The Global Classroom & Online Learning
With the internet and digital age dictating the current student’s every move, universities worldwide have adapted their model of teaching by incorporating online courses and podcasts. Culinary and food courses are not exempt from this change as chefs and professors are collaborating to create a global classroom for food learning. What’s exciting is that you don’t always have to be an enrolled student to participate.
1. At The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Lam Lung Yeung and King L. Chow are offering an online class regarding the influence of scientific principles on cooking and cuisine. “The Science of Gastronomy” is a 6 week long class covering basic scientific principles of food including taste, flavor, aroma, coloring, and texture. The online instructional videos will cover cooking practices and encourage students to develop their own recipes after understanding ingredients. No former cooking experience is required. This class enables an enrollee to progress and learn at his or her own pace while discovering the science behind the cooking.
2. Sponsored by Coursera, “The New Nordic Diet - from Gastronomy to Health” tracts the world’s largest research project for health and well-being. Taught by Arne Astrup of the University of Copenhagen, this course focuses on gastronomy, health and environment. Conducted by the OPUS Centre at the University of Copenhagen and the people behind the award-winning restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, this class informs students on the opportunities of healthy living and new diets featuring regional based diet and food culture. Unique to Denmark and the U. of Copenhagen, the “Nordic diet” consists of local ingredients such as root vegetables, rye bread, fish, berries and seaweed. Professor Astrup goes beyond basic food knowledge and emphasizes how food practices can affect obesity and metabolism.This online course begins on September 2, 2013 and is 8 weeks long.
3. Sponsored by Open Culture, Harvard University presents a lecture series unlike any other university food related course. "Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter“ combines the research of Harvard professors and expertise of world-class chefs to explore the dichotomy between food and science. Soft matter science is a field that looks at how thermal stresses and thermal fluctuations change the physical properties of everyday materials. In this case, those materials are pantry items like chocolate, bread, and olive oil. The classroom consists of a lecture hall complete with a professional kitchen serving as the lab station. All 64 current lectures are on YouTube and free to the public to view.
4. From the University of Minnesota, "Sustainability of Food Systems: A Global Life Cycle Perspective” is a timely class that is focused on the future of food consumption. This course explores every aspect of food preparation and the impact our food choices have on the environment, society, and health. It will prompt students to think in more sustainable and creative ways to create a more stable global food system. Taught by Professor Jason Hill, the curriculum will focus on broad topics ranging “What is food?” to “What challenges do we face in reforming the global food system?” Lectures will question the global impact of our dietary choices and show how future generations can improve the sustainability of our world’s food system. Participants will investigate these issues through case studies, readings, and online resources. The course is open to all, lasts 8 weeks long, and starts on June 14.
5. Offered by John Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, “An Introduction to the U.S. Food System: Perspectives from Public Health,” teaches how food impacts health and the environment as it is delivered from the source to our dinner plates. This online, 6 week course highlights activities and complex systems ranging from food production to consumption. Individuals will learn about the U.S. food system and the implications of our current food production processes, and then discuss alternative methods of production to improve the quality of public health and the environment. Anyone can enroll, despite the course being led by faculty from John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. The date of the course has yet to be announced so keep an eye out.
6. Sponsored by Open Universities Australia, “Food, Nutrition and Your Health” covers nutrition, eating disorders, and proper diets to avoid health problems. Students will learn everything from the chemistry of basic nutrients to constructing a healthy menu. This course prepares students for vocational jobs such as a nutrition assistant to a dietitian. Students also engage in online discussions regarding anorexia and bulimia, a prerequisite for becoming a community or school health advisor. The course is constructed under 4 modules and anyone can enroll on the Open2Study website.
7. The Food Science and Human Nutrition Department at the University of Maine offers multiple online courses spanning world nutrition, food preservation, and biostatistical techniques concerning food research. “Introduction to Food and Nutrition” covers the influence of food patterns on physical performance, food safety, and controversies over effects of processing and storage. “World Food and Nutrition” investigates poverty, government regulations, and population growth in regards to world food nutrition. “Food Preservation” and “Research Methods and Biostatistical Techniques” examine thermal processing and research on food management design. “Food Preservation” also goes into depth about freezing, dehydration, extrusion-cooking and packaging food. This class is limited to current undergraduate students.
8. Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online Learning offers multiple online courses regarding food sciences and nutrition. Two particularly interesting courses are: “Food and the Consumer” and “World Food Issues: Past and Present.” Taught by ISU professor, Julie Goldman, “Food and the Consumer” tracks the properties of food constituents and food preservation against deterioration. This online, 3-unit course also addresses government regulations of food businesses and the introduction of food into the marketplace. Taught by ISU professor, Clark Ford, “World Food Issues: Past and Present” informs students about malnutrition, hunger and socioeconomic problems on a global level. The online course encourages the student’s to think of change for a better future. Thees classes begin on August 26th and will conclude on December 20, 2013. Students will pay a delivery fee of $212.00 along with the normal tuition and technology fee.
