Okay, we're here at our last video for effective communication, and we are joined now by our wonderful, wonderful cameraman, Colin Mahoney, and our incredible set designer, Lisa Miller, and >> yay, to you. I want to just kind of throw out a question here because the whole coursera modality, in many ways, it's suggested the professors are kind of, they're always ready to go. They're always ready to teach. They know everything and they're just sharing that knowledge that is, kind of, from their font of brilliance with the whole world. But really the trick of coursera is that you're always learning as you're doing this. It's tremendous, immersive experience. So I wanted to start out by asking Quentin, what did you learn? What did you learn in doing this? >> Man, I learned that I teach the scaffold that I thought I really understood and applied. And then when I was under pressure and my students were going to see my work and I was going to walk through the scaffold, how hard it really is to apply it and I really had to hone that. And then in videotaping the lessons, I have to say Colin was constantly behind the camera saying, that was a grammatical error, Quinn. [LAUGH] Or you just repeated yourself. So thanks. [LAUGH] So behind the camera now and in front of the camera, what did you learn? >> I learned two things. I learned that the material that you presented, which I thought was fabulous, by the way. I think this is one of the best MOOCs that, well since I work on MOOCs all the time at the university, from what I've seen, everybody should be taking this, and I mean that seriously because I hear those grammatical errors in other people's speech. I hear it from my kids, I hear it from professors. I learn a lot about and I see a lot of the design elements that we're not getting and having to redo and get. And then the presentation thing I think being that's everybody's biggest fear. How do you explain how it is everybody's biggest fear and here's how to get around it? It was fabulous. And then from the other side of the camera, our job, Lisa and my job, was to present this in such a way, capture it in such a way that it wasn't about what we were doing, it was about how what we were doing was supporting what you were doing. And at first it was the idea of the coffee shop, which worked really well for you because of the angle and the way you present it. But then when we got to Dave, it changed because the background was different and your presentation style was different. Then when we got to you, it was completely different and suddenly it was not slides and video intercutting, it was you, one take, beginning to end, and so things had to appear. So, it became about being able to present and capture in a way that really solidly supported what you were doing. >> You know, in the middle of a MOOC, Colin and I, >> well first I had to shoot another video for something completely different, and it was a mess. It was the most constrained experience I ever had. And it made me reflect on Colin and Lisa because I ended up re-shooting the whole thing with Colin and Lisa. And Colin, what he said about how he sets it up so that someone can do what they do effectively, that Tom and Lisa have to make things transparent. It's an interesting thing, they have to relax the talent so the talent can go and you guys really do it tremendously. So what did you learn? >> Well I think that it, what you were saying in the role of imagination in education. It's so important, so our set added a creative element that inspired you and that inspired the learners. >> I want to point out too that when we were talking about this specialization, and we were saying we were going to build this set, and we found these great people who were so enthusiastic about our vision >> the response from the people around us was, why are you making that effort? Just stand up in front of a black wall and deliver your lectures. And for us, it was all about the environment and the context. And what's truly incredible is how you executed it and took our basic idea. Hey, let's have a coffee shop. And created this world for us. >> Mm-hm. >> I do think that the environment out of which you're presenting makes a big difference. I just had a conversation with doing the camera tests for an upcoming MOOC and she and I had a long conversation about it doesn't make sense to me that you're standing om front of a green screen because your MOOC is all about sustainable Environmental stuff. And so why are we faking it? [LAUGHTER] Why wouldn't they put you in with plants and other things because it feels weird to me and then for some things if they are super technical in nature, what's behind them really doesn't matter. The black background or the green screen make good sense because it's all about you're seeing the person, you're seeing the formulas appear, it feels very scientific. But as we get into things that are not scientific, then it is about creating an atmosphere. >> Well, your set design is