What is the Digital Gardener Summit?
The inaugural summit brought together IU faculty, staff, and others interested in digital literacy and related competencies. The event took place from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on October 1, 2021, bringing more than 120 thought leaders together, in a hybrid format both at IUPUI's Hine Hall and online.
The summit shared the digital literacy work being done on IU campuses, related success stories from universities with broad digital literacy initiatives, and inspired academic leaders to prepare students to enter an increasingly digital world. We provided opportunities to network with others working in this space.
Please watch the recordings of our summit sessions linked from the agenda below.
Agenda
- 10 - 11:15 a.m. | Opening session & Keynote — Where there is a lack of digital literacy, it’s imperative to make sure students are being prepared to work and exist in increasingly digital environments. We'll provide research and an overview of the importance of digital literacy and how the IU Digital Gardener Initiative aims to bring stakeholders together across IU to help address these needs. Melody Buckner, associate vice provost of digital learning initiatives and online education at the University of Arizona, will give a keynote address, discussing how her university and others have taken a strategic approach to improving digital literacy. [View the video recording of the opening session and keynote — 1:15:53]
- 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | Panel 1: Communication and creativity in a digital world — A conversation about digital creativity and how it impacts students working across disciplines and perspectives. This panel will emphasize how we’re all digital consumers as well as creators today and how emphasizing digital communication and creation across the curriculum prepares students for their futures. Panelists: Jill Gray, Manager of Customer Success for Education, Adobe; Jenny Johnson, Head of Digital Digitalization Services, University Library, IUPUI; Parul Khurana, Associate Dean and Associate Professor, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, IU East; Pamela Morris, Assistant Professor of Communications, Division of Liberal Arts, IUPUC; and Jeff Rubenstein, Education Technology Advisor, Kaltura. [View the video recording of Panel 1 — 1:10:50)
- 12:45-1:30 p.m. | Lunch & Networking
- 1:30 - 2:45 p.m. | Panel 2: Information literacy and competencies in the digital world — A conversation about navigating information abundance and the core competencies needed to be a digital citizen in a modern, interconnected world. This will include the role of technology in our daily engagements with one another, how digital literacy can help fight against misinformation, and how digital tools can help address modern challenges. Panelists: Mark Canada, Deputy Chancellor / Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, IU Kokomo; Christina Downey, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, IU Kokomo; Erin Ellis, Associate Dean for Research and Learning Services & Associate Librarian, IU Libraries, IU Bloomington; Adrienne Garber, Senior Higher Education Strategist, Dell; and Mona Morales, U.S. Industries Executive Director for Education, Microsoft. [View the video recording of Panel 2 — 1:09:47)
- 3-4 p.m. | Mapping digital literacies across IU & Wrap-Up — We'll build a map of existing digital gardening work across the university and ideate on ways we can all contribute to the garden. [View the video recording of our mapping activity and wrap-up — 19:20]
Keynote
"Digital Literacy as a Foundation for Digital Transformation"
Melody Buckner is the Associate Vice Provost of Digital Learning for the University of Arizona. In this role, she collaborates with university leaders, faculty, and academic staff to articulate the implementation of online education and assist in defining the institutional values for digital learning to align with the University’s mission.
She serves on the board of BYTE, a cross-border youth development program offering tennis and academic classes on both sides of the Nogales US/Mexico border. She became involved with this organization because of her passion for digital storytelling and love of the game of tennis (https://bytetennis.org/).
She served as the Interim Dean of UA South (the branch campus and the College of Applied Science and Technology for the University of Arizona) from 2016 to 2019. Among the many reasons she was chosen for this role, including her ability to build relationships with colleges, departments, and faculty, was because she understands the demands of a non-traditional student as she completed her graduate degrees both online and during evening and weekend programs.
From 2014 to 2019 she also served as the Senior Director of Digital Learning and Online Education at the University of Arizona. In this role she created an office of instructional design, visual design, video production and quality assurance for Arizona Online. Before coming to the University, she served as an Instructional Designer in Professional Development and as an adjunct faculty for Pima Community College.
Her faculty affiliation is with the College of Education at the University of Arizona. She conducts research and teaches in the areas of educational technology, digital and creative literacies, and multicultural education.
Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science from the College of Architecture at Arizona State University and a Master’s in Educational Technology from Northern Arizona University. She earned her PhD in Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies from the University of Arizona in 2015. Her informal education consists of living in over 40 different places including several countries overseas.
Sponsors
We'd like to thank the following corporate sponsors for their support of the inaugural Digital Gardener Summit:
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsors
What is the Digital Gardener Initiative?
The Digital Gardener Initiative is a newly formed, faculty-driven commitment to connect members of the IU community working in digital literacy. The initiative aims to share best practices and grow successful programs across the university to prepare IU students for an increasingly digital world. Research shows that attaining digital skills is critical to Indiana’s economic growth.
IU is already doing so much. Across all of our campuses, you'll find programs that emphasize elements of advancing digital literacy:
- Information Literacy Online Toolkit: a Canvas course created by IU Bloomington Libraries to help students improve critical thinking skills
- Idea Garden: IUPUI’s thinker space, where students create, explore, and collaborate using emerging technologies
- Mind Over Chatter: an IU Expand course teaching skills for navigating the post-truth era, created by IU Kokomo faculty
- Digital Survival Skills e-badge: resources for building basic tech skills relating to personal interests and capabilities, offered by IU’s Center of Excellence for Women & Technology
The Digital Gardener Initiative is building or piloting more programs:
- Digital Gardener Faculty Fellowship: a program to train faculty to use and incorporate digital ways of knowing, doing, and making into curriculum (pilot in spring 2022)
- Idea Garden Digital Gardener program: a pilot badging program at IUPUI to encourage digital literacy for students through experimentation with emerging technologies
- Digital Gardener Lite: a weekend commuter program at IUB to provide an introductory college experience for high school students that helps develop digital skills and abilities (fall 2021)
Want to learn more about the Digital Gardener Initiative? Email dgi@iu.edu for more information.