The library is here to help you, our faculty, with a number of services to support your instruction and your students' success. As detailed in the strategic plan, Wheaton aspires "to be the leading liberal arts college in preparing students to create innovative solutions to big challenges -- and to act on them." Information and technology literacies are a set of foundational skills, behaviors and ways of thinking that underlie these aspirations. These literacies comprise a set of skills that enable students to find, evaluate and analyze existing information as well as produce and distribute new information in a variety of formats. In a world powered by information, mastery of these skills is essential to learning, decision making, problem solving and innovation. The Wallace Library's Research & Instruction (R&I) department is dedicated to helping students learn how to negotiate our complex information landscape as both producers and consumers of information, from finding and evaluating sources to analyzing and interpreting data to understanding the complexities of information ethics. To this end, the R&I team provides information and technology literacy instruction both in and out of the classroom. We look forward to working with you and your students during the year. Please don't hesitate to contact us.

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Research Consultations

We provide ongoing research and technology support to your students throughout the semester through one-on-one consultations. Many faculty make liaison appointments a requirement for larger research projects. For more information, contact your liaison. For quick answers, chat with us from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday to Friday.  

First-Year Experience Instruction

We have created a set of library sessions that introduce first-year students to the basic research and technology skills they need to become academically successful and information and technology literate. These sessions provide a common foundation of skills that students will build on throughout their tenure at Wheaton and beyond.

Foundations of Research (one 80-minute class)

This in-class workshop will introduce students to scholarly research, including:
  1. using basic research tools, like the library catalog and databases, and navigating library spaces;
  2. understanding the research process, from becoming familiar with a new topic to formulating a research strategy;
  3. developing keywords and combining them with Boolean logic to develop powerful searches; and
  4. understanding the distinction between different information formats and their uses.
Note: There are four videos, with associated quizzes, for your students to view and complete PRIOR to the in-class session.

The Ethical Use of Information (one 80-minute class)

This in-class workshop will introduce students to information use as a member of a scholarly community, including:
  1. the Wheaton Honor Code as is related to plagiarism and citation;
  2. the basic anatomy of a citation;
  3. how citations are used to facilitate the scholarly conversation;
  4. what types of information need citing and which do not; and
  5. how to identify and avoid plagiarism.

Other Sessions

We offer instruction sessions targeted to a particular assignment or resource (e.g., PsycINFO, Scopus, MLA International Bibliography, etc.), as well as more specialized software and platforms for digital scholarship projects, such as exhibits, oral histories and documentaries, blogs, and presentations. For more information on our FYE program, contact your liaison.  

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In-Class Instruction

We design sessions tailored to the needs of your class. Library sessions are most effective when taught in relation to a specific class assignment, and we can work with you to create assignments and library sessions that will meet your pedagogical goals. In-class instruction is an essential part of R&I’s Information and Technology Literacy program. It enables us to directly connect our instruction to classroom content, making it more effective. Our sessions are interactive and activity-based to ensure maximum engagement and learning. Liaisons are available for class sessions in all disciplines, at all class levels. We will tailor our class sessions to the needs of your class.

Understanding & Evaluating Sources

  • Scholarly vs. Popular Sources
  • Primary vs. Secondary Sources
  • Reference Sources
  • Evaluating Online Information

Finding Information

  • Search Strategies
  • Using the Library Catalog
  • Database Basics

Subject-Specific Resources

  • Key Resources in Your Field
  • Finding Primary Sources

Citations

  • Citation Overview
  • Intro to a Citation Style
  • Citation Management Software

Information Ethics

  • Plagiarism
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Issues

Data Analysis

  • Basic statistics
  • Excel, SPSS, Stata, etc.

