Thought Experiment: Fashioning a DH Course as a Program-Product-Project

This is a short thought experiment I’m cross-posting from my Digital Pedagogy class for consideration. Context: assessment/evaluation of digital products in the humanities.

Within nonprofit and other sectors, an organization generally has a set of programs based on their mission and for which they’re funded. Within each of these programs are products to be delivered. Each of these products involve one or more projects. These program, products, and projects, are based on meeting the needs of the people they serve. Identifying products to build include data analysis and engaging a range of research methods such as a needs assessment or a human-centered design outreach effort, which are then evaluated later on using outcome and impact metrics. How about if we fashion Digital Humanities curriculum similarly? The course is the program, the product(s) to be delivered are identified in the syllabus, and each week represents a project to achieve the goal of delivering the product(s). This ensures that every class serves as a milestone in the development of a stated goal: building a product. So, instead of seemingly disparate readings and topics from class to class, there’s a roadmap with transparency into the process and learning critical project management skills along the way. The final project could be the evaluation of the program, product, and/or projects.

1 thought on “Thought Experiment: Fashioning a DH Course as a Program-Product-Project

  1. Kristy Leonardatos (She/Her)

    Thanks for sharing, Tim. I feel this approach would be beneficial and I like the thought of structuring a course with milestones and lessons that add to the final product. If I am understanding correctly, perhaps experimenting with a reverse syllabus schedule and incorporate the goal in the lessons each week. We could start with a idea for a final product and build the product/project throughout the semester.

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