Traveling in the Bitcoin Valley
"I don't think that online teaching, as sometimes unfortunately happens, is simply the video translation of teaching in physical presence. Videos are not enough". With this conviction as a starting point, Leonardo Maria De Rossi, professor at SDA Bocconi School of Management, recently awarded for innovation in teaching, went on introduce -- for his online course "The Blockchain Journey: Debunking Myths to Manage a New Business Paradigm" – a teaching method that alternates different types of digital tools, trying to tap into all the potential of the Net.
"We have created a sort of path along which participants, in order to pass on to the next level, have to pass through arrays of tests", explains De Rossi. "There are four levels, one for each week of duration of the course, and they are further divided into sub-stages in which various tools are used", continues the faculty member, "from classic frontal teaching to presentations with animations and quizzes. My role is to be a sort of presenter who accompanies students throughout the four-week journey of the course. Another particularly successful tool entails very captivating infographics, which represent the digital transposition of what frontal video teaching normally tries to achieve". Even shooting techniques represent an element of novelty: "The person being filmed does not look straight at the camera, but to his right, for example. This is a mode that commands more attention. Furthermore, since I mainly deal with Bitcoin, we went to Rovereto, considered Italy's Bitcoin Valley, to shoot a documentary featuring interviews with some retailers and representatives of a tech company".
"The most interesting aspect of the course", explains Emanuele Coscia, a Bocconi graduate in International Economics and Management and today a cybersecurity and blockchain consultant, "is that it really delves into technical details, it does not just cover aspects related to the business. The formula, then, of lectures by instructors followed by accounts of industry players who add depth to what has just been learned in class, is very functional. I met this course by participating as an industry guest, but then I decided to enroll in the course myself because I found it a major opportunity to further strengthen my professional training".