Schedule

Books and Blogs: Developing the Digital Humanities with WordPress

Date: Saturday, July 16, 2016
Time: 9:15 - 10:00 am (EDT) (UTC-04:00)
Location: Room A221
Format: General Lecture Session

Session description

Marrying the liberal arts to information technology is no easy task. Instructors and technologists alike abhor technology tools that feel shoehorned into a course, to be used more for the sake of being “21st century” than to improve student learning. However, in many courses, WordPress offers a platform that not only transforms learning, but provides students with valuable skills upon graduation.

In this session, we’ll share stories from the humanities courses we’ve woven WordPress into and our process for teaming with instructors to establish learning goals, develop new assignments and teach students to understand and use WordPress. We’ll showcase examples from courses across the curriculum that engage students in writing for the web, socially annotating images, digitally archiving physical works and building interactive timelines.

We’ll also delve into the technical details used to make these projects happen. Attendees will have access to the documentation and in-class workshop plans developed to get first-time users comfortable with WordPress.

Presenter

Alexandra Martines

Headshot of Alexandra Martines
Instructional Technology Specialist, Smith College

Alexandra Martines is an Instructional Technology Specialist for Smith College and a freelance WordPress web designer. By day, she writes documentation, consults with faculty on educational technology, and provides tech skills workshops for students, faculty and staff. By night, she designs WordPress sites for area businesses, teaches clients to manage their own site and works on SEO. Her particular interests are in Open Educational Resources, iPads in higher education and media literacy education to prevent digital disenfranchisement.

Sessions

  • General Lecture Session: Books and Blogs: Developing the Digital Humanities with WordPress