The mission of the Office of Digital Learning & Inquiry (DLINQ) is to explore and create digital practices and spaces that advance the transformative potential of education in students’ lives, and to advance digital fluency and critical engagement with the digital at Middlebury.

Student interns play a key role in the Office of Digital Learning & Inquiry’s (DLINQ) student engagement program which centers student learning that, as an extension of the mission and reach of our office, applies equally to and serves to unify and connect students across Middlebury programs. DLINQ interns actively engage with DLINQ staff, project partners, and one another as peer mentors in ways that engage their curiosity, advance and prioritize their learning, and foster their sense of cross-institutional community.

Under supervision of an assigned DLINQ staff member, DLINQ summer 2020 interns will work remotely to support educational continuity for the summer Language Schools faculty and students, on-going strategic instructional design projects, departmental logistics and communications related to support of programs for the Fall, as well as on-going digital fluency projects.

Interns work autonomously and in collaboration to assist community members with digital technologies, tools, environments and practices. At the start of employment, interns work through an on-boarding training program that explores a variety of digital environments, media development tools, web technologies and issues in digital learning. Over the course of their employment, interns are also expected to deepen their knowledge of digital tools and to choose at least one area of specialization.

Responsibilities and duties

Under supervision of an assigned DLINQ staff member, intern responsibilities and duties include:

Facilitating peer-to-peer consultations with other students, and occasionally staff and faculty, on topics and tools on which they have received training or demonstrated interest and proficiency (e.g., multimedia production, web tools, emerging technologies, effective use of software)

Responding to Middlebury community with thoughtful and responsive support by taking virtual appointments

Writing and updating website posts, calendar events, as well as documentation for common digital tools, environments and practices

Supporting or co-leading one and one or small group learning sessions (when requested by their supervisor) on topics relevant to DLINQ’s areas of focus

Contributing to the development, progress, and success of DLINQ sponsored as well as community partner projects and initiatives. Projects are assigned by DLINQ supervisors based on interns’ experience, skills, interest, or professional/academic development goals.

Knowledge, abilities, skills and prior experience

Interns will bring a unique set of skills to the team and have opportunities to develop new knowledge and skills. Successful interns will be self-motivated and creative problem solvers, curious about digital tools and practices while continuing on their own learning curve, and work well in a remote working supervisory setting. Though DLINQ Interns may not possess all of these skills and areas of expertise, they may be asked to develop and deepen the following:

familiarity with multimedia production tools and processes including video and audio editing and digital storytelling

familiarity with website development

familiarity with Canvas, Panopto, Wordpress, MiddCreate tools, and Domain of One’s Own movement

familiarity with visual presentation practices and various graphic design tools, for example the Adobe creative suite

experience with digital collaboration tools like Google docs and communicating with tools like Zoom web conferencing and Slack

strong verbal and written communication skills including writing for the web

excellent customer service and the ability to communicate clearly and patiently about complex technical issues

ability to effectively coordinate and collaborate in geographically-dispersed and team-based environments

ability to think creatively and critically about digital tools, practices, and environments taking initiative to investigate problems and work through viable solutions autonomously troubleshooting or researching solutions to technical issues

adopting a partnering mindset with faculty, staff, and other students to move projects forward

earning new technologies and developing new skills independently that benefit personal growth or the intern team

Typical schedule demands

Regular attendance at mandatory meetings is expected as is contribution and follow-up to tasks and topics discussed at the meeting. Interns will often be called upon to complete professional presentations of services and tools.