UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Jose Velazco

Free Screening: “En Vida” by José Velazco, Nov. 20

A film highlighting Ecuadorian traditions and culture, produced by José Velazco, Clark Library, will be screened as part of International Education Week on Wednesday, November 20, at 5 p.m., in Franz Hall 120. Five years ago, Velazco found himself struggling to film his father’s funeral for his documentary. Having to separate the roles of a grieving son and director was the hardest challenge for Velazco. The documentary — “En Vida” —  shows Velazco through his loss, ultimately bringing his family closer together and seeing the value in his Ecuadorian heritage as he navigates both his life in the U.S. and his roots in Ecuador. Velazco has been the digital lab coordinator at the University of Portland for six years and looks forward to sharing his personal story with the UP community.

For more information contact Velazco at velazco@up.edu.

Scheduling Library and Digital Lab Sessions

Are you teaching this fall? The Clark Library offers instruction in two areas: information literacy and multimedia skills. Now is a great time to schedule us to meet with your classes before our calendar fills up. Librarians teach information literacy sessions and collaborate with you to make sure key concepts are covered. They also create course guides to support your students in their academic research and projects. To schedule a class meeting, please email preferred dates and times to reference@up.edu.

The Digital Lab coordinator provides assistance with creating assignments and instructs classes that have multimedia projects such as creating videos, digital posters, and digital photography. Email José Velazco at velazco@up.edu to arrange multimedia instruction through the Digital Lab.

 

Clark Library: Scheduling Summer Instruction

Are you teaching a course this summer? As you plan, remember that the librarians are available to provide library instruction. We will collaborate with you to make sure key concepts are covered and can also create course guides to support your students in their academic research and projects. To schedule a class meeting, please email preferred dates and times to Stephanie Michel at michel@up.edu. Interested in adding a video, poster, or podcast assignment to your course? Email José Velazco at velazco@up.edu to arrange multimedia instruction through the Digital Lab.

Scheduling Library and Digital Lab Sessions

Happy New Year from the Clark Library! As spring semester approaches, now is a great time to schedule instructional sessions before the calendar fills up. The Clark Library offers instruction in two areas: information literacy and multimedia skills.

For information literacy, librarians collaborate with faculty to tailor sessions to course content and students’ research needs. The Digital Lab coordinator provides assistance with creating assignments and instructs classes that have multimedia projects such as creating videos, digital posters, digital photography, and websites.

To request an information literacy session for your class, please email preferred dates and times to Stephanie Michel at michel@up.edu. To arrange multimedia instruction, please email José Velazco at velazco@up.edu.

TLC Tip of the Week: Virtual Reality in the Classroom

Virtual reality is an emerging technology that allows students to create and learn in immersive environments. According to the American Library Association, this trend will grow in the near future as multimedia producers seek to create more engaging modes of visual storytelling. The Digital Lab currently offers a variety of titles including:

Visit the Digital Lab website for more information regarding Virtual Reality. Faculty are invited to schedule a consultation with lab coordinator José Velazco (velazco@up.edu) and collaborate on a multimedia assignment.

 

TLC Teaching Tip of the Week: Spring Digital Lab Workshops

The Clark Library Digital Lab will present several workshops this semester. Topics will include:

  • Arduinos for Beginners: Workshop attendees will explore the basic functionality of Arduino microcontrollers and use online coding software to create simple programs.
  • Virtual Reality (VR): Participants will be able to use an HTC Vive VR headset and controllers during this drop-in session to gain an overview of the possibilities of the technology.
  • Adobe Premiere Pro: Attendees will be introduced to this professional video editing software, capable of producing high-quality videos for use in student projects.

Visit the Digital Lab (located on the upper floor of the library) or the lab’s website to register for a session. All workshops are free and last one hour. Additionally, contact José Velazco, Digital Lab coordinator, at velazco@up.edu if you would like to schedule an individual consultation on these or other multimedia topics.

Clark Library Digital Lab 3D Ornament Contest

The Clark Library’s Digital Lab is having a 3D ornament design contest for those who want to get into the holiday spirit. Entries are due by Friday, November 17. Selected designs will be 3D printed and displayed on the Clark Library Christmas tree. Interested in learning about 3D design? The Lab provides access to Blender software and tutorials for Tinkercad. Contact José Velazco (velazco@up.edu), digital lab coordinator, for more information.

TLC Teaching Tip of the Week: Digital Tools in the Classroom

The Digital Lab welcomes faculty looking to increase their students’ multimedia skills to arrange a consultation with the lab’s coordinator (and TLC member) José Velazco, velazco@up.edu. Recent collaborative student projects include:

  • Interactive Digital Presentations: Apple’s iBooks Author (or Adobe’s InDesign) allow students to create and send interactive presentations complete with photographs, audio and video. Class members studying political science recently used iBooks Author to present statistics and narratives related to international issues.
  • Digital Posters: Students can use Piktochart, an online poster design software, to create posters. Class participants have used the software to create infographics related to a variety of topics across disciplines
  • The Lab also offers workshops regarding multimedia best practices. This semester’s topics include Photoshop, Illustrator and Creating Electronic Music. Click here to register for a session.

Faculty are welcome to visit the Digital Lab (located on the upper floor of the library) or contact José Velazco, digital initiatives coordinator, at velazco@up.edu for a consultation and learn how to integrate these technologies into the classroom.

 

Scheduling Library and Digital Lab Sessions

As the semester approaches, now is a great time to schedule sessions before the calendar fills up. The Clark Library offers instruction in two areas: information literacy and multimedia skills. For information literacy, Librarians collaborate with faculty to tailor sessions to students’ research needs. The Digital Initiatives Coordinator provides assistance with creating assignments and instructs classes that have multimedia projects such as creating videos, digital posters, digital photography, and websites.

To request a session for your class, please email preferred dates and times, along with course number to Stephanie Michel, michel@up.edu, for information literacy and Jose Velazco, velazco@up.edu, for multimedia skills.

TLC Tip of the Week: Creating Engaging Media Assignments

digital-tunnel-wallpaper1-copyFaculty members who are interested in having students use video, design, or audio tools in their classrooms can visit the Digital Lab and schedule a consultation and collaborate on a multimedia assignment, according to Jose Velazco, Clark Library. The Digital Lab provides instruction on software, loans, equipment, and will work one-to-one with faculty to create engaging assignments meeting curricular goals and offering professional development opportunities for students.

Visit the lab’s Faculty page to view sample assignments.

To arrange a consultation, contact Velazco at velazco@up.edu.