Guerrilla Video
Eric Daeuber
Minnesota State Community and Technical College
Keywords: video, online
Abstract
Online delivery of material can be an isolating experience for both instructor and my students. This can be particularly difficult in the Humanities where what it means to be human is the core content of the course. It’s hard to encourage a hunger for the subject, or underline the significance of the events, works of art and architecture or philosophy at hand without a little passion for the people and places that have given rise to great ideas. Visiting interesting locations, equipment-poor, ill prepared, with an open mind, and talking about, and sometimes with, important people on camera, can give your students a window on places they may never have the chance to see. It can put your face to your content, make the material uniquely your own and, as a bonus, give a bit of a bump to your credibility.
Author Biography
Eric Daeuber, Minnesota State Community and Technical College
I have taught at MState since 2001, first in computer networking and, since 2005, in philosophy and the humanities. Before that, I worked as a computer network system engineer for several years after several years as a market researcher for an advertising and public relations agency. My preparation for this? A BA from University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, a master's degree from Brock University in St. Catherine's, Ontario, and an MLA from Minnesota State University in Moorhead, Minnesota. While we have largely adopted the guide-on-the-side rather than sage-on-the-stage approach to teaching, that eclectic mix of experiences has led me to believe that people still learn best from people they trust. And they come to trust people they know. In most teaching modalities, one wouldn't have to make the argument that one of the best ways to know someone is to see him or her and one of the best ways to trust them is to see them doing something they know and love. Online, this is not a given. One has to intentionally generate trust by making it possible for students to see their instructor doing what he or she knows and loves. I have always tried to spend my time doing things I know and love. Making videos of myself doing them, seemed to just make sense, rank amateur that I am at video production.
