Scholia, Handbooks and Online Learning for The 21st Century

Anthony L. Hollingsworth

Roger Williams University

In this paper, I wish to present a new pedagogical tool which both students and faculty developed over the past two years at Roger Williams University. This tool is entitled The Digital Scholia and combines structures and strategies found in traditional scholia with high-tech delivery methods popularized by the music industry and distance learning programs. Broadly speaking, Digital Scholia are recorded video clips that mimic classroom lectures. Students see and hear the commentator graphically diagramming sentences, loosening grammatical knots and illustrating relevant topics within the selected Latin passages  These clips may be developed during classes and saved for later review or recorded outside of class by instructor or student and forwarded to students later.

The benefits in creating these Digital Scholia include:

1. Instructor creation of customized scholia to address specific and timely issues in the classroom<>
2. Enhancement classroom instruction and textbooks
3. Opportunities for practical student research
4. Latin program showcasing to parents and administrators
5. Review material for AP Latin testing
6. Increased student participation
7. Increased student contact-time with material