraduate level, training has been based within the distinct disciplines of painting, sculpture, printmaking, graphic design, interior design and product design. This is currently being complemented by a new course which acknowledges the complexity of current Fine Art practice by embracing training in curation and criticism. At post graduate level within the Masters of Art (MA) course, the emphasis on the nurturing of individual studio practice is being complemented by project work located within the professional field, with networking protocols to facilitate communication.
  
  
• The University of Sussex
  School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences:
  
  Within my own area of computational linguistics, I plan to make much greater use of on-line tools and resources in teaching.
  
  
• Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
  Departamento de Linguistica, Lenguas Modernas, Logica y Filosofia de la Ciencia:
  
  I have been teaching humanities computing at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid for several years. My teaching activities in that field were also enlarged thanks to my Visiting Professorship at UCBerkeley, University of Arizona, Brigham Young University and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I am mostly devoted to text analysis, textual and lexical data bases. In my opinion, we still need more data and basic tools, before going into deeper projects, with a more important computational load.
  
  
• Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour
  Faculté des Langues, Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Département d'Anglais :
  
  Lots of plans but at a very embryonic stage. What we need is staff time and money. But I hope we will progress without them, as usual. However there are units within the University who have produced, for example, an excellent CD-ROM for teaching Spanish. This was not in the Arts Faculty but in a multimedia production unit connected with the University. We are in regular contact and they are willing to help us with any plans we may have. However I think it is fair to say that a) we would not have the time avaialable to produce a fully-fledged CD ROM and b) we are more interested in networked learning facilities, esp through Inter/IntraNet.