DDRF in the LIS Classroom: Checking in from Indiana University

    1. Was there anything that worked particularly well in the workshop? 
      This was our third time offering the DDRF workshop at Indiana University Bloomington and I think it was our most successful. This time around we partnered with a faculty member in the School of Information and Library Science and invited students from their Digital Humanities course. We had a great group of curious students (and a few attendees from the library) and the instructor, John Walsh, helped facilitate meaningful discussions throughout the workshop. Compared to past workshops, this round was much more participatory and the attendees seemed more engaged.
    2. Was there anything that you felt was tricky to teach? 
      Running algorithms in the portal was a little tricky, mostly because the entire group wanted to see their results all at once! Luckily we have the example prepped and ready to go before the workshop, but sometimes participants are disappointed that they are unable to view their results immediately [because of how the activities are structured].
    3. If you could change one thing that you did in the workshop to make the sessions more effective, what would it be? 
      I think we’ve made significant progress in improving our hands-on activities, but I’d still like to see more room for creativity. It’s challenging to leave room for exploration when there’s so much material to cover, but I would like to see a little more tinkering and less step-by-step activities.
    4. What changes would make the workshops more accommodating to a diverse range of participants with different roles in the library and varying technology skillsets? 
      I feel confident that the materials are appropriate for a wide audience, but the issue we struggle with is marketing. There is a key group of librarians and library staff members at IU who are already interested in text analysis, so naturally they want to learn more about the HTRC, but it’s tough to reach out to other folks in the library and explain why they should participate.