Social Media in the Classroom

  • Blogging (Blogger, WordPress, etc.)
  • Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Web Editing

  • WordPress
  • Google Sites
  • Weebly

Mapping/GIS

  • ArcGIS
  • Google Maps

Qualitative Data Collection & Analysis

  • Qualtrics
  • SurveyMonkey
  • Dedoose

Presentation Software

  • PowerPoint
  • Google Slides
  • Prezi

Digital Storytelling

  • iMovie
  • Podcasting
 

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Teaching with Technology

We actively support initiatives that use technology to achieve pedagogical goals. We can work with faculty at all phases of a project, from planning to implementation. We can assist you in determining what type of project or activity will best help you to achieve your pedagogical goals, advise on which software package or platform will best suit your needs, and provide in-class training for your students. Whether you have the germ of an idea that you want help fleshing out or a fully-fledged plan that you want assistance implementing, we can help. Previous projects have included digital storytelling (iMovie, podcasting, etc.), web development, GIS mapping, text encoding, digitization and social media. Academic Innovation Funds are available to support new teaching with technology projects at Wheaton and are distributed to faculty by LTLC. For more information on Teaching with Technology, contact your liaison.  

OnCourse, Echo360 & Instructional Design

OnCourse is the college's learning management system. It provides powerful capabilities for course content delivery, instructional design, student engagement and assessment. Echo360 is the college's primary video management and delivery system. It is fully integrated with onCourse and, in tandem with online Zoom meetings, provides faculty with versatile options for managing their course videos. For help with designing your courses in onCourse and using Echo360, visit:
  • The onCourse design help site for extensive guidance using the many powerful capabilities available in onCourse (you'll be prompted to login to onCourse). A very brief overview of onCourse is also provided on the college's public website at this location.
  • Explore onCourse, an asynchronous course that includes a variety of introductory "how to" videos, examples, and a Q&A.
  • The Echo360 Tutorials and Demos page.
For staff assistance with onCourse or Echo360, please contact Peter Kirlew, Kelly Faulkner. or Jillian Amaral.  

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Faculty Funding Opportunities from LTLC

The Library, Technology and Learning Committee (LTLC) administers three funding opportunities for faculty.

Academic Innovation Funds

LTLC awards a small number of grants for projects that use technology to achieve innovative pedagogical goals. LTLC makes decisions about funding for projects based on the proposed use of technology for teaching, learning, and/or innovative pedagogy. The committee also looks at the project’s breadth of impact, and the college’s ability to support and sustain the project. The committee gives preference to projects that:
  • Directly support an element of the Compass curriculum, such as the use of innovative technology in a connected FYE.
  • Explore the use of new technologies in Wheaton’s classrooms or present innovative pedagogy that uses technology (preferably both).
  • Most clearly and realistically delineate their goals, budget, and timeline.
  • Extend the farthest beyond a single faculty member’s classroom/extracurricular student engagement.
  • Engage most fully and realistically with available resources (support, etc.) from the Wallace Library and Information Technology.
Stipulations:
  • Funds cannot be put toward faculty stipends, student or employee wages, or travel to conferences.
  • You are welcome to use funds to purchase hardware, software, electronic resources, subscriptions to online services, and/or to pay for services related to a project (e.g. digitization, licensing of content, or outside speaker fees).
  • Award recipients must submit a detailed report indicating how the funds were used and plans for sharing their teaching innovation with the rest of the community within one year of when the funds are disbursed.
  • A consultation with an R&I Liaison and/or Archives & Digital Initiatives Librarian is required as part of the application process.
If you have questions about how to apply for these funds, please consult with an R&I Liaison and/or Archives & Digital Initiatives Librarian or a member of LTLC. You can also view past Academic Innovation Fund recipients. To apply for Academic Innovation Funds in Spring 2021, please complete an application by 5:00pm on Friday, March 12, 2021. Note: To access this Google Form, you’ll need to provide your Wheaton wID and email password.  

