Misleading Book Titles. I know that we aren’t supposed to judge books by their covers, but in organizing my office last week, I rediscovered several outstanding selections whose titles belie their worth. For starters, have you ever heard of a reverse coloring book? Worth checking out during these cold, wintery times.    

Here are two others with incredible content applicable well beyond what their title implies. I have included a few chapter topics to better illustrate. Firstly, we have Tormey, R., Isaac, S., Hardebolle, C., & Le Duc, I. (2021). Facilitating experiential learning in higher education: Teaching and supervising in labs, fieldwork, studios, and projects. 

Next, a book that I assumed was more theoretical and less practical. I stand corrected: Davidson, C. N., & Katopodis, C. (2022). The new college classroom. 

I greatly appreciate the attention paid in these texts to reinforcing human connections, social health, and the power of work done in community. These themes were highlighted in the remarks of Arthur C. Brooks during his brief visit to campus last week, during the Digital Literacy Institute sessions earlier this month, and are also evident in the unprecedented number of Learning Communities that were proposed by faculty and staff for this semester. I encourage you to check out the list below and also on our website. There are some timely and important topics and these offerings led by your faculty and staff colleagues are taking participant applications now.  

This latest installment of the Digital Literacy Institute gave me lots to think about, to read, and to do. One of the lessons I came away with was that AI and algorithmics are excellent topics to study in and of themselves. Helping students learn about AI, through case studies or topical explorations reinforces our collective role in developing our own as well as students’ muscles in critical thinking, problem solving, information literacy, ethical reasoning, etc. The WHY and the WHAT of a liberal education is what we are talking about here. At the Institute, we discussed how data is destiny (and the intersection of digital and data literacies) and how algorithms are perpetuating and automating social inequities as we speak. I highly recommend watching the film, Coded Bias. You can follow the link to it from within the open enrollment Digital Literacy – Faculty Professional Development Blackboard organization. We still have some organizing and uploading to do within the site, but this growing collection of resources from Digital Literacy sessions held thus far at GV is worth exploring. As we fill out the remainder of this semester’s Digital Literacy Friday schedule, I am taking requests. If you have a topic you would like to see addressed or a digital literacy project of your own that you are interested in sharing, drop me a line at renerc@gvsu.edu.  

To seed the idea of bringing the topic of algorithms into your courses, here is just a sampling of the many articles/resources out there that are both domain-specific and generalizable. I intentionally chose a range of outlets and publication dates to give a sense of how big and important this topic is. We all need to become smarter about what is happening with (our) data, the power dynamics at play and the long-term consequences of not asking really good questions about these issues.   

We have work to do. The good news is that you aren’t alone. 

-Christine Rener  

If you're looking for a way to meet new colleagues, learn more about a topic, and stay up-to-date on a new book, consider joining a Winter 2026 Learning Community!

Learning Communities (LCs) bring faculty together for a 1-2 semester-long conversation on a topic of mutual interest and encourage an application of the knowledge gained. Past participants report this experience to be supportive, fun, and restorative! New Winter LCs are being added daily, but below are just a few of the Learning Communities that are currently open and accepting new members. You can view the complete list of open LCs by visiting our Current Learning Communities webpage.

Apply online via our Grants System today!

Sponsored by the Digital Literacy Initiative, Pew FTLC, and eLearning Technologies, we are hosting sessions related to digital literacy. Thank you to everyone who joined us last semester! This semester, we are featuring faculty and staff experts who will share approaches, provide hands-on learning, and facilitate lively, cross-disciplinary conversations. The sessions rotate between the Valley Campus, the City Campus, and Zoom. 

All sessions will take place from 11am to 12pm on Fridays. The table below provides schedule details and registration links for each session. As the schedule continues to be built, additional details will be added to the Digital Literacy Fridays website, so keep an eye out for more information soon!

Session materials are being shared via a Blackboard Organization–Digital Literacy-Faculty Professional Development–open to all faculty and staff. This organization is open for self-enrollment. Contact us at PewFTLC@gvsu.edu for access support, if needed. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already begun to transform how we live, learn, and work— but many people still don’t understand how AI works, what it can and can’t do, or how to use it responsibly and effectively. The Hour of AI is a new global initiative from code.org that aims to demystify artificial intelligence and invites participants to engage in hands-on learning experiences, changing them from passive consumers of AI to confident, informed creators.

At its core, the Hour of AI at GVSU aims to provide a clear, accessible entry point into AI literacy for people of all backgrounds. Using proven tools and ready-to-use materials, trainings, readings, and discussions, we encourage exploration of how AI systems are shaped by data, prompts, and human choices, while also examining AI’s social and ethical implications.

This initiative supports GVSU’s Digital Literacy efforts and the institution’s definition of Digital Literacy. Digital Literacy is the ability to use, create, evaluate, and engage critically with digital technologies to complete tasks safely and ethically in professional and civic contexts.

Whether you're working on articles, presentations, SOTL, book chapters, professional documents, syllabi, or other writing projects, these sessions provide accountability and momentum to help you make progress. We’ll provide a quiet, distraction-free space to keep you focused. Just bring your materials and a clear goal for the session.

We look forward to writing with you!

On select Thursdays, jump on Zoom for 1.5-hour writing sessions. Each session includes:

Join us on the following Thursdays from 2:00-3:30 PM on: January 22, February 5, February 19, March 19, April 2, April 16, and April 30.

All of us know how much student mental health is impacting teaching and learning. This Pew FTLC initiative seeks to ground well-being, health, and mental health in disciplinary coursework and services to students.

If you're a faculty member looking to connect to discuss student mental health and well-being or would like to apply to join, please check out Pace Initiative webpage for more information. If you have any questions, please email PewFTLC@gvsu.edu.