About the DRI
The DRI is a multi-day intensive bootcamp created primarily for humanities scholars. This was originally conceived to address concerns about the lack of formal training in digital tools within the curriculum of current graduate education, especially in the arts and humanities (Soon & Cox, 2020). In addition, our institute focuses on teaching open-access tools and programming languages to lower the barrier to entry for participants, minimize dependency on institutional licenses, and to ensure long-term access to learning communities. We are also intentional that the DRI speaks to foundational learners and empower them to become independent learners post-institute by being able to understand what skills they would need to continue learning for their projects.
DRI in Jan 2022
Due to the pandemic, when I was coordinating the institute for Jan 2022, I had to consider how to transform our offline institute into an online format while preserving the format of small group learning and peer-facilitation and mentoring. Working with a small team of eight fellows, we collaborated on efforts to coordinate curriculum creation and website updates, workshop rehearsals, and recruiting and reaching out to participants. We were able to successfully offer two programming language tracks in r and python to a total of 40 participants, and balanced instruction with hands-on practice during the sessions. Each workshop was led by a lead instructor and supported by at least two fellows who could help troubleshoot specific issues and address questions in the chat. While we were able to offer small group support through online office hours and consistent breakout groups, some challenges continue to persist in teaching digital skills online, such as checking for installations before the institute and forming an interactive community of learners. Nonetheless, the online institute was a relative success and has informed us more about teaching digital tools online.
DRI Website and Workshops