Open Educational Resource Stipends

LTLC offers a funding opportunity for faculty members interested in replacing their textbooks in a course with Open Textbooks or other OER. Replacing your textbook with an open textbook or another OER has a number of advantages, the most important of which is creating a more equitable classroom by removing financial barriers for students. We encourage you to consult with an R&I Liaison for additional resources. SPARC provides a useful definition of OER and explains the OER initiative. Stipulations:
  • OER adoptions must take place in the current semester or either of the two semesters/J-Term/Summer Session immediately following the application.
  • Applicants are encouraged to have identified possible sources prior to submitting an application.
  • Award recipients must submit a report detailing what materials were adopted and how successfully the OER materials were implemented by the end of the semester in which the materials were adopted.
  • Funds are distributed after the course using the OER has been successfully completed and the report has been submitted.
Additional information including funding amounts can be found on the application form. NOTE: Priority will be given to applications that directly support the adoption, remixing, or authoring of OER for an element of the Compass curriculum, such as two or more connected FYE courses. If you have questions about how to apply for these funds, please consult with an R&I Liaison and/or Archives & Digital Initiatives Librarian or a member of LTLC. To apply for an OER Stipend in Spring 2021, please complete an application by 5:00pm on Friday, March 12, 2021. Note: To access this Google Form, you’ll need to provide your Wheaton wID and email password.  

Research Computing Funds

LTLC offers small grants to fund the purchase of hardware and software for faculty research projects once a year (usually in the spring semester). We invite applications for funds for computing needs that will facilitate your research projects, including:
  • mobile devices,
  • laptop and desktop computers, and/or
  • software and other computing resources.
Priority will be given to:
  • Research needs that cannot be met through other funding sources.
  • Equipment that facilitates new or ongoing research that will lead to the timely dissemination of results.
All funding must be spent by June 15th of the fiscal year in which the application is made. Additional information including funding amounts can be found on the application form.  

*NEW* LTLC Mini Grants

LTLC’s new Mini Grants are for low-cost ($250 or less) hardware and software needs that will support your teaching and research THIS semester and early summer. All funding must be spent by June 15th of the fiscal year in which the application is made. Additional information can be found on the application form. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the funding pool ($2000) is expended or until June 15, 2021, whichever comes first. Multiple applications from the same faculty member will be reviewed at the discretion of LTLC. To apply for an LTLC Mini Grant, please complete an application. Note: To access this Google Form, you’ll need to provide your Wheaton wID and email password.  

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Academic Innovation Fund Recipients

Spring 2020

Amy Beumer
This project allows students to provide real time feedback and anonymous questions in class from their phones or any internet enabled device. The LTLC grant funded the purchase of Socrative, an online response system.
Jeffrey Cashen and Del Case
This project will allow students to use an industry standard music notation tool for writing music and doing homework. The LTLC grant funded the purchase of 16 perpetual licenses for Sibelius, and upgrades to 5 previously-purchased perpetual licenses.

Fall 2019

Lisa Lebduska
This project will result in the creation of writing-focused instructional videos that offer lively and adult references, a quick pace, and an introduction to MLA citation. The LTLC grant funded the purchase of Camtasia, a screen recording and video editing software tool ideal for creating these kinds of learning objects.

Spring 2019

Jonathan Walsh
This project allows students to create podcasts about current French events and human interest stories, in French. The LTLC grant funded the purchase of 3 Blue Yeti USB microphones, allowing students to record their podcasts at a high sampling rate.
Leah Dyjak
Beyond the Screen: Images in Public Space This project will explore the impact of large format images installed in and around campus, made by Wheaton students specifically for public installation. The LTLC grant partially funded the purchase of a large-format printer, paper, ink, and hard drive large enough to handle large image files.

Fall 2018

Will Mason
This project enables students to do live interactive performances of music and multimedia work. The LTLC grant funded the purchase of the Ableton Live software, increasing Wheaton College's suite of music software.

Spring 2018

Domingo Ledezma
The role of Virtual Reality (VR) in the digital humanities classroom: teaching & learning experiences. The purpose of my project is to continue improving VR assignments for better understanding sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Spanish American narratives of voyages and navigations. VR experiences are characterized by their near-total immersiveness inside a multimedia, computer-generated environment. For example using VR experiences students in my course visit and explore ‘inside’ Google Earth VR specific itineraries in the Amazon river related to the narratives they are reading and studying.
Hsin-Wei Su
The flipped classroom model as a new teaching approach has been widely used to teach various courses in both the K-12 system and higher education settings. However, there has been surprisingly little research concerning the effects of this model on second/foreign language learners’ studying outcomes. The Flipping Chinese! project proposes to redesign and deliver a more innovative Chinese course in Wheaton college.

