This is the first week of a MOOC I am taking on Social Network Analysis.  One of our first assignments involves using the tool Gephi.  I like to learn tools by playing with them.  Anyone here know how to use this? Want to play?

One of the key attractions of digital humanities in the undergraduate curriculum  is the promise that it offers a to teach skills needed for the 21st century student.  But, what are those skills? What are the essential learning outcomes needed in a globally networked world and how might digital humanities or, more broadly, digital scholarship help meet those outcomes?  For this session, I propose we look at some suggested lists of learning outcomes and use them to stimulate our thinking about what learning outcomes our institutions might offer to undergraduate students.  Then we will generate our own list(s) of learning outcomes.

This exercise and the lists of learning outcomes comes from Tanya Clement. You can find the lists of outcomes and references here: rebeccafrostdavis.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/learning-outcomes-for-a-globally-networked-world/

Here is my original description from when I conducted this exercise in the past:

Digital technologies and the Internet have changed the context for civic, work, and personal life, forcing the production and exchange of knowledge into an increasingly public, global, collaborative, and networked space, and increasing capacity to tackle complex questions across disciplines. How do we prepare students to be lifelong learners who are adaptive, networked and engaged citizens in this context? While the essential learning outcomes of liberal education promise to prepare students for ever-changing contexts, should we consider additional learning outcomes for the liberally educated student? In this session, we will debate literacies and skills required for today’s knowledge ecosystem, critique proposals for learning outcomes that reflect these new abilities, and formulate essential learning outcomes for liberal education in a globally networked world.

It seems like I know many early adopters in the digital humanities, especially at small liberal arts colleges.  I’m interested in how we can cross the chasm.  How do we move digital humanities into the mainstream? Having recently started a new position as Director of Instructional and Emerging Technology, I am conscious of the need to encourage innovation but also to move innovations into the mainstream (and figuring out which ones deserve to be moved).  We also have a task force on Academic Innovation and New Educational Approaches working right now.

One article about spreading innovation in science education is: Adrianna Kezar. “The Path to Pedagogical Reform in the Sciences: Engaging Mutual Adaptation and Social Movement Models of Change.” Liberal Education 98, no. 1 (Winter 2012): 40–45. It is available online here: www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-wi12/kezar.cfm

Discussion might center on successful strategies for evaluating innovation and spreading it across campus.