By: Amanda Larson

This year marks the first time that University Library hosted a track at the Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium. Held on Mar. 17, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, the event welcomed over 500 Penn State faculty, staff, and students
to engage in a daylong conference about the intersections between data, technology, and education. This year’s Symposium featured keynote speaker Stephen Dubner who authored Freakonomics and hosts the Freakonomics Radio podcast, four concurrent conference
sessions, the Open Innovation Challenge, and a Discovery session with an ice cream social.

The Information Literacy and Research track offered both concurrent sessions and Discovery Table sessions as a part of their participation in the event. The concurrent sessions explored a new reference model that blends instruction, reference, and outreach by holding research parties presented by Christina Riehman-Murphy and Jennifer Hunter in “Research Parties: A Social, Interdisciplinary Reference Experience”; using BIRD by Muv technology in library instruction sessions to increase student participation in one shot instruction sessions  presented by Hailley Fargo, Deena Levy, and Victoria Raish in “Soaring with BIRD: Using Technology to Flip the Script on One-Shot Instruction”; enhancing student research skills by
offering them a librarian embedded in their course through the Embedded Librarian Program presented by Lisa Byrnes, Chris Cook, Emily Mross, Victoria Raish, Alexis Santos, Louise Sharrar, and Stephen Woods in “Leveling Up Student Research Skills Online Using the Library”; and how a combination of pedagogical strategies and technologies can leverage the digital humanities
as a way to increase digital fluency presented by Jamie Brenner, Reilly Ebbs, Kathy Salzer, and Dave Sandor in “1968: Promoting Digital Fluency through Student & Alumni Engagement.”

The Discovery session offered simultaneous presentations at individual tables where attendees had the opportunity to network with their colleagues and talk to presenters. Attendees learned
how to embed research resources into Canvas with Amanda Clossen; they also learned how they could use Google Chromebooks to enhance instruction with Erin Burns, Amy Deuink, Shannon Richie, and Beth Seyala; and they were introduced to a variety of web-based  geospatial applications available through the library with Tara LaLonde.

Each session in the Information Literacy and Research track were well attended with an overwhelming amount of positive feedback on the session evaluations collected throughout the day. Based on our experience this year at the Symposium, we are revved up to participate as partners again next year!