Methods and Models for Teaching Digital Archaeology and Heritage

As the role that digital methods play in heritage and archaeology has increased in importance, so has the challenge of teaching those digital methods. Who should be taught digital methods? Should undergraduate and grad students be taught digital methods alongside non-digital methods? Should instruction in digital methods be curricular or extra curricular? Should instruction in digital methods take place in the classroom, the lab, or in the field? How should existing scholars or professionals be taught digital methods? What concepts, platforms, or technologies should be taught? What underlying values about the application of digital methods in archaeology and heritage should be expressed in teaching programs? All are relevant questions whose answer requires measured design, careful planning, and thoughtful implementation. The purpose of this session is to explore these critical issues by highlighting a series of case studies, each of which approaches the challenge of teaching digital methods within archaeology and heritage differently. Beyond the case studies themselves, the session hopes to highlight generalizable models that might be adapted and adopted in a wide variety of institutional, professional, or scholarly settings.