Session 2, 2002 saw the introduction of two fully online General Education
courses offered by the School of Physics. One of these, Science and
Religion, was adapted from the popular lecture version of the course,
which has been running for several years. The other, Brave New World,
was a new course developed especially for delivery over the Internet.
This course uses science fiction to teach some of the more exotic
areas of the physical sciences, while at the same time exploring the
future. The books and movies covered are very much driven by student
interest and in session 2 included old and new favourites such as
“Brave New World”, “1984” and “The Matrix”.
Students are
able to take the whole of both courses over the Internet. They can
view lectures, submit their assignments and take part in discussions
all in the comfort of their own home and at any time of the day
or night. Students and tutors enjoyed the experience of studying
online. Some comments made by students in these courses were:
“I think
that because the discussion was not face-to-face, and there was
ample time to consider my opinion, I made a better contribution
than I would have in a normal tutorial environment. The availability
of all the information meant I could easily refresh the lectures
when I needed to.”
“I loved
the online lectures. They were so understandable. If something was
confusing, I could re-read it, I didn’t have to take notes,
I could just print. I also love being able to submit assignments
online, don’t waste paper or time. LOVE IT.”
“I just
wanted to thank you for this excellent general education course
… now I find that every time I go to write a script or short
story, I am going into sci-fi mode to reflect what I want to say!
I have officially caught the sci-fi bug and may well hound you with
scientific questions in the future that puzzle my humanities brain.”
Maria
Hunt and Robert Stening
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