Campus Connection

Workshops to cover navigating the world of information

The UWL Department of English and Murphy Library will present two workshops on navigating the expanding universe of information.

Shevaun Watson, associate professor and director of composition at UW-Milwaukee, will lead the workshops for faculty and students on the information cycle and how to navigate information opportunities.

The faculty workshop, “Staying Afloat: Teaching Research When Students are Drowning in a Sea of Information,” runs from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, in 150 Murphy Library. The workshop will orient instructors to these challenges and provide new concepts and strategies for teaching research processes in their courses.

“Teaching research skills has never been so important or challenging,” says Watson. “The abundance of information, ease of access, and speed of circulation all, ironically, make it much harder for students to understand and work with the information they do find.”

The student workshop, “When Too Much Information Might be a Bad Thing: Some Tips and Tricks for Facing Research Challenges Today,” runs from 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, in 150 Murphy Library. The workshop offers an opportunity for students to learn new strategies for understanding and navigating the expanding universe of information today.

“Doing research today is actually harder, not easier, than it used to be,” notes Watson. “Students have access to more information and research tools than ever before, but these are complicating, not simplifying, the research process.”

Both presentations are free and open to the public. For more information on the workshops visit: https://librarynews.uwlax.edu/shevaunwatson

About Dr. Watson

Shevaun Watson, associate professor and director of composition at UW-Milwaukee, teaches first-year writing, and undergraduate and graduate courses in rhetorical history, writing studies, and rhetoric and culture. Her scholarship focuses on critical information literacy and teaching research-based writing in composition and communication courses. Her co-authored article, “Revising the “One-Shot” through Lesson Study: Collaborating with Writing Faculty to Rebuild a Library Instruction Session”, published in College and Research Libraries, was recognized as a “Top Twenty Article” by the American Library Association.

If you go—

What: Shevaun Watson and the Information Cycle

When: Faculty Workshop – 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30

Student Workshop – 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30

Where: Murphy 150

Admission: Free