incredible. >> Well thank you. But I was going to add actually that the coffee was real, and that's the important thing. [LAUGH] [INAUDIBLE] [LAUGH] >> So one thing I learned is that Dave Underwood's a fantastic teacher. And I've known Dave for really 10 years now and have learned a lot from Dave. But I've never really seen him teach. So I wonder, Dave, what did you learn about teaching in this process? >> Well, can I interrupt, too? And just I want to say the way that I met Dave is that a friend of mine said you have to him come lecture to your business writers. It'll be phenomenal. So I called him and he came in and lectured and he gave a 50-minute lecture on design. And my students came up to me after that and they said, first of all, that was the best day of the whole semester. Which- >> [LAUGH] >> I was like, what, am I talking bad? >> [LAUGH] >> But that a bunch of them came up and they'd had a semester long course in graphic design. And they said I learned more from Dave in one hour than I learned in a 16-week college level course. >> So that's nice to here. >> Yeah. >> I actually learned two things. Well lots more than two things. The two things that stand out. First is when Quentin calls and says, I'd like to talk to you about a little project. >> [LAUGH] >> It's time to duck and cover. >> [LAUGH] >> Actually this has been really fun. I'm so thankful that you got me involved in this. It's been- >> [CROSSTALK] >> Over coffee. >> Over coffee, that's exactly right. The other thing I learned is that I talk in one of my lectures about the importance of time and distance in looking at our work and thinking about it, and it's true with teaching as well. You get so close to your teaching that you make assumptions. >> And you think, you assume, people will understand what it is you're trying to tell them. And my coursera students have been so helpful in providing feedback and looking at my videos and realizing that I'm not really fully explaining this yet. Not while they still don't quite understand what it is I'm trying to say because I'm too close to it. >> I think the coursera platform puts your teaching >> under the microscope because there's a sense of spontaneity, but you go back and you can look at it again. As opposed to a lecture, which you give, the students leave, they go off into their lives, and you really have to think pedagogically, what am I doing here and what am I trying to achieve for my students? You have to up your game if you're going to be effective. So when I first started doing MOOCs, the talk of MOOCs' word was that they were disruptive, that they were going to disrupt higher education. I think now that coursera has changed and started developing specializations, the talk isn't really about disruptive. So I want to ask If disruption isn't the word for MOOCS, what word, and I want to go around, what word would you choose? What do MOOCS do to education? Quentin, a word. >> Community. >> Community. >> Conner? I see it as a repackaging and a reinvention, >> Reinvention? >> Of the way it's been done for so long. The idea of professor/class and I tell everybody as they go to do a move, that you're now, it's like office hours because no matter how many people take this move simultaneously, you're only ever talking to one person, and if you change your delivery to be talking to just one person, you do it completely differently. Your gaze is fixed, you're not directing around the room, your tone of voice changes, you're not trying to amplify above a room full of people. And that one person has a completely different experience. So I think I see it as a repackaging and a reinvention. >> It's a reinvention of community. >> Yeah, I like that. [CROSSTALK] >> Dave? > I'm going with community as well. That I think that the best thing that's happened with my experience of teaching with coursera has been seeing those emails from students. And realizing that my lectures are hitting home with someone on the other side of the globe and that's with a completely different life history than my own. And that's a phenomenal thing. Until this platform came along, as a teacher I would never have had that experience. And that's priceless. Lisa? I think it's a more personal experience. So, you have a one on one experience with the particular educator. So, I think it's great that way. >> Yes, there's a paradox here I think between the individual learner who's experiencing, as you say, the professor right there and then this global community at the same time. And I think that is the power of the digital world. That it can be simultaneously, a tremendously individual experience and then a way of imagining the entire globe learning together. So with that, I think it's been a tremendous treat. >> It's been amazing. >> It's been amazing. >> It's been amazing. >> Can we all have a group? >> It's been fun. And we're all still friends. [LAUGH] Boom. >> Did you check to make sure the camera was rolling? >> [LAUGH] I think that's your job.
