The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT) is partnering with faculty from Milner Library and other departments across campus to offer new, exciting opportunities for professional development this summer for Illinois State faculty and staff. The 2021 Summer Institute workshops connect with the Framework for Inclusive Teaching Excellence and provide various options for achieving your professional development goals. The workshops will be delivered entirely online this year, featuring asynchronous and synchronous formats or a combination of both.
Milner Library is pleased to offer seven contributions to this year’s line-up covering topics related to affordable course materials, digital humanities tools, publishing with Scalar, authentic learning, navigating the information landscape, and the Wise Women Learning Community. Please see the full descriptions and details for each opportunity below. Most sessions require preregistration through the CTLT Summer Institute website.
Making Course Materials More Affordable for Students
The ever-increasing cost of textbooks is making it more challenging for college students to afford necessary class resources, and the increase in virtual learning due to COVID has magnified the issue. While all students pursuing a college degree are affected by textbook costs, the impact is greater for some students than others. This workshop will examine the conditions that have led to the rising cost of materials and explore resources that are available to instructors who want to make their course materials more affordable for students. At the end of the workshop, participants will develop an action plan to integrate affordable materials into their course(s). Registration is required.
Facilitators: Mallory Jallas, Student Success Librarian; Anne Shelley, Scholarly Communications Librarian; Lindsey Skaggs, Instructional Design Librarian
Asynchronous work: May 17 – May 28
Synchronous sessions: Wednesday, May 19, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. & Wednesday, May 26, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Using Digital Humanities Tools in the Classroom – Part 1 (Introduction)
Digital humanities projects can be simple or complex and can be incorporated into the classroom using a variety of tools. Participants will learn how to plan and execute digital exhibits, digital mapping, and data visualization projects using tools that are relatively simple to teach and easy to incorporate into learning environments. The workshop will cover the following:
- Basic and intermediate tools
- Ideas for projects
- Methods for getting started and creating effective assignments
- Resources and techniques for finding images, data sets, and other source materials
The course will be a mixture of recorded lectures, demonstrations, and experiments with tools. A culminating Zoom session will give participants an opportunity to discuss their experiences, ask questions, share observations, and discuss next steps for creating an assignment using the tools and techniques covered in the class. The tools and techniques covered in this workshop are useful for classes in any subject area. Registration is required.
Facilitators: Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Special Collections Librarian; Anne Shelley, Scholarly Communications Librarian
Asynchronous work: May 17 – May 21
Synchronous session: Thursday, May 20, 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Using Digital Humanities Tools in the Classroom – Part 2 (Application)
Intended to build on skills developed in part one of Using Digital Humanities Tools in the Classroom, participants will extend their experience using digital exhibits, digital mapping, or data visualization platforms. Participants will focus on creating an action plan using one of these tools, while continuing to experiment with their chosen platform.
Participants will be asked to attend a synchronous instruction session focused on their selected area of development—choosing from digital exhibits, digital mapping, or data visualization. Participants will also work with the instructors to expand their ideas for incorporating a digital humanities assignment into the classroom. The workshop will culminate with a synchronous Zoom session where participants will have a chance to share and discuss their action plan for implementing a digital humanities activity in the classroom.
Please note: While this workshop will build on skills developed during Using Digital Humanities Tools in the Classroom: Part 1, participants who have not taken that course, but are already familiar with one of the areas covered, are welcome to register for this workshop. Registration is required.
Facilitators: Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Special Collections Librarian; Anne Shelley, Scholarly Communications Librarian
Asynchronous work: May 24 – May 28
Synchronous session: Thursday, May 27, 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Digital Humanities in the Classroom: Multimedia Publishing with Scalar
Scalar is a free multimedia publishing website that allows authors to create and share digital scholarship online. Scalar makes it easy to integrate text and media, and includes easy to use features such as visualizations, mapping, and timelines. Scalar is a suitable platform for group projects for online classes, as well as a good entry tool for digital humanities work. This workshop provides an overview of Scalar’s functions and as a potential tool for collaborative classroom projects. Registration is required.
Facilitators: Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Special Collections Librarian; Anne Shelley, Scholarly Communications Librarian
Asynchronous work: May 27 – June 4
Synchronous session: Friday, June 4, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Using Authentic Learning to Engage Students with the Research Process
Eighty-four percent of undergraduate students say that getting started is the hardest part when working on a research project, and motivation can play a key role. To engage students with research, instructors can take a learner-centered approach that encourages them to connect the assignment with their true interests. This workshop will explore how instructors can use autonomy-supportive teaching strategies and authentic learning to approach the research process, helping students understand that research is personal and can be engaging and exciting, whatever the assignment. We’ll cover how to introduce the research process to students, how to help students craft meaningful research questions that matter to them within the parameters of an assignment, and how students can develop search strategies to position them for success. Registration is required.
Facilitator: Lindsey Skaggs, Instructional Design Librarian
Asynchronous work: June 9 – June 15
Synchronous session: Wednesday, June 16, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Navigating the Information Landscape
With so much technology at our fingertips, our society has become inundated with information. This has left students in a challenging position, susceptible to fake news and unsure how to find and use reliable, scholarly sources. This workshop will provide instructors with strategies and tools to help students evaluate the resources they interact with, both when working on assignments and in their daily lives. We’ll cover how to approach our changing information landscape and discover strategies for helping students understand information sources—be it fake news, scholarly articles, or something in-between. At the end of the workshop, participants will develop a resource evaluation activity for one or more of their courses. Registration is required.
Facilitator: Lindsey Skaggs, Instructional Design Librarian
Asynchronous work: June 14 – June 20, June 22 – June 28 |
Synchronous session: Monday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Wise Women Learning Community
Wise Women is a group of female academics who discuss readings that inform their teaching. All are welcome to join the group to converse about the semester’s selection. We look forward to welcoming back continuing members and meeting new friends who are interested in fun, intellectual conversation about teaching, learning, civic engagement, and more. Here are some recent titles the group has read:
- Opposite of Hate: A Field Guide for Repairing our Humanity by Sally Kohn
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism Paperback by Robin DiAngelo
- Reader Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World by Maryanne Wolf
- Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning by Jose Antonio Bowen.
For more information and to join the group, contact Sue Franzen, Nursing Librarian.
This Learning Community will be meeting online using Zoom. Meeting times will be determined with input from members.
For a full list of CTLT’s summer offerings, please visit https://ctlt.illinoisstate.edu/summer-institute/.
