Digital Learning

Tag: dla

  • Student Voices: Digital Learning Through the Years

    Over the years we have been fortunate to work with brilliant students who have each left a mark on our Digital Learning Assistant program. We learned so much from each cohort of students. Their personal projects inspired us. Their partnerships and the peer mentoring shape our goals in digital learning. As student voices are central to our imagining of the DLA program, we knew it was only fair to highlight their experiences and hopes for future iterations of the program.

    If you have not done so already, check out the rest of our series on the Digital Learning Assistant program:

    Expanding Pedagogical Partnerships with the DLAs

    A History of the DLA Program by the Numbers

    Meet the DLAs (past and present)

    Rachel Profile Picture

    Rachel Bensimhon ’22

    Major(s): Media and Communication
    Minor(s): Computer Science

    Rachel has been a DLA for 3 years and was, and continues to be, an integral part of Camp Design Online. She has served as a voice for students in a OER, online pedagogy, and much more. You can find her graphics all over our websites and throughout the HiVE.

    Nicholas Cunningham ’17

    Major(s): Biochemistry

    Nick was an original DLA and worked with us for 1 year. During that time he helped shape the program and support the emerging BergBuilds initiative. Nick has since returned to campus as Public Services & Student Engagement Librarian.

    Anthony Fillis ’19

    Major(s): Film Studies & Media and Communication

    Anthony spent 2 years working for the DLA program. In that time he supported digital learning initiatives and published his senior thesis using BergBuilds. Anthony has returned to the Muhlenberg campus as an Instructional Technologist.

    Niamh Sherlock ’23

    Major(s): Theatre and Music
    Minor(s): Business

    Niamh has been a DLA for 2 years tackling challenges related to COVID19. An experienced podcast host and producer, Niamh created a limited series podcast and website chronicling the development of virtual theatre over the course of the pandemic.

    What does it mean to be a DLA?

    I’ve been a DLA since sophomore year (so for 3 years!) and I’ve really enjoyed my time as a member of the Digital Learning community. As part of being a DLA, I helped other students make digital projects and offered technical support and advice where needed, and I supported faculty through the Camp Design Online Cohorts and Open Educational Resource (OER) Learning Summits. During the cohorts and OER summits, I generally acted as a mediary/representative of the student community at meetings surrounding the building and distribution of Open Educational resources or (OERs). As part of these meetings, I did my best to speak to student experiences and voice how we might interact with digital pedagogy on the student end, hopefully offering another perspective at faculty/staff meetings.

    Rachel Bensimhon ’22

    Our DLAs started out learning digital tools that would support the campus community. This included BergBuilds, WordPress, StoryMapJS, TimelineJS, Google Maps, Omeka, Pressbooks, Hypothes.is, Voicethread, Canvas, and any digital tool they were asked about. While they diligently worked at learning these tools, they focused on perhaps the most important skillset we could offer, developing a caring and open teaching/mentoring style. As Nick noted in his response, “I wasn’t an expert that had all the answers right away, but a more informed guide to help someone navigate how they might utilize a certain tool.” Our DLA training asks each student to choose a focus (storytelling, mapping, blogging) and develop technical skills, but it also asks students to read Vygotsky, reflect on how they learn, and practice empathetic interactions.

    Beyond that, many students used their time as DLAs to further their own digital projects. Anthony spent his down time working on his personal domain (linked above) and eventually used his online platform to publish his thesis. Another alum built and online shop to sell their artworks on a domain they purchased.

    Drop-in hours turned into classroom partnerships and the program has been chugging along since. DLAs have helped transition our campus through the trials of a global pandemic. They even contributed a whole blog series “Wander Wednesdays” to voice their support and advice to faculty as we moved to campus wide online learning.

    Favorite memory as a DLA

    The DLAs shared their favorite memories with us and it was interesting to hear the similarities and differences. Many DLAs cite positive interactions with other students as a highlight of the program. Watching someone learn, learning alongside one another, these are things we value in our program and discuss during training. Other students noted personal achievements and learning goals that they pursued tangentially. At the center of it all is peer learning.

