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Faculty Fellows a digital literacy program

What is the Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows Program?

The Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows Program provides a semester-long opportunity for faculty to learn to integrate digital literacy into their courses, teaching, and work with students. Through collaboration with other Fellows, participants will be a key factor in developing a university-wide culture committed to digital literacy, creativity, and learning.

The Faculty Fellows program is one component of the Digital Gardener Initiative, a 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 students for an increasingly digital world.

The Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows Program has four Goals:

CREATE EXPERTS

Prepare faculty members to understand data literacy, improve digital communication skills, gain experience with digital technology, and become savvy digital consumers.

SUPPORT STUDENTS

Give faculty members the tools to empower students entering today’s workforce with greater digital agility, which leads to greater access to job opportunities.

PROMOTE DIGITAL LITERACY

Encourage faculty members to study the impact of pedagogical strategies and digital technology as they’re being used by peers across the university.

BUILD A COMMUNITY

Connect faculty members so that they can foster their own community networks to help develop digital confidence and promote digital literacy and creativity.

Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows receive:

  • A $500 stipend paid into a university account for conference travel and teaching/research support
  • Personalized support from senior Digital Gardener Fellows and UITS Learning Technologies staff supporting the Digital Gardener Initiative
  • A designated cohort for community engagement, peer feedback, and idea development
  • Access to colleagues exploring how to integrate digital literacy skills in their work

Important Dates:

  • December 5: deadline to submit an application for spring 2022
  • December 12: applicants notified
  • January 21: Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows kick-off retreat at IUPUI

Requirements

The program is open to full-time faculty (or part-time faculty who are full-time IU employees) from all IU campuses. Participants must fulfill the following requirements:

  • Participate in the Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows kick-off retreat on January 21, 2022 from 10am-4pm at IUPUI
  • Participate in meetings on the first and third Friday of the month through the spring semester
  • Commit to integrate digital literacy practices into curriculum

Experience with digital literacies or competency with digital tools or technology is not required. Applicants should have a desire to increase opportunities for students to build digital literacy and creativity and improve students’ digital expression and engagement.

Expectations for Faculty Fellows

Participants must attend or participate in 5 or more Digital Gardener events during the semester. Additionally, Fellows must produce the following deliverables:

  • Teaching assets: a written explanation of the strategy, a short video narrative, core related assets, and a course syllabus showing implementation
  • Working group outputs: something created in a small group activity led by a Digital Gardener faculty mentor intended to grow the Digital Gardener community
  • Promotion/retention statement: written statement reflecting on involvement in the program as it relates to professional development

More Information

For more information about the Digital Gardener Initiative or the Faculty Fellows program, contact dgi@iu.edu or one of the program co-founders:

  • Justin Hodgson—hodgson@indiana.edu
  • Adam Maksl—amaksl@iu.edu