Press Release
AMC, Instructure and the University of California, Irvine today announced the joint production of a massive open online course exploring a broad range of scholarly topics through the lens of a hypothetical zombie apocalypse.
The free, eight-week MOOC, titled ³Society, Science, Survival: Lessons from AMC¹s ŒThe Walking Dead,¹² will be offered on Instructure¹s MOOC platform, Canvas Network, and will be taught by a multidisciplinary team of UC Irvine faculty: Zuzana Bic, public health; Joanne Christopherson, social sciences; Michael Dennin physics; and Sarah Eichhorn, mathematics. They were handpicked based on experience in teaching MOOCs, history of using pop culture in the classroom, and strong curricular alignment with case studies from the TV series.
³Fans of the show know that ŒThe Walking Dead¹ is about more than zombies; it¹s about survival, leadership and adapting to situations that are perilous and uncertain,² said Theresa Beyer, vice president of promotions and activation at AMC. ³AMC is excited to be the first entertainment group to make the foray into the online education arena through this unique partnership with the University of California, Irvine, and Instructure. There is clearly a growing appetite for engagement with ŒThe Walking Dead,¹ and we hope this online course will drive a deep, sustained connection with the show during its upcoming fourth season and offer a legitimate educational experience that can be applied even more broadly.²
Enrollment in the course is currently available to anyone in the world via www.canvas.net/TWD<http://www.canvas.net/TWD>. The first class is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 14, the day after the Season 4 premiere of AMC¹s ³The Walking Dead.² The course will run for eight consecutive Mondays through Dec. 2. Because the series will air at different times around the world, Canvas Network will put in place provisions to help international participants avoid spoilers.
While using pop culture references in the classroom is nothing new, this MOOC represents a unique level of experimentation in teaching and learning by formally infusing an academic syllabus with contemporary media. It¹s also the first time a technology firm, entertainment company and major university have collaborated in this way.
UC Irvine, which is ranked first among U.S. universities under 50 years old by the London-based Times Higher Education, has been a leader in the MOOC movement and a pioneer in open education for more than a decade. This partnership reflects UC Irvine¹s next step in utilizing popular culture and flexible technology to improve outcomes in the open, online learning environment.
³As an educator, I¹m always looking for ways to make scholarly ideas come alive for my students,² said Bic, who regularly employs pop culture analogies in her teaching on public health issues. ³ŒThe Walking Dead¹ provides many poignant case studies related to the scholarly areas covered in the course, and it helps that it¹s one of TV¹s most popular shows. There will be something for everyone in this course, which will explore concepts as varied as post-disaster nutrition, the foundations of human survival and stereotypes in a Darwinian environment.²
³The Walking Dead² is the most-watched TV series in basic cable history and was the No. 1 show last season among adults 18 to 49, across all broadcast and cable networks.
In addition to including content from the TV series, the online course will allow professors to digitally insert guest lecturers to add depth and variety to the curriculum.
A recent study by Instructure and the enterprise survey company Qualtrics revealed that students are most likely to complete MOOCs if they have a uniquely engaging academic experience.
³The education industry continues to experiment with MOOCs and is yielding insights into how to economically educate on a global scale,² said Instructure CEO Josh Coates. ³ ŒThe Walking Dead¹ MOOC by UC Irvine will explore new ways to teach serious multidisciplinary academic curriculum in a popular social context that is engaging.²
To keep learning and to enroll for free in the course, visit www.canvas.net/TWD<http://www.canvas.net/TWD>.
About AMC:
Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, AMC brings to its audience something deeper, something richer, something more. The network reigns as the only cable network in history ever to win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, and it boasts the most-watched drama series in basic cable history with ³The Walking Dead.² AMC¹s original drama series include ³Mad Men,² ³Breaking Bad,² ³The Walking Dead,² ³The Killing² and ³Hell on Wheels.² Its newest series, ³Low Winter Sun,² premiered this summer. AMC also explores authentic worlds with bold characters through its slate of unscripted original series like ³Comic Book Men,² ³Small Town Security,² ³Talking Dead² and ³Freakshow.² AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc., and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Something More.
About Instructure:
Instructure<http://www.instructure.com> is a technology company committed to improving education. We provide instructors and students with modern tools and resources that empower and simplify the learning experience. Instructure offers Canvas, the open, easy-to-use, cloud-native learning management system, as well as Canvas Network<http://www.canvas.net>, an index of open, online courses by educators everywhere from Ivy League institutions to community colleges.
About the University of California, Irvine:
Located in coastal Orange County, near a thriving employment hub in one of the nation¹s safest cities, UC Irvine<http://uci.edu/> was founded in 1965. One of only 62 members of the Association of American Universities, it¹s ranked first among U.S. universities under 50 years old by the London-based Times Higher Education. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake<http://chancellor.uci.edu/> since 2005, UC Irvine has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It¹s Orange County¹s second-largest employer, contributing $4.3 billion annually to the local economy.
Copyright © 2013, Instructure, Inc. All rights reserved. Instructure, Canvas and their respective logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Instructure, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brands and names may be claimed as the property of others.
via AMC