    One standout moment for me was helping a student put together a blog for their Italian class. They came in asking for help getting started with their website, choosing a theme that they liked, and showing them how to put together a series of posts. I saw them in Seegers Union a few days later and they came up to me to say thank you! It was a really cool experience to see that my work really helped another person on campus.

    Niamh Sherlock ’23

    In drop-in hours, there’s one type of moment that I really love. It’s when I’m sitting with another student, and we’re looking at the computer screen together. We’re both staring down a difficult problem, an elusive bug, some kind of challenge, and searching for a way to overcome it. During these moments of collaboration, investigation, and imagination, we’re really engaged with what we’re doing, and singularly focused on solving the problems set before us. When we find a solution that works, it’s satisfying. If we don’t, that’s okay too, because we make new plans and try to find alternate ways forward. I love seeing these moments of engagement and focus appear in my work.

    Rachel Bensimhon ’22

    …I spent a lot of my time looking up different tools that could be useful in digital storytelling (the track that I chose to pursue). I often fell into rabbit hole after rabbit hole about what’s out there and how it might be able to be incorporated in the classroom. It was like I was able to expand my mind past merely what I was told was a possibility.

    Nicholas Cunningham ’17

    My favorite moment was perhaps the completion of my Media & Communications Honors Thesis. Though not directly related, I created a bergbuilds domain to house my thesis. This work truly was a culmination of my work as a student, but also all of my work as a DLA being exposed to the work on instructional technology, accessibility, and pedagogy. This is a project that still exists and that I am proud of. Being housed in a domain has allowed my work to live on, beyond my time as student.

    Anthony Fillis ’19

    What did you take from working as a DLA?

    Being a DLA certainly prepared me for future work as a professional. Directly after graduation, I worked at a local TV News station. Being a DLA equipped me with the tools to be a well rounded quick learner, and the ability to quickly translate complex technical process in order to rise through the production ranks at the TV station. Beyond my work in video production directly after graduation, my work as a DLA essentially shaped a new career path outside of my course work. Being a DLA provided a foundation in instructional technology that opened other interests and passions that fed to my current position at the college. I would not be where I am currently without my time spent as a DLA.

    Anthony Fillis ’19

    I would say being a DLA has helped me become more comfortable with not having all the answers and developing stronger problem-solving/troubleshooting skills to combat the situation at hand. Patience was a big thing because students didn’t always have the strongest grasp of what they were supposed to be doing or how to use a tool. That just meant I have to be extra calm, not express frustration, and work through things step-by-step. Lastly, the self-exploration has definitely stuck with me and I genuinely enjoy trying different tools/resources for a task. There are so many things out there and that in of itself can change the nature of how I’d approach a project or an assignment for my students.

    Nicholas Cunningham ’17

    Anthony and Nicholas have both returned to the Muhlenberg College campus to work in OIT and Trexler Library respectively. Seeing former DLAs return to the community and having the opportunity to partner with them in their new roles has been an amazing experience. All four students noted the importance of the technical skills they had learned as well as the soft/transferable skills like project management, clear communication, and problem solving they used or continue to use as DLAs.

    Where should we take the DLA program next?

    I have lots of ideas for the future of the DLA program! I think there is so much potential in collaborating with faculty and staff on various digital projects, as well as branching out into other aspects of digital pedagogy such as teaching toward media design, research skills, etc. I want to support these efforts wherever possible. I’d personally like to design more open-access resources on digital tools/pedagogy that students, faculty/staff, and future DLAs alike can all benefit from.

    Rachel Bensimhon ’22

    Each of the DLAs expressed interest in working more closely with faculty and being embedded within the course to better support and understand the digital projects students were creating. As we move towards a new approach to our DLA model, we hope to more concretely define pedagogical partnerships between our students and faculty. Student’s can offer so much more than just peer support. They can lend their thoughts to course navigation, assessment, and content delivery. Stay tuned for our next post in the DLA series outlining the new model!

