Annenberg Learner

[Vida Winter]

If you have used this resource, how do you like it? How does it work? Is it free?

[swimmermom3]

We've used a variety of their lectures. We especially enjoyed Invitation to World Literature, in part, because some of the lectures show how classic works still inspire new creative efforts. This is a bit of a different twist than some of the TC lectures.

 

Everything we used to this point has been free.

 

What in particular are you interested in/

 

Annenberg is a terrific resource.

[Nscribe]

:iagree:

[Vida Winter]

I am interested in The Western Tradition. Earlier today I couldn't get the videos to work (they simply reloaded the page) but now they are working - not sure what was going wrong!

[swimmermom3]

While researching for my AP European History syllabus, I did find at least a couple of teachers that had The Western Tradition on their syllabi. One teacher used it quite extensively. Another paired in with the art series from Annenberg as well. Were you thinking of using it for a spine?

[Vida Winter]

While researching for my AP European History syllabus, I did find at least a couple of teachers that had The Western Tradition on their syllabi. One teacher used it quite extensively. Another paired in with the art series from Annenberg as well. Were you thinking of using it for a spine?

 

I'm not sure. The Annenberg videos are quite nice. There is a massive spine that accompanies the series - here is volume 1:

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0205705154/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=13WJ7BV467JY5&coliid=I1SBEI9BWP0TAX

 

I need to compare this with the TC Foundations of Western Civ. that I already own. I am trying to create a course that touches briefly on ancients and then moves on. Our next focus will be Medieval/Renaissance.

[swimmermom3]

I'm not sure. The Annenberg videos are quite nice. There is a massive spine that accompanies the series - here is volume 1:

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0205705154/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=13WJ7BV467JY5&coliid=I1SBEI9BWP0TAX

 

I need to compare this with the TC Foundations of Western Civ. that I already own. I am trying to create a course that touches briefly on ancients and then moves on. Our next focus will be Medieval/Renaissance.

 

That's a well-respected and frequently used AP Euro text.  I really enjoyed Donald Kagan's open course from Yale on Ancient Greek History. Anyway, we used Foundations of Western Civilization this year for our AP Euro class. Thomas Noble and Robert Bucholz are some of our favorite TC lecturers. My son would tell you to do Bucholz for sure. He uses The Western Experience for his spine, but I think he says any decent text will do.

 

Why don't you have your student watch a lecture of each on a similar topic and see what they prefer?  I have only watched a handful of the Weber lectures, but I do like them.  If I have time, I like to use two different presentations, because each brings something different to the table (although not always).

 

Robert Bucholz talks about the Great Chain of Being and my son found it easier to make certain connections memorable by  hanging them on that particular peg so to speak.

 

Sorry that I am not much help, but I think you have two excellent resources at your fingertips and it's really going to come down to a personal preference.

 

[swimmermom3]

I think I am losing my mind. Where you able to find a website link?

 

Ds and I used several videos last year from the Bridging World History series. If you go to the page, you will see a "Enter the Website" notice. There are lesson plans that we pulled from. The World Literature series is similar and that it provides a variety of resources. I wonder if there is anything similar for The Western Tradition.

[Vida Winter]

Here is a link to The Western Tradition:

 

http://www.learner.org/resources/series58.html

 

We have the Thomas Noble lectures - is Robert Bucholz much better?

 

 

Another possibility is from Hillsdale College -

http://online.hillsdale.edu/westernheritage

 

Each lecture has downloadable readings

History 101: Western Heritage—From the Book of Genesis to John Locke

1. Introduction - “Jerusalem, Athens, and the Study of History at Hillsdale Collegeâ€

1. The Hebrew Legacy

1. "Creation" - Selections from Genesis
2. "Covenant  and Law" - Selections from Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy
3. "Kingship" - Selections from First Samuel

1. The Greek Miracle

1. Herodotus, "The History"
2. Thucydides - "Pericles' Funeral Oration"
3. Aristotle - "The Politics" (Excerpt One, up to Section I§3)
4. Aristotle - "The Politics" (Excerpt Two, Section III§6)

1. The Greek Legacy

1. Thucydides - "Pericles' Funeral Oration"
2. Thucydides - "Pericles' Plague Speech"
3. Plato - "The Republic" (Selection from Book VII, "The Allegory of the Cave")
4. Plato - "The Republic" (Selections from Book VIII and IX)
5. Plato - "The Apology of Socrates" (Excerpt)

1. The Roman Legacy

1. Polybius - "The Histories"
2. Plutarch - "Marcus Cato" (Please begin with Reader page 207, line 22 through page 211, line 35.)

