Digital Pedagogy: Lesson Planning

Lesson and Project Planning

Project Charter

Project charters or project agreements (used interchangeably here) are tools to help you plan and scope your project form the very beginning. They can also act as a "contract" between you and any collaborators to put the details of the project in writing.

Here are some key questions to answer:

Class Size: How many students are in your class? Will they working independently or in groups?

Project Description: Describe a brief “elevator pitch” of your proposed project: Why is it worth doing? Why is this digital assignment a better opportunity than existing alternatives?

Learning Objectives and Outcomes: What are students gaining from this assignment? What would you like for them to learn?

Project Scope: Define the boundaries of your project: What will this project include? What will it not include?

Timeline: How long will this project take for students to complete? How much in-class time have you scheduled (instruction and collaborative works sessions)?

Technology: What technology will you need to teach these skills? What technology will your students need to complete the project? What technology training will be necessary for instructors and students?

Support & Roles: What elements of the project will you need outside support for? What are the concrete skills and support the library is offering for this class project? 

Project Sustainability: If there is a lasting online component, who will maintain it, where will it be hosted, and for how long? When will the project be deprecated? If your students will be using this work as part of a long term portfolio, who will archive their work? Who will have permission to continue to edit and access it?

Support Acknowledgement & Project Promotion: How will library support be recognized? Can we include this project on our projects page? Would you like us to promote the project on social media?

Using Project Agreements

If you approach the library to support a substantial project, you may be required to complete a project charter or agreement. Not only are these questions great for planning your class and scope, but completing them ahead of a consultation will also help streamline library collaborations.

Blank project charters for you to fill out for your project:

Our Expectations

To be respectful of everyone's time and limited capacity, we recommend the following:

• Projects are clearly defined and scoped
• Projects are short-term, within a semester (long-term projects are accepted in special cases and will likely require a project charter)
• Any desired library support is requested early so that the librarian is involved in the planning process
• Instructors should learn the tool along with their students

Planning Projects

The planning process varies between projects, here are some general stages of planning:

1. Planning
   • Consult with collaborators (subject librarian, technical specialist, community members, teaching assistants, etc.)
   • Define the scope and resources needed for the project
2. Execution
   • Set up dates for outside instructors to visit and work with the class
   • Set aside class time to learn any tools or technology
3. Evaluation
   • Design or find a rubric to evaluate the process and the product (see sample rubrics)
   • Decide how to attribute outside support and sustain the final product 

The Libraries offer a variety of services to support your research and teaching. Available services will differ between each library, each department, and each librarian. This is a general list to give you an idea of how librarians can support classes.

Librarians can...

• Consult with instructors to learn tools and teaching techniques
• Teach in-class workshops
• Lead open workshop time in-class
• Provide an online course guide of resources (libguide)
• Consult with students individually or in groups (note that there are a limited number of consultation spots outside of class)

Finding Help

Digital pedagogy, lesson planning, project management

• Sarah Morris, Humanities Research and Digital Instruction Librarian (semorris@email.unc.edu or (919) 962-2094), specializes in digital pedagogy.
• Digital Research Services specializes in project planning and technical support for digital research.
• The Media & Design Center specializes in digital media and design for research and teaching. Contact Winifred Fordham Metz, Media Librarian and Head of the MDC (freddie@email.unc.edu).
• Subject Librarians specialize in supporting research and teaching in one or more academic subjects. Collaborate with the librarian in your discipline for valuable subject-specific library insight. 

Technical support

• The DRS Service Desk, available at (919) 962-6264 or for walk-in support on the 2nd floor of Davis Library.
• Schedule a consultation with a Digital Research Services librarian

Table of Contents

• Lesson and project planning overview
• Project charters
• Our expectations
• Planning projects
• Sample documents
• Finding help