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By Aran Levasseur
Shakespeare is going digital.
Notre Dame professor Elliott Visconsi has co-created a new app for the iPad called The Tempest that he says helps accelerate student learning by allowing them to develop deeper comprehension in less time than solitary reading. At the heart of the app is a social network that encourages students to communicate their interpretations and collaborate with others.
“We’ve found that most people learn best when they are in the role of author, creator or collaborator, when they are teaching others,” Visconsi said.
We spoke with Visconsi about transforming Shakespeare for the 21st century and why the intensely social experience of the app is what, in essence, the humanities have always been about. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation.
Q&A
The Tempest app is described as transforming Shakespeare for the 21st century. How does it do that? And why do you think Shakespeare needs to be transformed for the 21st century?
Elliot Visconsi: We are trying to lower the entry cost of difficult content like Shakespeare by adding in great tools and features that allow readers from all backgrounds to grapple with, appreciate, and Continue reading