  • OpenEd Week 2022 Highlight: A Student’s Perspective

    Guest author Rachel Bensimhon is a Muhlenberg College senior and third year Digital Learning Assistant. Here are her thoughts on OER at Muhlenberg.

    When I first joined Muhlenberg’s OER community as a sophomore/student representative in 2019, I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I thought about OERs then, my mind went to free textbooks/eBooks and online resources designed for open access and a “one-size-fits-all” approach. These are great in and of themselves. But as I attended more workshops and summits, I was pleasantly surprised to discover an entire world of OERs waiting beneath the surface. 

    OERs come in all shapes and sizes, and anyone can help contribute to them. They can be the classic archetypal free textbook or website, sure. But they can also take the shape of blogs with student-authored posts, or customizable PressBooks, or Wikipedia-style repositories of knowledge, or databases assembled through Omeka. I could go on! To me, OERs are creative expressions – transformative works rife with new possibilities for education. In looking to digital tools for OERs, we might expand the possible shapes that educational resources can take, and in doing so make them even more accessible and engaging for all learners.

    Speaking of accessibility, OERs are highly inclusive and accessible. Not only do they allow for open access, they also allow for the expansion of authorship itself. Professors can make their own OERs, and students can contribute to their creation through their own writing, as well. In this way, OERs serve as a record of collaboration and knowledge-sharing, where unique perspectives can be made visible. When professors and students create and contribute to OERs, they add their own experiences and knowledge to the existing body of work. 

    On some level, I think OERs are gestures of openness and compassion – of storytelling. When I attend OER summits, I’m always struck by the level of care that goes into the work. From what I’ve seen, OERs are often born out of a desire to share knowledge with others from unique perspectives: to tell new stories in new ways, beyond the scope of traditionally-published textbooks/educational materials. 

    To me, OERs say, “I have this specific knowledge [of a certain subject area], and I want to share it with you, openly and in my own way.” And by bringing in multiple collaborators, that desire becomes “I have a story that I want to tell, and I want you to tell it with me, and together we might make something new.” 

    Digital tools, then, represent these “new ways” that stories can be told and knowledge can be shared. We might imagine an art history textbook as an online museum built with Omeka that anyone can visit, with metadata filled in by student contributors. Or we might envision a literature curriculum as a digital library powered by Zotero, where open texts can be read freely. As a DLA, these are only a sampling of the concepts that I want to help envision, facilitate, and make into a reality. These sorts of ideas are ones that we can envision through the possibilities that OERs have to offer. Through them, we might forge a more inclusive, accessible landscape, characterized by openness and compassion. And by advocating for open access, we can strive to build an equitable, engaged peer community where everyone can tell their stories.

    Accessibility, inclusion, openness, care, compassion, storytelling: these are all ideals that OERs represent to me, and ideals that I want to facilitate through this work. I’m proud to be a member of a peer community that values these things!

  • A History of the DLA Program by the Numbers

    The DLA program is a peer-learning model designed to provide support as students engage new technologies and digital platforms ​to advance their learning. Started in fall ‘16, the Digital Learning Assistant (DLA) program builds off of a broad ethos and campus-wide commitment to peer-learning at Muhlenberg for helping to shape, guide, and support students’ academic success.  With the expansion and growth of digital learning opportunities and pedagogies across the curriculum, the DLA program seeks to intentionally support students in achieving their digital learning goals.  The program just completed its second full year and is enjoying success in offering both student support and in helping faculty imagine more boldly what is possible in their courses with the DLA program as a dedicated resource for students engaging new ways of learning and sharing.  

