What is Digital Scholarship?
When I travel to conferences I often get questions about my title (Associate Director of Digital Scholarship) and what I do at Chapman, but I also get questions about what I do from within the university. So I thought I would explain a bit more about that in my blogpost today… First, let’s start with
Midterm Evaluations
Perhaps you’ve heard of midterm evaluations, but you’re not sure if they’re effective and you don’t know how to implement them. Here are some points and tips to help you understand the reasons for gathering feedback by the middle of your course and the ways it can be done. Why should I get
teaching Buck v Bell
Last week I taught my students about the Buck v Bell Supreme Court case during a history lesson about the eugenics movement. I was surprised to learn that not one student in the room had heard of eugenicist Harry Laughlin or of Carrie Buck or of the involuntary sterilization of tens of thousands
Qualtrics
Up to now, Qualtrics software (for surveys and polls) has only been available to Faculty and Staff at Chapman. This Fall we will be running a pilot project for student researchers to have Qualtrics access. For those who would like to participate, there is a Pilot Project Kickoff Meeting in BK 201 from 11-12 on
Talking about Big Data
In a few weeks I’ll be speaking at Chapman Town Hall, “Data Analytics and Big Data at Chapman: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue” Date: Oct 7, 2016 Time: 12-2pm Place: Pralle Lecture Hall, Beckman Hall 104 Description: Analytics and big data are hot topics today, impacting all aspects of life, work, and society. In higher education
Into the Archive
Each time I teach the Introduction to Digital Humanities (ENG 484/584) course the students tell me that their favorite experience is the day we spend in the Center for American War Letters Archive, transcribing primary source documents. The power of holding tangible historical objects overpowers any abstract discussion we have about scholarly practices or any
Talking about Disability
We watched this TED talk by Stella Young to start off today’s HIST 233 class (Disability in American Life): This video is a powerful one, that speaks to the ways that people with disabilities are treated in today’s society. Stella’s no-nonsense speaking about “disability porn” and the objectification of disabled people works well to disrupt
On Wheels...
Two things happened to me this week that might not seem related, but in some ways I believe they are. On Thursday night I teach until 10pm. It’s really the latest that I’ve ever hung out on campus, as I exit the classroom building at that hour and make my way across the
Class Rules
Last night I taught the first session of HIST 233: Disability in American Life. One of our initial activities was to discuss our “Class Rules.” To begin this discussion, I asked the students what were some typical Class Rules that they’d had in other courses at Chapman. The listed the following: No bathroom breaks No
The First Day
Back when I was a student, I hated the first day of classes (aka Read the Syllabus Day). One semester I rather snarkily informed each of my professors how much I’d paid for their class that day, and that I didn’t feel as though I was getting my money’s worth when the day consisted of