1. Early Christianity

1. The Gospel of Matthew (Selections from Western Heritage: A Reader)
2. Acts of the Apostles (Selections from Western Heritage: A Reader)
3. Tertullian, "Prescription Against Heretics"
4. Clement of Alexandria, "On Philosophy"
5. Augustine, "On Christian Doctrine"

1. Church and State

1. The Investiture Controversy - Excerpts from Western Heritage: A Reader
2. Magna Carta

1. Renaissance, Reformation, and Counter-Reformation

1. Petrarch, selections from "On His Own Ignorance"
2. Machiavelli, selections from The Prince and The Discourses
3. John Calvin, selections from The Institutes

1. The Scientific Revolution

1. Nicholas Copernicus - "The Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"
2. Galileo Galilei - "The Starry Messenger"
3. Isaac Newton - "Principia"

1. From Elizabeth I to the Glorious Revolution

1. "The Petition of Right" and "Denial of Parliamentary Jurisdiction"
2. Thomas Hobbes - Selections from Leviathan (NOTE: This particular selection is not included in Hillsdale's Western Heritage Reader.)
3. John Locke - "Second Treatise of Civil Government"
4. The English Bill of Rights

[swimmermom3]

I've used the link to The Western Tradition. What I was wondering is if it had any other resources to go with it? What I mean is, if you go to the Bridging World History link that I gave you above, click on the blue arrow "Enter the series website," you'll see additional readings, activities,and other resources in addition to the videos. If you go to the Annenberg World Literature course, click on a book, you'll be taken to where you can choose to watch the video, read an excerpt from the text, read about various translations, and go to a section with maps and timelines.

 

Most of the Annenberg materials we have used always have something more beyond the videos which extend the learning experience. It's an incredible resource. I am not sure why there isn't more for The Western Tradition. I was wondering if you were seeing more that I wasn't.

 

As far as The Foundations of Western Civilization go, Set 1 is Thomas Noble's and it covers from Sumer to the Catholic Reformation, while Bucholz's Set 2 covers Renaissance Humanism through Europe, 2001. I like both professors very much even though their styles are distinctly different; my son just happens to like Bucholz a bit better than Noble.  If you look at the reviews on the Great Course site, there are a few reviewers that claim Bucholz is a serious liberal in comparison to Noble. I don't know. They are both at well-respected Catholic universities, and they both do a great job at presenting history in engaging fashion, while leaving you with plenty to think about. I mention this only to give you a heads-up if that would be a consideration, since you are looking at the Hillsdale materials.

 

What time frame do you want to cover?  If you want to do all of Western Civilization from Sumer on, then the Annenberg site would cover everything and you wouldn't have to buy the second set of TTC's Foundations of Western Civilization.

 

The Hillsdale schedule looks like it could easily keep you busy for the year.

[3andme]

I think The Western Tradition has no website because it was created in 1989 before widespread use of the internet. However, if you click on the Buy videos and materials link on the course page, you can find some associated books including a study guide and teacher's guide. Perhaps, these might have some additional resources although their references might be outdated as well since they were published in the 90's. Some of these can be found used on Amazon for much less.

[Vida Winter]

I've used the link to The Western Tradition. What I was wondering is if it had any other resources to go with it? What I mean is, if you go to the Bridging World History link that I gave you above, click on the blue arrow "Enter the series website," you'll see additional readings, activities,and other resources in addition to the videos. If you go to the Annenberg World Literature course, click on a book, you'll be taken to where you can choose to watch the video, read an excerpt from the text, read about various translations, and go to a section with maps and timelines.

 

Most of the Annenberg materials we have used always have something more beyond the videos which extend the learning experience. It's an incredible resource. I am not sure why there isn't more for The Western Tradition. I was wondering if you were seeing more that I wasn't.

 

As far as The Foundations of Western Civilization go, Set 1 is Thomas Noble's and it covers from Sumer to the Catholic Reformation, while Bucholz's Set 2 covers Renaissance Humanism through Europe, 2001. I like both professors very much even though their styles are distinctly different; my son just happens to like Bucholz a bit better than Noble.  If you look at the reviews on the Great Course site, there are a few reviewers that claim Bucholz is a serious liberal in comparison to Noble. I don't know. They are both at well-respected Catholic universities, and they both do a great job at presenting history in engaging fashion, while leaving you with plenty to think about. I mention this only to give you a heads-up if that would be a consideration, since you are looking at the Hillsdale materials.

 

What time frame do you want to cover?  If you want to do all of Western Civilization from Sumer on, then the Annenberg site would cover everything and you wouldn't have to buy the second set of TTC's Foundations of Western Civilization.

 

The Hillsdale schedule looks like it could easily keep you busy for the year.

 

Thanks for the information on all of these resources. I love the way the Hillsdale course is organized, where the readings are right there to print out.  I need a good overview -  but we need to get past ancients and into the next time periods. The ancients are fascinating but we can't stay there forever!

[Donna]

My dd uses French in Action as a supplement to her regular French lessons and we have used Destinos previously with Spanish. Always free.