I am halfway through my MOOC, massive open on-line on archaeology from Brown University. I am really enjoying it and learning so much but the assignments are getting challenging… or maybe I am just setting myself a higher standard.
I submitted my last assignment on sorting and classifying last night, and now have received my peers assignments to assess… and I have just realised I have omitted a proper conclusion on what I posted… oh dear… I can’t do anything about that now, except to learn to do it better next time!
So the next assignment, as usual we have a choice of three; the first is about ceramics and looking at pots; the second is creating a digital 3D image of something; the third is to consider conservation, an object or site which has been successfully or unsuccessfully conserved. I think I am going to do ceramics; I didn’t think I was very interested in pots, I thought I was more interested in stone and flint items, but the more I think about the assignment, the more interested I become and am now itching to start!
That is what is so good about this course… not only does it teach you facts, terminology, skills and new ways of thinking, it also stimulates a sense of enquiry and investigation… I’m hooked!
Lois Elsden 
If I had to do it over I would have chosen this field or paleontology. One assignment I would give my 11th graders was divide in groups and walk into school yard wherein each group would find a baggie with one or two items inside. Upon retrieval they would write everything they could say about the civilization based on the items in their baggie. One bag might contain a nut and bolt, another a page of text, another some seeds and so forth. So you see the possibilities of conclusions are endless. Perhaps you can use the ideas if one of your assignments is about a field experience for youngsters. Good luck.
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What a simply brilliant idea… I wish I was still teaching it has so many applications!
I certainly will use your idea if I get the chance – and credit you too!
Thanks! xx
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