Andrew Whitacre
Kurt Fendt, a Lecturer and Principal Research Associate in German Studies and Comparative Media Studies/Writing, has won a Teaching with Digital Technology Award for his innovative work in 21G.420, “Visual Histories: German Cinema 1945 to Present”.
The award recognized his incorporation of collaboration-focused digital humanities tools, including two that Fendt himself helped develop, Annotation Studio and Metamedia. Nominators described his teaching with technology as “a beautiful counterexample for those who believe technology is making the classroom environment too quiet and alienating”. With Fendt’s use of these tools, “students could more easily share ideas and build off of each other’s comments and opinions,” in turn building a new kind of interaction with texts and films. In particular, nominators praised Fendt for showing that digital teaching tools need not be limited to mere course management of a large technology-heavy class but can play an essential role in humanities settings as well.
Fendt was one of just five winners across MIT. Students submitted 132 nominations for 90 different faculty, and the 5 winners were selected by a committee of deans and students.
The Teaching with Digital Technology Award are co-sponsored by the Office of Digital Learning, the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education, and the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education.
