Digital Learning in an Undergraduate Context

Digital Learning in an Undergraduate ContextPromoting long term student-faculty (and community) collaboration in the Susquehanna ValleyKatie Faull @KatherineFaull Diane Jakacki @DianeJakacki

Bucknell UniversityOBJECTIVES

Undergraduates exposed to DH tools and methods at all course levelsLearning experiences beyond the classroom provide collaborative scholarship opportunities for studentsPoints of engagement grow out of public humanities projects that encourage student-driven DH engagement

Stories of the Susquehanna Valley (SSV)Long-term collaborative projectEnvironmental and cultural-historical humanities, community studies, and natural history. Bucknell faculty teach students in research-based learning environments

SSV project history/scope3Bucknell UniversitySmall liberal arts university: 3,600 students; student/teacher ratio 10:1Rural location emphasizes the centrality of residential liberal arts educationDifferent cultures and diverse perspectives promote development of intellectual maturity, personal conviction and strength of character (Bucknell mission statement)Stories of the Susquehanna and Bucknell DH are rooted spatial thinking

IntroductionLiberal arts environmentUndergraduate experience4SSV-Curricular OverviewFall 2011Faull: Nature and EnlightenmentSiewers: Visions of the SusquehannaFall 2012Faull/Siewers: Susquehanna Country (IP course)

Classroom/course integrationInterdisciplinarySusquehanna CountryDigitizing the RiverIntro to DHDigging into the Digital5SSV-New Course OfferingsFall 2014Faull/Jakacki: Digging into the DigitalSiewers: Visions of the SusquehannaSpring 2015Faull/Siewers: Digitizing the River (IP course)

Classroom/course integrationInterdisciplinarySusquehanna CountryDigitizing the RiverIntro to DHDigging into the Digital6Linking pedagogy and research: the SSV modelMotivated students move from coursework to independent research projects using DH

Public Facing Student ResearchMap Layers:American Indian sites, Wallaces Indian Paths, and streamsGeo-referenced ms map (Unity Archives, Herrhut) Oil and Gas Wells (DEP GIS dataset, 2006) categorized by site statusActive, Inactive, Abandoned, Proposed but Never Materialized

Summer research intern, Emily Bitely 11New Opportunities: Friedenshtten DiariesDigital analysis of historically important accounts of Native American communities on the Upper Susquehanna in the late 18th centuryCrowdsourced transcription affords German-speaking audiences the opportunity to participate in transcription process

New Opportunities: Linn PapersLinns relationship with place offers an opportunity to expand and reconsider Bucknells commitment to spatial thinkingMulti-modal platform that analyzes people and places across document types

ConclusionUndergraduate liberal arts environment supports ongoing faculty-student engagement DH course work should be embedded in general education curriculumPublic humanities projects attract funding for student summer research

Linn ProjectFriedenshtten Mission Diaries?

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