You have extolled the virtues of R to your [colleagues, students, peers, higher-ups], and they’re ready to use this popular and powerful tool in their work. Fantastic. Challenge: learning takes time and practice, mismatched parentheses can be problematic (for code, for egos), and solving problems alone … doesn’t really work. How can you build resources and support for users with diverse needs, while subject to constraints of staffing, time, and budget? In this talk, I’ll tell you how my team of student workers and I work to meet the needs of faculty and students across the curriculum, with an approach built on a foundation of collaboration, independent learning, kind communication, and custom Slack emojis. While this story comes from academia, I believe these approaches transfer beyond the ivory tower – relevant to anyone who has users to support and is interested in building community in the process.
Bio: As part of the instructional technology team at Reed, Kristin supports quantitative data across the curriculum, working with faculty to integrate analytical tools (e.g. R) in their teaching and scholarship through workshops, guest lectures, and class/research projects. She also supports students in working with data for coursework and independent research, and is Reed's point person for spatial analysis and mapping. All of this work is made possible by collaborating with a talented and kind team of student workers, who provide front-line support for users and help develop materials to make data work accessible and fun.