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November Newsletter: How Many Students Give Tech Support on Break?

October 26, 2017 Beth Seltzer
digital brain mawr tshirt design

Bryn Mawr College's Digital Competencies Program helps students build the digital skills and critical perspectives on technology needed for success in the digital age. 


News
First, all of us on the Digital Competencies planning committee offer a very warm congratulations to the winner of the Digital Bryn Mawr T-shirt contest! Students submitted a range of beautiful designs in competition for a Kindle Fire. The prize went to Jessie Chen ’20 for her “Digital Brain Mawr” design. Our judges loved the striking graphic and the pun.

Jessie Chen ('20) stands next to design.
Jessie Chen ('20) next to her winning design.

We’ll use the T-shirts as prizes for digital competencies events and as giveaways for our future interns (internships will be posted on Lantern Link and on the blendedlearning blog next February).

Speaking of internships, we’re excited for LILAC's Bryn Mawr and Beyond event, coming up in early November. Internships are a fantastic way to build digital competencies--just ask LITS's digital curriculum and AR/VR interns from last summer. At Bryn Mawr and Beyond, you can chat about summer internships with students who received college summer funding. Students will discuss their experiences, including how they built digital and leadership strengths in real-world situations. 

The Digital Competencies Beyond BMC

This month, at the invitation of Davidson College and LACOL, Gina Siesing, Jenny Spohrer, and Beth Seltzer went down to North Carolina for a "Digital Competencies Think Tank." They shared Bryn Mawr's digital competency framework and helped faculty and staff from other institutions begin to brainstorm their own versions of the digital competencies program. We're looking forward to more collaborations and discussions in the future!

A group of people in a colorful room, working.
Think Tank participants doing a digital competencies Design Thinking exercise at Davidson College.

November's Competency of the Month is: 1.3 Troubleshooting

Did you try turning it off and turning it back on? Have you checked your settings? Over the Thanksgiving holiday, a lot of students will be visiting friends and family--and it's pretty likely some of you will be asked to troubleshoot technology. Last month we asked a group of first year students who had ever been asked to help someone with their phone, email, or computer. Nearly everyone's hand went up! Helping your aunt turn off email notifications on her phone might not seem like much, but these moments can build into a good set of problem-solving strategies for common tech issues.

Want even more of this month's competency? Check out Lynda.com, a whole collection of online courses on technology, business, and more. It's free for Bryn Mawr, and is a great way to learn a new tech skill. 

Upcoming Events

(Want to see your event here? Want to nominate a Competency of the Month? Want to get involved? Email us at digicomp@brynmawr.edu or visit brynmawr.edu/digitalcompetencies/get-involved!)