    Trained DLAs provide individual and small group drop-in ​sessions (2-3 students)​ on digital technologies, tools, and practices that are currently used, or emerging, in courses and programs ​at Muhlenberg. DLAs are also available to partner with instructors throughout a semester-long course to ​support and build​ digital learning projects, workshops and tutorials.  ​

    Current DLAs are trained in five primary areas of focus, that align with faculty interest and faculty development programming supported by recent Mellon Foundation grants and other targeted initiatives:

    • Mapping and GIS
    • Digital Archives and ​Information Visualization
    • Mediamaking and Digital Storytelling
    • eP​ortfolios/Domain of One’s Own/Web Publishing
    • Sketch-up and 3D Printing

    Our award winning DLA program has done amazing things in the last 6 years. Our students have presented at conferences, co-authored articles, and published their own digital projects with the world. If were to count just a few of 

    21 DLAs

    2 Physical spaces (aka The HiVE)

    40+ Class sessions

    4680+ Hours logged 

    2 Pre-orientation programs

    6 Conference presentations

    18 Camp Design Cohorts

    Let’s break these down just a bit. In 6 years we have trained 21 DLAs with more than half of our students returning to work with the program for all four years. The DLAs have worked in the basement of Ettinger (002) and in our new home in Trexler (B06). They have led classroom sessions on Voicethread, Domains, StorymapJS, and podcasting and answered a number of questions during drop-in hours relating to these same tools. They have presented at a number of conferences:

    • Online Learning Consortium: Innovate New Orleans, LA, April 2017. Presented with Karl Schultz ‘18, Daniel Lester ‘18, Jenna Azar, Instructional Design Consultant, Jordan Noyes, Instructional Technology, Timothy Clarke, Instructional Technology, and Lora Taub-Pervizpour, Digital Learning: “A Toolkit For Developing Peer Leadership In Digital Learning: Updates From Solution Design Summit 2017 Winning Team.” 
    • Domains 2017: Indie EdTech and Other Curiosities Oklahoma City, OK, June 2017. Jarrett Azar ’20, DLA, and Jenna Azar, Instructional Design Consultant: “We’re not DoOOMed: From Student Tutor to Instructional Technologist.” 
    • PCLA Digital Liberal Arts Fellows Summer Conference Ursinus College, PA, August 2017. Jordan Noyes, Instructional Technologist, and Jazzie Pignattelo ‘17, DLA & Studio Art Major: “Using Omeka for Teaching, Learning, and Research” 
    • Media, Communication, and Film Studies Programs at Liberal Arts Colleges (MCFLAC) Forest Lake, IL, June ’18. Professor Corzo-Duchardt, Visiting Professor of Media and Communication and Lissa Heineman ‘18, DLA and English/Film Studies: “Fostering Media Production Curricula in a Liberal Arts Context” 
    • PCLA Student Symposium on Digital Scholarship Bryn Mawr College, PA, July 2018. Jarrett Azar ’20, DLA and Digital Summer Research Assistant, Dr. Lora Taub-Pervizpour, Associate Dean for Digital Learning, Daniella Viale, Italian Studies Lecturer, and Timothy Clarke, Instructional Design Consultant: “Va bene! Creating an Open Educational Resource in Pressbooks”
    • PCLA Student Symposium on Digital Scholarship Bryn Mawr College, PA, July 2018. Anthony Fillis ’19, DLA and Summer Research Assistant, Irene Chien, Assistant Professor in Media and Communication: “Virtual Reality and Pedagogy” 

    Finally, DLAs were critical voices in the Camp Design cohorts. They spoke to the student experience in online courses and also had a hand in building the Canvas course structure for Camp Design alongside us. During that summer they logged 1179 hours in just 14 weeks. 1179 HOURS! 14 WEEKS! And all this happened as their own lives were flipped upside down, sideways and topsy-turvy by COVID-19. They took it all in stride moving their drop-in hours to Zoom and continuing to support digital projects. 

    Our DLAs have done much to be proud of over the years. As the program continues to support digital learning, it grows and expands in a new ways. Stay tuned as we explore not just where we have been, but where we see this program going in the coming years!