Empowering Student Workers to Lead Digital Fluency Training
Submission Type
20-minute Presentation
Abstract
Learn how Ursinus College’s instructional technology librarian trained and empowered student workers to lead digital fluency workshops and provide peer to peer support for students working on digital projects. Explore the pros and cons of various training approaches for Library and IT student workers, including daylong workshops, semester long apprenticeships, and a blended learning model. Begin to develop your own plan for training student workers to support digital fluency initiatives and innovation in the classroom.
Start Date
7-20-2020 12:50 PM
End Date
7-20-2020 1:10 PM
Description
Ursinus College developed the Digital Liberal Arts (DLA) Fellows program in 2017. DLA Fellows are Library and IT student workers trained in over 15 different types of technology who consult regularly with faculty and students on digital projects, lead digital fluency workshops, and support in-class instruction. Training these student workers is a time consuming, intensive process and as technology continues to evolve, the program has to evolve as well. I will describe the various iterations the DLA Fellows program went through and the pros and cons of each training approach we took to provide the Fellows with the tools they needed to be successful and make lasting impacts. I will also discuss the significant benefits the program has brought as it relates to student empowerment, classroom innovation, and advancement in the digital liberal arts at Ursinus. I will highlight the online training course the DLA Fellows and I created to create a sustainable training solution for our student workers and share the results of this approach. Finally, I will provide ample opportunity for participants to evaluate their own student worker programs and brainstorm ways to streamline training and empower their student workers.
This presentation directly connects to the conference themes of digital competencies and blended learning as DLA Fellows are directly involved in helping faculty and students develop their digital competencies and are trained using a blended learning model.
My session’s learning outcomes are:
- Participants will recognize the benefits of empowering student workers to play a major role in digital fluency initiatives.
- Participants will identify the pros and cons of three different approaches for training student workers.
- Participants will evaluate their student worker programs and training methods.
- Participants will construct a plan for empowering their student workers and streamlining their training programs.
Session Outline
- Description of the DLA Fellows program and its development (15 minutes).
- Participants will evaluate their student worker programs (if applicable) and identify ways to empower them or develop new opportunities (15 minutes).
- Description of three training models and the pros and cons of each (15 minutes).
- Participants will identify which training method they currently use with their student workers (if applicable), the pros and cons they see in each training method, and the method(s) they wish to pursue (15 minutes).
- Participants will draft an action plan for when they return to their institutions (5 minutes)
- Q&A (10 minutes)
Empowering Student Workers to Lead Digital Fluency Training
Learn how Ursinus College’s instructional technology librarian trained and empowered student workers to lead digital fluency workshops and provide peer to peer support for students working on digital projects. Explore the pros and cons of various training approaches for Library and IT student workers, including daylong workshops, semester long apprenticeships, and a blended learning model. Begin to develop your own plan for training student workers to support digital fluency initiatives and innovation in the classroom.