I’m excited to be teaching three courses this spring. Below are the short descriptions and links to the syllabus for each course. It would be great to have each class max out on enrollment!

Community Informatics Studio, LIS 490ST: (Syllabus)
Studio learning brings together the collective knowledge of the class to work on and implement a design solution in community on a real world informatics problem. The design problem for spring 2015: how do we use popular and progressive education principles to design digital literacy programming to focus first on community-defined outcome goals rather than simply on technical skills so as to build local knowledge power and achieve broader transformative action?

Community Engagement, LIS418: (Syllabus)
Achieving impact goals in answer to ALA-presidential calls for community-led library services, library-led community engagement, and a civically engaged library is difficult unless we have a clear understanding of community, of engagement, and how various engagement techniques lead towards very different community engagement priorities. Rather than a settled issue, though, these are contested concepts and practices that we’ll explore, debate, and practice together.

Introduction to Networked Systems, LIS451: (Syllabus)
Designed for the student with little working knowledge of the nuts and bolts of computer hardware, software, and networks, we will demystify technology by building our very own “cloud” from the ground up. At the same time, we will critically explore the relationship between the social and technical to consider the ways the social, economic, political and cultural become reified through our technologies, often privileging some over others — and how we can be a part of championing more just systems.