Spring 2017

Matt Gingo
Children’s social interactions in play-based settings provide a window into key elements of social-emotional and social-cognitive development. Studying these behaviors in naturalistic and semi-structured play settings enhances student learning outcomes in developmental psychology courses. By recording children’s social behaviors in play-based settings students in our developmental psychology courses are able to capture and store their observations of children for future review, categorization, and analysis.
Donna O. Kerner
Funds are requested to purchase an iPad Pro for use in a faculty-led digital field course, Anthropology 215 Tanzania: Education and Development.

Fall 2016

Mark LeBlanc
Publishing written material on an eBook is about to be a much more common part of the writing experience, yet faculty and students have few opportunities for porting their work to the latest eBook devices. This proposal seeks funding for one(1) Kindle Fire to enable faculty and student writers to see their works on a physical device prior to exporting their work to an eBook outlet.
Karen McCormack
In my seminar, students will be conducting interviews with residents of local assisted living facilities to explore how older adults have or have not adopted new technologies. We will be examining how new communication technology shapes social networks and persistence of relationships.
Bob Morris
Innovation funds will allow me to develop new methods of video creation for extending student learning out of class time and lab time. In addition to creating Wheaton-branded instructional videos for use by students at Wheaton and around the world, I will develop protocols for video creation usable by any Wheaton professor interested in trying blended learning in their courses.
Nancy Scott
I am requesting support from the Academic Innovation Fund to support a new course on Leadership, to be launched in the spring of 2017. Students’ learning will be significantly enhanced by a hands-on pedagogy that uses specialized Lego kits.

Spring 2016

Mark LeBlanc
This proposal seeks funding for hardware for a course that will combine practice with startup experiences, mobile app development (e.g., learning Apple’s new Swift language), machine learning algorithms, and the newest wearable medical devices, e.g., the Embrace watch from Empatica.
Tessa Lee
I propose to expand, improve, and update the existing online learning platform for students of German (and eventually other languages) that I initiated in the summer of 2013 and implemented in Spring 2014. The purpose of the original project was to make learning German into an enjoyable and more interactive game by adapting grammar exercises and vocabulary quizzes into memory match games and drop-down menus. This project will add animation, special effects, sounds, and visuals to the existing exercises.

Fall 2015

Colin McNamee
Since 2001, Vectorworks has revolutionized design visualization and workflow in the entertainment, architecture, landscape and urban planning industries. This proposal seeks to bring this powerful creative tool and essential professional skill set to Wheaton’s students.

Spring 2015

Matthew Gingo
This project supports students’ research in developmental psychology, and further integrates our developmental research laboratory (The Elizabeth Amen Laboratory Nursery School) with our developmental psychology courses (Child Development; Lifespan Development; Laboratory in Child Development; Moral Development). The laboratory is a privileged space to observe children’s development in a variety of social, emotional, and cognitive domains. By connecting the laboratory school classrooms to our students’ classroom experience through real-time and recorded video observation, learning outcomes and student engagement are enhanced. Funds went toward a computer and extra storage to help with the project.
Ellen McBreen
Senior art history majors will conceive, research, and write a multimedia digital project with the working title, “Critical Concepts in Art History: A Practical Guide by Students for Students.”The senior seminar is ART HISTORY TODAY: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT. This project will be designed to foster their understanding of the current intellectual and technological factors shaping how art historians practice the discipline, in academia, museums, and other arts organization. Funds went toward speaker fees and web hosting.
John Partridge
He intended to use dictation software to enable him to have deeper and more detailed engagement with student writers when he evaluates their papers. The funds supported the cost of dictation software and upgrade in RAM.

