Goals

I view the classroom as a space for creating meaning out of the experiences of all those involved. My role as a teacher is to work with students to uncover the curriculum, to find questions as much as it is to answer them. This means that academic learning must be connected to the lived experience of participants, as well as to the theories, knowledge, and practices of those who have gone before. My goal is that students engage deeply with ideas as they develop a passion for continuing that learning beyond the class.

In my classes, I work with students to build a learning community. This means that each of us bears the responsibly for not only participating and learning, but for helping others to learn as well. Inquiry cycle activities of formulating questions, deciding where and how to investigate, creating and acting in the world, collaborating, and reflecting guide what we do.

My background

I teach in masters and doctoral programs in Library and Information Science, in Writing Studies, and have taught in the Information Technology Studies undergraduate minor. Recent courses include Social Media and Global Change, Community Engagement, Community Informatics, Social Informatics, Inquiry-Based Learning, Pragmatic Technology, Distributed Knowledge, and Literacy in the Information Age. See more on teaching programs I’ve worked with.

Most of my teaching has been at the graduate level, with interdisciplinary enrollment. My students have come from Library and Information Science, Education, Writing Studies, Communications, Linguistics, Economics, Computer Science, and other departments. I’ve enjoyed teaching undergraduates as well. One of my favorite experiences was teaching a sixth-grade science class in Brisbane; another was leading a technology class for older adults through the National Urban League.

I’ve also led workshops and presented on inquiry-based learning and new media with teachers, librarians, museum educators, community groups, university faculty, researchers, corporate and government groups. These have been in over 20 countries, including Australia, China, Russia, Haiti, Turkey, as well as throughout Europe and North America.

Useful links

• Recent courses
• All courses, 1990-present
• Advising–current and past graduate students, including thesis committees
• recent presentations
• Graduate student survival–resources and ideas about graduate school study; common themes about collaboration, finding information, focus, and time management
• Course policies
• Resources–created for teaching, or by teaching, primarily by my students or me
• Technologies for learning