Building the Digital Humanities Classroom: English Innovations in Multimodal Teaching and Learning

Presenter:

Bret Maney, Assistant Professor, English Department; Paula Loscocco, Professor and Chair, English Department; Deirdre O’Boy, Lecturer and Assistant Chair, English Department, & Jennifer Martinez, IT Assistant, English Department, Lehman College

Abstract:

In Spring 2017, the English Department at Lehman College unveiled its Multimodal Learning Lab, a state-of-the-art networked smart classroom offering retractable virtual desktops, a sophisticated short-throw projector, interactive whiteboard, and presenter’s podium. The fruit of a collaboration among the English Department, the Information Technology Division, and the School of Arts & Humanities, the Learning Lab responds to key initiatives at Lehman and CUNY, above all, the strategic mandate to use our valuable and growing technological resources to promote student learning, digital literacies, and career readiness, and to support innovative, digitally-informed, and student-centered teaching. This panel reports on the design, funding, and implementation of the Multimodal Learning Lab. With an eye to best practices and lessons learned, panelists will discuss the creation of the networked smart classroom, a type of technology investment recently identified as a priority in Lehman College’s 2017-2018 capital budget request. The panel will also discuss teaching in the smart classroom. Current instructors will share how they and their colleagues are transforming traditional humanities learning objectives, goals, and pedagogy for an interactive, digital learning environment. Lastly, a 2016 Lehman graduate in computer science who is supporting instruction in the lab will discuss her role collaborating with professors and educating students about digital literacy.