Fall 2014

Patrick Johnson
A starter kit with three iPads, the Apple TV, and required cabling. This kit could be built up over several semesters through additional Tech Innovation Grants or augmented by the existing supply of iPads that are loaned out on an individual basis.
Kelly Goff
Rapid prototyping technology is quickly becoming an essential part of contemporary making in the fields of art and design. 3D printing is novel but not novelty. As a tool, it provides practical possibility and teaches timely skills. As an idea, it presents inspiring new avenues for visual expression and production. This proposal seeks to integrate 3D printing technology into the sculpture studio capabilities.
Donna O. Kerner
Funds are requested to continue the transformation of Anthropology 215 “Tanzania: Education and Development into a blended learning/digital field scholarship course. This ethnographic field course has been taught every summer since 2010 and engaged over sixty students in field research into schools and community development projects in urban and rural East Africa. In 2013 with funds provided from a course transformation grant for blended learning I ran a pilot version of this course with a flipped classroom format that utilized iPads for all course materials and assignments. In 2014 I will be taking 15 students into the field with the plan of implementing the final stages of the blended learning component (language quizzes and digital portfolios for final projects).

Spring 2014

Dipankar Maitra with Jason Goodman, Geoff Collins, John Collins, Xuesheng Chen and Thandi Buthelezi
In this proposal we request funding for the purchase of a “Red Tide” spectrometer manufactured and sold by Ocean Optics. The spectrometer will be used for classroom demonstration, laboratory experiments, and research. The proposed instrument will display real-time display of spectra on a computer, which can readily be projected in classrooms, greatly enhancing learning experience not just in introductory and advanced astronomy classes, but in a variety of classes in the Physics and Chemistry departments.
Matthew Gingo
The development and widespread availability of affordable, usable, high-quality video technology is revolutionizing the practices of psychological and educational researchers. New types of video technology provide the psychological research community with powerful ways of collecting, sharing, studying, and presenting detailed cases of practice and interaction for both research and instructional purposes. Because many psychological research projects now include a substantial video research component, and because use of video in educational applications is growing rapidly and constitutes a broad range of research practices, it is important that Wheaton’s primary developmental and educational research facility, the Amen Laboratory School, be equipped with video recording equipment.
Tommy Ratliff
This project will support the creation of screencasts for two courses in Spring 2014: Math 104 Calculus II and Math 217 Voting Theory. In both classes, the purpose is to push some of the traditional instruction outside of the class meetings so that more face-to-face time can be devoted to a deeper exploration of the major conceptual themes of the courses. The implementation of this project is consistent with a pedagogical approach in many of our math classes of having students complete pre-class assignments so that the class meetings are more meaningful learning experiences for the students.
Russell Williams
This proposal requests funding for acquisition of IMPLAN, an economic impact analysis software package, for a limited geography. It will be used in Urban Economics, but also has potential use in other courses dealing with economic change. Teacher/student access to IMPLAN will revolutionize the types of assignments that students can be given, and add a powerful new component to an important course, deepening student understanding of urban economics, providing them with insights and skills that are transferable into future careers, and heightening their appreciation for the interplay of technology and interdisciplinary investigation.

Fall 2013

Tom Armstrong
Making and spaces for making speak to what bricks and mortar institutions can excel at providing. Computational Thinking and Information Fluency are now critical components of a liberal arts experience. In this proposal, we are requesting funds to amplify the availability of equipment and skills that let students explore the intersection of the two in support of the Wheaton curriculum.
Donna O. Kerner
This project will transform the ethnographic field-based course, Anthropology 215 “Tanzania: Education and Development” into a Digital Field course, part of leading trend in Digital Scholarship. Digital Field Scholarship has the potential to transform student learning outcomes by enabling students to see broader patterns, produce digital objects for discussion and analysis; acquire foreign language traveler’s fluency in the field setting; and disseminate research results.
Domingo Ledezma
The proposed faculty-student collaboration project focuses on the creation of professional quality e-books as final assignment for the senior seminar in Hispanic studies. Students will work on their projects during the semester using iPad as support hardware; also the iPad will be use to display and share their own e-book project while they are working on. The iPad will serve as well as e-reader for accessing primary text sources for the class, available through Google Books and other Early Modern books repositories.

