Online Course
Life in Ancient Rome
The Finnish Institute in Rome wanted to create an open online course related to ancient Rome. The institute has been operating since 1954 at Villa Lante in Rome, and its primary goal is to promote humanistic research related to antiquity and Italy.
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With its online course, the institute aims to reach high school students primarily but also a broader audience. As a research institute, the course naturally had to be based on well-founded knowledge. Additionally, it was hoped that the course would introduce participants to research methods related to antiquity.
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Read below the story of the creation of the 'Life in Ancient Rome' course, realized in collaboration with Ixir by the Finnish Institute in Rome.
Participant comments on the course
The course was very interesting, a real pick-me-up during the dark November.
The course was technically well-constructed, the sections were of suitable length, and they included a variety of videos, images, texts, and assignments.
Thank you for the fascinating journey into the lives of ancient Romans. I gained a lot of new knowledge from this course and a spark to continue exploring the topic on my own.
The course was pedagogically well-structured and suitable for various purposes and different people.
Everyday Life in Antiquity - Creating the Course Content
The project began with a remote workshop led by Ixir, attended by experts from the institute as well as representatives from the Association of History and Social Studies Teachers (HYOL). In the first workshop, the course objectives and considerations for the target audience were outlined.
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Based on the workshop, an Ixir expert drafted an outline of the course, which was sent for feedback to the working group. Now, the course topic was confirmed: ancient Rome would be approached from the perspective of daily life and various groups of people, with each section introducing a research area focusing on a specific topic.
Once the framework was established, the Finnish Institute in Rome provided Ixir with a list of books and materials. Based on these, Ixir's expert began to compile content tailored to the target audience from the rich research tradition on ancient Rome. The content creation was a collaborative effort with the institute's Research Fellow, Elina Pyy, who reviewed and supplemented the draft content provided by Ixir.
The illustrations created by Parvati Pillai
illustrate the Roman way of life.
From Plan to Implementation - Filming on Via Appia
Before the second workshop, the other members of the working group also had a chance to review the content draft. At this stage, the text sections of the course were in place, as well as the scripts for videos and audios. In the second workshop, the working group provided feedback on the content and brainstormed pedagogically effective ways to deliver it.
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Following the workshop, Ixir's expert created a plan for the course's implementation and used their implementation tools to create a course draft, which was once again reviewed by the clients. With the delivery methods and content in place, the final versions of the course activities were developed.
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The videos were filmed in the institute's local surroundings and at historical sites in Rome, and the raw video material was provided to Ixir for editing. Some of the course's images were compiled by the institute, while Ixir acquired others from image services. In addition, an illustrator created some illustrations and visual aids specifically for this course. Ixir's expert designed and created appropriately sized nuggets for participants' review assignments.
Illustrations were used to explain, for example, the theories of ancient Roman medicine.
Refreshment for History Enthusiasts – Course Publication
Once the graphic designer had fine-tuned the appearance of the course activities and the proofreader had placed the commas correctly, the institute's experts reviewed the entire course once more.
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Now, the only remaining step was to implement the course on the technical platform. Ixir had found a suitable platform for the open-access course, managed the technical implementation of the course, and presented the platform to the institute's staff responsible for maintaining the course. At this stage, a test group went through the course, and the final adjustments were made.
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In October 2021, the Finnish Institute in Rome and Ixir had the pleasure of launching the course, bringing the study of everyday life in ancient Rome to those interested in the topic in the comfort of their homes.
The course is now available for everyone, and a few weeks after its release, it had already attracted over 400 users. The effort put into the course was not in vain, as participant feedback has described the result as interesting, clear, and a "pick-me-up during the dark November."
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You can take a look at the course (in Finnish) by following this link – or perhaps you'll be inspired to delve even deeper into the everyday life of ancient Rome.
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