ANA Summer Seminar Cancelled

I just got word from Brianna Victor at the ANA that Colorado College has cancelled all on-campus summer activities this year, which includes the ANA Summer Seminar. Disappointing, but understandable and not surprising. Hopefully, students return next summer in record numbers due to "Coin Camp" withdrawal.
John
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
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Too bad. This was an opportunity for the ANA to move online and potentially get a lot more people into the hobby.
Some industry conferences I know of have moved online and seen record signups.
Perhaps the ANA will still decide to run an online Summer Seminar?
Sorry to hear this. The immersive nature of ANA summer seminar simply can't be duplicated online.
Too bad, but El Paso County has been hard hit by the virus.
It doesn’t have to be exactly the same to be successful.
If the goal is education, certainly a lot of people can be reached online.
Perhaps you are TOO CLOSE to a solution. With few exceptions (the fun and hands on experience) many of the forums here on CU are Year Round "Seminars." The ANA Library also has some good videos to borrow.
Sad to hear this, this is always one of my favorite things to do every summer.
Andrew Blinkiewicz-Heritage
No, it can't. While there are some courses that could be done online, most are hands on with a certain amount of individualized instruction. The instructors try to make the classroom experience something that you just couldn't duplicate online. The classroom accounts for only about 24 hours of the week. There are other aspects of "Coin Camp" that you can't replace with an online course.
This is not to say that the ANA shouldn't develop structured online courses, perhaps augmenting their correspondence courses with lectures and monetizing them through Coursera or other similar venues.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Several courses could easily be taught on line via Zoom. I actually wish the ANA would think out of the box on this one and offer up courses on line. I think they would be shocked by the amount of collectors that would welcome the opportunity. They could monetize it and create a healthy buzz at the same time. People are chomping at the bit for alternative activities now. You can only watch Frozen so many times. Create a bridge to next years Summer Seminar interest wise
A few years ago I suggested to David McCarthy that he do this very thing on the subject of Pioneer gold. I would support any classes of this ilk.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
An unfortunate turn but definitely the right call. I too believe the ANA should use this as a kick in the rear end to develop a distance learning platform. That doesn't mean they have to stop offering the in-person version. Sure online is not the same as being in person. In many ways it could be better. For starters, instead of reaching a few dozen people they could reach a few thousand.
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Kagin was behind distance learning programs for the ANA. It was part of his campaign for ANA president, but he didn't win this last time around. Hopefully, we'll see the ANA go more modern in the future.
I've been chatting with Jeff Shevlin and have discussed the possibility of a remote So-Called Dollar Fellowship Gathering this year. We'll see what happens.
It would be neat if there could be an online class for members instead. Maybe cut the price dramatically, but have a Zoom-type class. Yes, it wouldn't be nearly as good, but it would be 2nd best.
Looking through the catalog, there are very few classes that would work well this way. As I mentioned earlier, it's the correspondence courses that might be translatable to distance learning. While they'd be cheaper, they would want to be careful not to cannibalize their market for the in-person classes.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Obviously the right thing to do under the current conditions. However, online seminars and teaching could be highly beneficial and reach a larger audience. When done properly it is a great teaching venue. Having taken online instruction for certificates, I can assure you it is an excellent method of teaching. With the current technology, it is easily the equal of classroom teaching. Cheers, RickO
The classes wouldn't work as well, but would still serve a solid educational purpose. No in-hand examination of coins, etc, but images can be used, questions can be asked and answers given, etc. The mint error class, for example might do very well in this setting, as well as various similar classes.
Some classes would work better than others. You still don't get to eat lunch with Ken Bressett