STS Partners with DesignLab

April 1, 2016

This semester, Software Training for Students‘s Ask a Trainer project support program began offering open consultation hours in the DesignLab space in College Library, Room 2250. All students are welcome to drop-in from 4-7 PM on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays during the academic year without an appointment.

Students can work one-on-one with a knowledgeable STS trainer on their personal, group, or academic related projects that use a specified technology such as Excel, Photoshop, HTML, WordPress, Illustrator, Access and more. The trainers are available to answer directed questions, guide students through the intricacies of learning software or programming, and help students overcome the general learning curve that may come with getting comfortable with a new technology. Students will leave a session feeling confident in their abilities to continue to make progress on their project or idea, and also have the option to continue working with a trainer through the Ask a Trainer appointment service or by dropping by consultation hours again.

This new opportunity for drop-in consultations is the result of our partnership with DesignLab, which is a media design consultation service focusing on the conceptual and aesthetic aspects of UW-Madison students’ media projects.

According to Rosemary Bodolay, Associate Director of DesignLab, “The partnership between DesignLab and Software Training for Students helps provide more complete support for undergraduate and graduate students to successfully engage with both familiar and new technologies.  We also see a benefit for the DesignLab graduate student TAs and STS trainers to develop new software and training skills from each other as they spend time together in the lab. It’s a partnership that makes good sense.”

“Both DesignLab and STS help students with presentations, reports and projects for courses, but whereas STS focuses on the technical skills, DesignLab helps with the concept and design of students’ projects. Because these two services complement each other, the partnership made perfect sense,” says Marcus Miers, STS Service Leader. “Plus, it helps raise awareness of our other STS programs like the Technology Workshops and Custom Technology Workshops.”

DoIT Academic Technology regularly collaborates with partners as well as committees and groups to support a range of initiatives and major projects. Contact us to discuss how we can help with your next project.

Reported by Melissa Lakritz