Spring 2013

Tom Armstrong
We propose equipment and programming additions to the nascent expansion of the Wheaton Makerspace. This expansion, the fiberspace, is a place that enables learning and projects using fiber/textiles. To that end, we request funds to purchase technology components for work that links computational thinking/information fluency with the fiber arts. Specifically, we want to make available to students, staff, and faculty e-textiles/soft circuitry materials and equipment.
Laura Macesic Ekstrom
Student participation in the classroom, although very effective in increasing learning and retention, can be difficult to achieve in large classrooms. Therefore, I propose for the BIO 112,Introductory Biology lecture class, to subscribe to an individualized in-class response technology that works with each student’s mobile device. This will allow for easy monitoring of student comprehension, encourage class preparedness, and provide students with a fast, highly visual way to interact with the instructor and other students.
Mark D. LeBlanc
This proposal seeks to integrate iPad devices into the introductory programming course COMP115 “Robots, Games, and Problem Solving” starting in Spring 2013. This proposal seeks support for assessing potential changes in teaching practices and student learning when introductory instruction in programming changes from desktop/laptop personal computers to touch-screen devices such as the Apple iPad.

Fall 2012

Tom Armstrong
We propose an expanded pilot project to support student-driven experiential learning of foundational, extracurricular computing skills to engage a wider swath of the Wheaton College community: students, staff, and faculty. The main acquisition will be a 3D printer capable of fabricating objects in two colors — a piece of equipment selected for its wide appeal and with possibilities for use across campus.
Tim Barker
All astronomy students will use a Canon digital single reflex camera to image astronomical objects.
Matt Evans and Geoff Collins
A compass, a GPS, a field notebook, a digital camera, a sketch pad, a map, a video camera, an audio recorder; all in one. The ability to synthesize geolocated multimedia field observations, manipulate and correlate them, and share and archive them electronically can all be accomplished using built in and app-based features of iPads. We seek to supplement and change the way we make, record, and present field observations using one hand-held device.
Leah Niederstadt
The proposed faculty-staff-student collaboration focuses on the creation of professional quality digital images of objects from the College Archives and the Permanent Collection for the exhibition 100 Years, 100 Objects, which will be curated by students enrolled in ARTH 335: Exhibition Design during the Fall 2012 semester. The exhibition celebrates the centenary of Wheaton Female Seminary becoming Wheaton College through an exploration of 100 objects that were created, used or donated in, or associated with a particular year from 1912-2012. The images will be used to aid students in selecting objects and designing layouts for the exhibition. They will also be published in an exhibition catalogue, to be created by students in the course, and in an online version of 100 Years, 100 Objects, to be developed by a work-study student(s) hired as part of the proposed project.

Spring 2012

Donna O. Kerner, et al.
“Heart of the Matter,” an initiative aimed at exploring curricular uses of digital storytelling
Tom Armstrong
A pilot project to support student-driven experiential learning of foundational, extracurricular computing skills
Lisa Lebduska
Equipment necessary to shoot and edit educational videos for the writing program website and her writing classes
Tommy Ratliff
WebWork, an online homework system used for calculus classes
Delvyn Case
Music composition software to use with his students
Paula Krebs
e-Readers used in ENG 290, Approaches to Literature and Culture
Vicki Bartolini
The qualitative analysis software, NVIVO, for use with students in the Education Department
Tim Barker
Observatory control software

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Forms

Course Reserve Request Form

Note: To access this Google Form, you'll need to provide your Wheaton wID and email password. Attention, electronic reserve users! Our electronic reserve policies have changed, but not by much. The primary difference you'll notice is that you'll be receiving your electronic reserves by email. The library is no longer adding electronic reserves to your onCourse site. To request electronic reserves, please complete the form above. For more information, please see:  

Request a Purchase Form

Note: To access this Google Form, you'll need to provide your Wheaton wID and email password.

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