by Carly Schnitzler, Graduate Communications Editor
In enacting its updated mission, the newly opened Digital Literacy and Communications (DLC) Lab has hosted a successful series of Digital Pedagogy Workshops throughout the Fall semester. These workshops aim to incubate, encourage, and share innovative pedagogical practices being used by Department of English and Comparative Literature graduate teaching fellows and faculty.
The first of these Digital Pedagogy Workshops was led by Laurel Foote-Hudson. Foote-Hudson introduced digital pedagogical techniques she uses in her English 105 class, in which she leads her students in designing a game over the course of the semester. Staff members from the BeAM makerspaces and Kenan Science Library joined the workshop to share how 3D printing and other resources in the makerspaces around campus can be used effectively in the classroom.
Assistant Director of the DLC Grant Glass and staff members from UNC’s Media Resource Center (MRC) Winifred Metz and Justin Dorazio led the second workshop. This workshop focused on teaching digital storytelling through video, using Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Premiere Rush, along with other resources and equipment from the Media Resource Center. Glass discussed the narrative strategies he guides students in incorporating into their video essay assignment in his English 105 class. He emphasized that learning the technology should not be the focal point of the assignment, but rather a tool to propel narrative forward. Glass credited the expertise of MRC staff and the ease of use of their resources in accomplishing this goal in his classrooms. At this workshop, the DLC also began to stream these events over Facebook Live.
The final workshop of the Fall semester was led by Associate Professor Dr. Heidi Kim, who, along with the Head of Research and Instructional Services from Wilson Library, Jason Tomberlin, discussed incorporating archival research in classes. Tomberlin shared the wealth of resources that Wilson Library has to offer, along with the types of sessions Wilson Library staff can lead in classrooms, ranging from an informational “show and tell” session to a more involved research process, extending over multiple class sessions. Kim discussed how she has incorporated the resources of the Wilson Library into her classes over the years, focusing on document-based assignments as a “valuable way for students to experience archival research.”
These workshops will resume in the Spring semester, continuing to spotlight the innovative teaching practices of the teaching fellows and faculty of the Department of English and Comparative Literature. For more information on the DLC, future workshops, and digital resources available at UNC, click here.
