During the Fall 2020 semester, Dr. Andrea Di Stefano sought help from Brown Library personnel to bring an intricate mapping assignment to life for his Europe after WWI class. In this final section we will learn more about student feedback and how this collaborative effort impacted overall experience with the course material.
Several students indicated how much they learned about the course content through the creative process and use of the technological software. ACU student Stefan Truett shares, “This method of learning ought to be pursued more widely because it encourages hard work, research, and creativity. On top of that, it is a practical experience because the activity developed skills that can be harnessed in our future careers.”
In line with this, Learning Technology Specialist and Adobe Ambassador, Amos Gutierrez (’19), emphasized the importance of this project for developing skills that will be used in the professional world. Of course, learning course content is expected. However, Gutierrez noted the increasing relevance of students gaining creative skills in order to be successful beyond graduation. Additionally, in terms of professional development, undertaking this multifaceted project has facilitated interactive brainstorming and promoted interdepartmental collaboration. Dr. Mark McCallon, Associate Dean for Library Information Services, shares, “It is wonderful to see the creativity that Library personnel demonstrated in all aspects of the project, using our traditional library maps in a transformative way through Adobe Creative Cloud. The students were challenged in new ways with innovative technologies and knowledge that they can take with them into their careers.”
Laura Baker (’87), Librarian for User Experience and Assessment, contributed to this project by researching and locating appropriate material. She too was impressed by the assignment and how each department contributed in a different way, saying “The project was significant to me because of the collaboration among library units. None of us knew where we were going when we started this project, but we all brainstormed and figured it out. Each person had a unique skill to contribute, and together we accomplished more than any of us could have done on our own. It’s a project that conveys the real potential of all the library partners and why we are under the same roof.”
Please click on the blogs part one and part two to learn about the interactive assignment in which students looked at geographic and political changes to European countries as a key to understanding the effects of WWI, its aftermath, and role in other conflicts since that time, and the library’s different units that joined together in order to create what was needed to support this interesting assignment.