KT Lowe

KT Lowe

Digital Gardening: A new way to think about digital literacy

Digital Gardening: A new way to think about digital literacy

, , Programs
Most of us know the basics of gardening – tilling the soil, digging holes, adding plants, weeding, watering.  It’s a useful metaphor, however, for other subjects and ways of thinking, and IU has done just that.  Digital gardening is a method of instill digital literacy and digital competency in students, starting with their very first semester on campus.  On October 1, IU East librarians KT Lowe and Beth South participated in the Digital Gardener Summit, a day-long workshop addressing digital gardening and how it can be infused into a classroom curriculum. Digital literacy incorporates a number of ideas related to understanding media.  Not only does it include fact-checking fake news, deepfake videos and memes, but also a greater understanding regarding … Continued
National Day on Writing

National Day on Writing

, , , outreach
National Day on Writing is a large-scale event dedicated to recognizing the role of writing in our daily lives.  Established by the National Council of Teachers of English, National Day on Writing celebrates writing in all its forms and for all its purposes.  IU East has been hosting events and activities related to National Day on Writing since 2013.  This year’s activities promise to be rewarding and thought provoking, as the campus shares perspectives on writing and invites a pair of speakers to highlight the importance of writing in difficult times. Kelly Blewett, director of the writing program at IU East, shared her passion for teaching writing, in an interview with IU East instruction librarian KT Lowe. Blewett noted that … Continued
Remembering 9/11, twenty years later

Remembering 9/11, twenty years later

, , , outreach
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, New York was going about its business.  As the city that never sleeps, people were already on board the subways, taking buses and heading up the elevators to their offices.  The streets were bustling as usual with shop owners, clerks, tourists, locals, children – everyone who had ever dreamed of New York. At 8:46 that morning, everything changed, forever.  A plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board, including four terrorists.  At 9:03 AM, a second plane struck the South Tower, again with everyone on board killed instantly.  Even more people were trapped on the upper floors of both buildings, all of whom lost their lives.  … Continued
A sneak peek at the Mary Fell collection

A sneak peek at the Mary Fell collection

, , , books
IU East was lucky enough to enjoy the teaching expertise of award winning poet Mary Fell for over 30 years.  Earlier this year, she donated a number of books, documents and ephemera to the IU East Campus Archives.  And today, we’ll take a brief look at some of the treasures we’ve seen so far.  Let’s go! Class planning materials A working writer relies on a number of tools to complete their work.  Whether it’s the perfectly balanced pen, the elegantly laid cream wove paper or the delicious cup of coffee in the best coffee mug, each writer assembles their tools to begin the day’s task of crafting words.  Mary consulted a number of books related to poetry in order to … Continued
Coming Back to the Classics

Coming Back to the Classics

, , , Research
Don’t know your Ares from your Aries?  Or Circe from Ceres?  And who did Aristotle teach, again?  No problem!  This month, we’ll look at resources here at IU East that address the Classics – Greek and Roman mythology, culture, society, politics and philosophy.  Once considered the foundation for any young person’s education, the Classical world continues to influence popular culture throughout the Western world to modern times.  Literature The Iliad and The Odyssey, two epic poems in blank verse, were first written down between 2500 and 3000 years ago, likely from the memory of bards who had been reciting them for years previous.  While both poems are historically considered the work of a single person known as Homer, his or … Continued