When Ken Hanson began working for a TV station in the Middle East in the 麻豆精品 S�80s, he had no idea that his experience creating content across a war border would come in handy for teaching his online classes more than 30 years later.
Hanson, who has been teaching Judaic studies at UCF since the early 麻豆精品 S�90s, became interested in the Middle East while studying history as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
麻豆精品 S淚 was wanting to research the roots of Western thought and culture, way back to the cradle of civilization, 麻豆精品 S� Hanson says. 麻豆精品 S淎s a senior, I hopped on a plane and landed in Jerusalem to study ancient civilizations. I focused on the ancient land of Israel because it also happens to be the cradle of the three western belief systems 麻豆精品 S� Judaism, Christianity, Islam are all out of the Middle East. 麻豆精品 S�
After learning Hebrew and completing a master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in television and intercultural communication and a doctorate in Judaic studies, Hanson worked at an American TV station based in southern Lebanon in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War before coming to UCF.
麻豆精品 S淚 commuted over a hostile border every day to broadcast family-oriented television into a war zone, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲e showed a lot of American westerns and championship wrestling, but when anything major happened we had to go into news-gathering mode. 麻豆精品 S�
Hanson credits his on-camera work and travels to the Middle East with inspiring immersive lessons for his online courses. But he wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 always keen on the idea of teaching virtually.
Judaic studies is a niche program that students would often struggle to fit into their class schedule due to conflicts with their required courses, Hanson says. So began the demand for online courses in the program, and the need for him to complete training through , a support unit that advances online teaching and learning.
麻豆精品 S淚 didn 麻豆精品 S檛 want to go this direction at all because I take my energy from an audience, that being the students. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Ken Hanson, UCF professor
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Near the end of Hanson 麻豆精品 S檚 training in 2015, the CDL video team presented its听production studio and he immediately recognized he could put his TV past to use to develop content that could still make his courses 麻豆精品 S減op. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淢y first semester/course teaching online was the History of the Holocaust, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淢y instructional designer suggested I go over and talk to the CDL video team because I was almost in tears about how I could interface with my students. 麻豆精品 S�
Hanson worked with CDL 麻豆精品 S檚 video team to create a concept that repackaged his 90-minute lectures into听10 to 20-minute segments while placing him at historic and archaeological sites. Eventually, he began making the productions more theatric 麻豆精品 S� borrowing from his previous theatrical training 麻豆精品 S� to dress up as different characters and use varying dialects for videos across five of his courses.
麻豆精品 S淛ust because I 麻豆精品 S檓 a professor doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 mean I can 麻豆精品 S檛 play act and do theatrics anymore, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淩ather than just reciting a passage from the prophet Isaiah, I 麻豆精品 S檒l dress up as him and recite it in Hebrew and use subtitles so students can hear the ancient language vocalized. In that sense it 麻豆精品 S檚 better than a live lecture because we can do things we can 麻豆精品 S檛 do in the classroom. 麻豆精品 S�
When UCF transitioned to fully remote learning last March due to the coronavirus, Hanson was already a step ahead of faculty who hadn 麻豆精品 S檛 had the opportunity or training to develop immersive content that would be needed to keep students engaged for the next year.
麻豆精品 S淚n that sense it 麻豆精品 S檚 better than a live lecture because we can do things we can 麻豆精品 S檛 do in the classroom. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Ken Hanson, UCF professor
麻豆精品 S淲hat the pandemic has done is shown how important this technology is, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲e already knew this was the future, so for me teaching during the pandemic was no problem at all. But the pandemic has really highlighted the importance of what CDL is doing. 麻豆精品 S�
With more than 125 TV segments under his belt, and no plans to stop any time soon, creating this type of content for his courses has also proved beneficial for CDL.
麻豆精品 S淲e’ve worked together for so long that both our skill sets have evolved, 麻豆精品 S� says Aaron Hose, media production manager and lead video producer for CDL 麻豆精品 S檚 video team. 麻豆精品 S淜en听has become a better writer, actor and on-screen presenter. Our video producers have improved as editors and compositors. We can now deliver his content more streamlined than before. We’ve found this great 麻豆精品 S榮weet spot 麻豆精品 S� now. 麻豆精品 S�
Hanson 麻豆精品 S檚 efforts to go the extra mile in his online courses have paid off as he earned the Chuck D. Dziuban Award for Excellence in Online Teaching in 2017.
麻豆精品 S淜en has long been a proponent of pushing the envelope with student engagement through video, 麻豆精品 S� says Roslyn Miller, an instructional designer at CDL. 麻豆精品 S淗e recently began using a new technology that 麻豆精品 S檚 often used in performing-arts education to enhance student interaction with his dramatized video presentations so they 麻豆精品 S檒l engage even more with the content, each other, and him while enjoying learning. 麻豆精品 S�
Not only are students having fun with the lessons, they 麻豆精品 S檙e retaining them better too, which Hanson says, sometimes was a struggle for them during in-person courses.
麻豆精品 S淭here are serious learning advantages to this, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲hen you lecture, the amount that is retained by students is maybe 20% and [many] students these days are not taking notes, so you hope they remember something. Here I think I 麻豆精品 S檝e solved this because every week I give them a TV show to watch and they take a quiz on it at the end. So, they 麻豆精品 S檙e watching and even re-watching because they have that ability. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 all about teaching and enhancing learning to the best of your ability, and resources here at UCF, like CDL, bring that into amazing focus. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Ken Hanson, UCF professor
He also worked with UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy in 2018 to develop a video game for his Biblical Archaeology course. Through the game students explore an underground cavern and examine pottery fragments, which Hanson says is a big part of the course that was tough to teach online before this development. And when students encountered issues playing the game because of its large file size, he worked with CDL 麻豆精品 S檚 Learning Systems and Technology team to make it accessible for all students on as many types of devices as possible, says Miller.
麻豆精品 S淭he technology is there, embrace it, 麻豆精品 S� Hanson says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 all about teaching and enhancing learning to the best of your ability, and resources here at UCF, like CDL, bring that into amazing focus. 麻豆精品 S�
Faculty who have been certified through or the 听course offered by CDL and would like to find out how they can enhance their course materials through video can create a consultation request at听
