Three Hamilton professors are enhancing their teaching with digital capabilities thanks to Innovations in Digital Pedagogy Fellowships awarded by Library Information Technology Services (LITS).
Begun in 2019, the fellowship program supports faculty interested in spending the academic year collaborating with LITS professionals to create and implement new assignments or teaching strategies that explore digitally enabled pedagogies or the social significance of digital technologies.
This year’s recipients include:
Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology Lacey Carpenter
Carpenter’s ongoing archaeological research focuses on daily life and households during a time of political transformation in the Oaxaca Valley, Mexico. To increase collaboration among students and community collaborators in Oaxaca, she plans to create a website where information from excavations and coursework at Hamilton can be shared. The site will allow students to prompt conversation with the communities through artwork, letters, and other assignments posted online.
Assistant Professor of Sociology Alex Manning
Manning will develop assignments for two sociology courses — Sports & Society and Racism & Race in the United States — that utilize podcasting and virtual reality technology. His goal is to allow students to implement their creativity, develop critical analytical skills, and effectively synthesize and communicate sophisticated sociological ideas in ways that are accessible and inviting to a wider public.
Associate Professor of Biology Mike McCormick
To help students better understand the adaptations of microbial life to the rare and varied environments of Green Lake, a meromictic lake located about 30 miles from Hamilton, McCormick plans to develop a 3D model to be displayed online and a 360-degree virtual tour that can be viewed through a virtual reality headset or online. Among the possible outcomes, the project could help answer a long-standing question: Where are the subsurface springs that feed the lower basin of Green Lake?
