Welcome, Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows!

Congrats again on joining our inaugural cohort of 35 Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows from across all of Indiana University. This program is a key part of the Digital Gardener Initiative, and you all are leaders who will continue to be are vital to strengthening the cause of digital literacy and ensuring students have the digital skills and competencies they need to succeed.

This webpage will provide you with:

• The Kick-Off Retreat agenda. We'll update this with more detail as we get closer to the event.
• Instructions, tips & tricks for using SpatialChat (the platform we're using for the retreat)
• A directory of fellows and ways you can start to network and connect with one another
• A list of dates and times for our twice-monthly virtual meetings (so you can add those to your calendars)

Kick-Off Retreat Agenda

Remember that all times listed are Eastern Standard Time.

9:30 - 10 a.m. | Check-in. Log in to our SpatialChat meeting space, check in to let us know you've arrived, and network. When you log in, use your first and last name, and add your title and campus to the "about" section.

10 - 10:20 a.m. | Welcome and Retreat Overview

10:20 - 10:45 a.m. | Think/Pair/Make/Share: What is digital literacy and what does it mean to you?

10:45 - 11 a.m. | Screen Break

11 a.m. - Noon | Exploring Digital Literacy & Building Creative Confidence

Noon - 1:30 p.m. | Lunch & Curriculum Building Challenge Part 1. You should take at least 30 minutes to get away from the screen, but we'll also ask you to spend a little bit of time on an individual activity.

1:30 - 1:50 p.m. | Curriculum Building Challenge Part 2. Sharing in smaller groups.

1:50 - 2:10 p.m. | Curriculum Building Challenge Part 3. Whole group debrief.

2:10 - 2:50 p.m. | Cultivating Digital Literacy Culture at IU. Use this document to record your group's conversations.

2:50 - 3 p.m. | Wrap-Up. Next steps and where we go from here.

Instructions

1. Navigate to our SpatialChat space. The platform recommends a high-speed Internet connection of at least 30MB/s and the latest version of Google Chrome or Firefox. See more tips and tricks below. While the app can be used on mobile devices, we recommend using a desktop or laptop computer.

2. Add your name and short bio (and a profile photo, if you wish). Click continue. We would encourage you to include at least your title, department/discipline, and campus in the bio area.

3. Configure audio and video settings. You will be asked to choose the microphone and video camera you wish to use with the tool. If you have not used SpatialChat before, you will also likely be asked to grant permission for the tool to use your microphone and camera. If you get an error that SpatialChat cannot access your camera or microphone, it's likely because another program is using it. Try quitting other programs that might be using them, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, etc.

You cannot choose speakers within SpatialChat; it uses the speakers your computer is set to use (you can change that on Windows 10 or MacOS). We highly recommend using headphones to avoid feedback/echo.

Make sure to test to make sure your settings are correctly configured. Once set, click Join Space.

4. Start exploring the space. The first time you log in, you may see a short tutorial that explains basics functions. Here's a video overview of some of the functions we'll use.

Tech Tips & Tricks in SpatialChat

To help ensure that we have a smooth experience in SpatialChat — so that we can focus not on the technology but what the technology enables us to do — follow these best practices.

• Use a computer rather than a mobile device/tablet. There are some feature limitations when using a mobile device/tablet.
• Use the latest version of Google Chrome or Firefox.
• Use headphones to avoid echo.
• Close other programs that might be slowing down your computer.
• Close unnecessary browser tabs.

SpatialChat recommends you be on a high-speed Internet connection (minimum 10 Mbps, recommended 30 Mbps; you can check your Internet speed here), connected directly to a router through ethernet or connected via a 5GHz WiFi connection. Check out more detailed guidance from SpatialChat on these recommendations.

In addition to watching the video above to learn basic functions of SpatialChat we'll be using, you might want to check out SpatialChat's getting started guide. They also have a very robust Help Center.

We'll have several on hand to support you when you join the Kick-Off Retreat. However, if you've not used SpatialChat before, we recommend that you drop into the space (via this link, which is the same one we'll use for the retreat) before Friday to test things out. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us at dgi@iu.edu.

Connecting to other fellows

One chief goal of the retreat is to begin to build relationships across this first cohort of DG Faculty Fellows. But, we wanted to build some spaces to facilitate that community asynchronously as well.

Through Microsoft Teams

One way we will do that is through the use of Microsoft Teams. We have added everyone to a team for our group. You can access it via a direct link, and when in Teams, you'll see it in your list of teams; it's called IU-UITS-Digital Gardener Faculty Fellows.

It includes a channel for the Spring 2022 Cohort. If you’re new to Teams, you can view this getting started page.

Spring 2022 Cohort Directory

We've added to our team a full directory of the inaugural Spring 2022 cohort of fellows, including short biographies and contact information.

Spring 2022 Meeting Dates

Twice-Monthly Virtual Meetings

Based on your feedback in the confirmation survey you filled out last month, we have scheduled the following times for our twice-monthly virtual meetings. There are six meetings scheduled; you are required to attend five.

There is a morning and an afternoon option two options for each date—the topics are the same for both sessions. Each meeting is one hour, with the co-directors and some participating speakers available after the session for additional questions or 1:1 help.

You’ll receive calendar invitations for all the options. Note: All times are Eastern

• Friday, February 4: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Friday, February 18: 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Friday, March 4: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (Though we may try to plan a rescheduled in-person event on this day; see below)
• Friday, March 11: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Friday, April 1: 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Friday, April 15: 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

And save Friday, April 29, from 10 a.m. — noon for an optional final virtual showcase event.

Mid-Semester In-Person Retreat @ IUPUI

We had hoped to get together in person for this kick-off retreat. We're hoping things become a bit safer by mid-semester and are tentatively planning a in-person event to be held at IUPUI.

We'll talk more about this at the virtual Kick-Off Retreat, but we're tentatively looking at Friday, February 25 or Friday, March 4 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the date chosen). Please come to the Virtual Kick-Off Retreat ready to give some feedback on which date would be preferred.

Questions?

Feel free to reach out to either or us directly for via the dgi@iu.edu email.

• Justin Hodgson, Fellowship Co-Director, hodgson@indiana.edu
• Adam Maksl, Fellowship Co-Director, amaksl@iu.edu