As interest in digital pedagogies and technologies in the classroom continued to rise in 2022, ECDS saw a total number of 1536 consultations conducted by full-time faculty and staff, graduate trainees, and graduate fellows. Whether one-on-one or in a group, scheduled or walk-ins, the Center’s team advises on digital projects or problems with the technologies they specialize in. Specifically, Rob O’Reilly and Megan Slemons saw an uptick in the frequency of data-based analysis and GIS (geographic information systems) mapping consultations.  

One consultation Rob particularly remembers was working a doctoral student in the School of Public Health working on a dissertation on the effects of climate and temperature and solitary confinement on the mental health of inmates of Louisiana state prisons, which are not air-conditioned. Data collection, cleaning, formatting, and analysis took place from Spring 2021 to the end of 2022, spanning 170 initial datasets. The code to do all the data cleaning ran to 4750 lines spread across 15 syntax files and eventually left the student with clear, workable data collections for their dissertation research.  

In 2022, Megan worked with faculty from many departments – including Art History, African American Studies, Classics, History, Environmental Science, and Anthropology – on initial assignment planning, in-class instruction, and follow-up student support for map-based class projects. ArcGIS StoryMaps is becoming an increasingly popular tool for these short-term projects. This digital storytelling platform incorporates maps with text and multimedia in a virtual scrolling format with customizable layouts that is adaptable to a wide range of projects and goals.