The first ParaMOOC (basically Parapsychology Massively Open Online Course, although it’s only massively open in theory!) took place in January and February of 2015. Dr. Nancy L. Zingrone and Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado, a collegial couple who are both research psychologists with a background in scientific and academic parapsychological research, and in survey research on various psychic experiences among them out-of-body and near-death experiences, conceived of the idea and organized what has become a series.
A presentation Dr. Zingrone made about the first ParaMOOC is available on the Parapsychology Foundation YouTube channel.
The talk was given for the Community Virtual World Library in the virtual world, Second life, hence the presence of Zingrone’s avatar in virtual worlds, Maggie Larimore. In addition to describing the course as a whole, Zingrone discussed the development of an in-world library to provide a permanent location for the virtual world discussion forums and for future courses.
In the first iteration of this course, Alvarado and Zingrone set up their standard operating procedure in which Alvarado designed the curriculum and secured the speakers while Zingrone trained the speakers in the webinar system, collected additional materials such as PowerPoints and handouts for the students, and moderated the sessions. Zingrone also handled student registration, student records, and the monthly discussion forums that took place both in the webinar system and in the virtual world, Second Life. Although the webinar system has changed over time, the procedures established in 2015 are still in place.
In 2015, the work of Alvarado and Zingrone in the planning and the management of the course was supported by donations from Lisette Coly, the president of the Parapsychology Foundation, Jonathan and Natasha Chisdes of chizfilm.com, and Dr. Phil Morse.
The course logo which is still in use was created by the artist RadiantSkies and was licensed for the future use in the parapsychology-related activities of Alvarado and Zingrone from http://www.123rs.com, one of the best online sources for stock photos and illustrations. The 123RF Limited Royalty-Free Extended License Agreement (Comprehensive Extended License) was signed in the fall of 2014.
The presentations available to the public on YouTube so far from this first ParaMOOC are as follows:
- Opening Ceremonies Parapsychology and Anomalistic Psychology
The opening lecture from the free open online mini-MOOC, Parapsychology, and Anomalistic Psychology: Research and Education, was presented on January 5th, 2015. The course itself took place from January 5th through February 14th, 2015 with students able to obtain certificates and attend monthly discussion forums through August 31st, 2015. The opening lecture oriented the students to the online classroom and the structure and philosophy of the course. The presenters were Dr. Nancy L. Zingrone and Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado.
- Overview of Parapsychology and Anomalistic Psychology: Research and Education.
The second lecture in ParaMOOC2015 was live-streamed on January 6th, 2016. The title of the lecture was “Overview: An Introduction to the Scientific Study of Psychic Phenomena” and the presenter was Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado. Dr. Nancy L. Zingrone moderated the session.
- Clinical Psychology and Counseling.
On January 7th, 2015, Dr. Alejandro Parra of the Instituto Psicología Paranormal (IPP) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, described the history and the then-current research activities and counseling services of the IPP. Information on the current activities of the Instituto and its publications are available in Spanish, German, and English at this website: http://www.alipsi.com.ar/. In 2019, the Instituto celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding.
- Multiphasic Model of Precognition.
On January 10th, 2015 physicist Dr. Edwin C. May presented his model of precognition for ParaMOOC2015. Dr. May’s intriguing theory situates precognition within materialism, a point of view that encouraged a lively discussion. For more information on Dr. May and his important research and publications, visit this website: https://www.lfr.org/
- Dissociation, Identity, and Belief: Results from a Multi-Method Study with Mediums, Atheists, and Other Brazilians.
Dr. Everton de Oliviera Maraldi presented a detailed research report on January 12th, 2015. Dr. Maraldi obtained his Ph.D. from the University of São Paulo and is currently a Professor of Religious Studies at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo in Brazil. You can find more information about him here.
- Modern Parapsychology Research: A Geographic View.
Presented on January 13th, 2015 Dr. Nancy L. Zingrone provided both a brief look at the history of the scientific community in general and in psychical research and parapsychology as well as an introduction to some of the university and private research units in the field at that time.
An additional 21 presenters talked about their research in the 2015 ParaMOOC. These presentations are being edited and will be listed here as they are uploaded to the playlist.
Finally, students in the course were able to obtain certificates for the course signed by Lisette Coly of the Parapsychology Foundation by choosing between a number of tasks, among them providing a video in English, Spanish or Portuguese in which some aspect of the field was covered. One of these was prepared by then-student Flavio Amaral. Uploaded on March 13th, 2015, the presentation was called Parapsicología — Pesquisa Laboratorial.
Stay tuned for more!