If you are feeling confused or overwhelmed…
1. Reach out to your professors
Dr. Suzanne Churchill, Professor of English
I’m eager to get to know you and help you improve your writing and design skills, get the most out of this course, and deal with any challenges or difficulties that arise. I enjoy conversations in person and try never to advise by email
You don’t need an appointment for my office hours, which are first come, first-served, Mon 2:30-4 pm & Wed 10:30 am – noon via Zoom conference. If these times conflict with your schedule, please e-mail me at suchurchill@davidson.edu to schedule an appointment. You can find out more about me, including “how to get recommendations,” at suzannechurchill.com.
Sundi Richard, Instructional Designer
I’m looking forward to getting to know you and your interests through this course and how I might help you develop a range of skills. Please feel free to reach out through email (surichard@davidson.edu) or in person or make an appointment to see me. I am located in the Research and Design Studio (right behind the fishbowl in the library). You can find out more about me at sundirichard.com.
2. Reach out to your classmates
Chances are if you have a question, someone else does to. Or someone may have the answer. For questions about readings, assignments, and tech troubles, use our class email list: digitaldesign@davidson.edu
3. Go to the Writing Center
Get help at any stage in the writing process. Try out different tutors until you find the one who works best with you.
4. Get to know the Reference Desk
Our library staff is terrific and eager to help. Reach out to them at the beginning of each assignment, save yourself time and agony, and get to know an expert you can count on.
5. Visit the Center for Teaching & Learning
Discover an array of resources geared to all levels, disciplines, & concerns. You can find a list of academic support resources on the College website.
6. Consult a Media Consultant
Media Consultants are available, Sun.–Thu., 8-11 pm, in RADS (Research and Design Studio in the library), and they are awesome. Don’t wait until you are frustrated or overwhelmed to seek their help. You can find a list of technological training and support on the College website.
7. Consult the Data CATS at the Analytics Factory
- Monday 1-4 p.m. (Debbie Thurtle-Schmidt and Susana Wadgymar — Biology)
- Tuesday 1-4 p.m. (Dave Martin — Economics)
- Wednesday 1-4 p.m. (Natalie Delia Deckard — Sociology)
- Thursday 1-4 p.m. (Andrew O’Geen — Political Science)
- Monday 6-9 p.m. (Mindy Adnot — Data Science)
Every Friday afternoon this semester, from 3:30-5:00, anyone interested in learning and applying data science methods and tools is warmly welcomed to gather in the Analytics Factory. The Data Café will feature speakers, workshops, “open mic” show & tell, data jams, and co-working — all things data.
8. Contact Counseling Services or Public Safety
Learn about the counseling resources and public safety services available to all enrolled Davidson students free of charge. Your academic success depends on your psychological and physical well being.
9. Practice Mindfulness Meditations
You can find free mindfulness meditations at:
- UCLA Mindful Aware Research Center
- Stop, Breathe & Think
- Tara Brach
- Dr. Kristen Neff’s self-compassion.org
I use all these resources and find them very helpful.
10. Online Writing Resources
Explore the wealth of resources assembled in DavidsonWriter: Academic Resources for Students. It includes helpful on all stages of the writing process.
Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) includes an MLA Formatting and Style Guide—an excellent, searchable resource for figuring how to cite different types of print and digital texts, including films, paintings, videos, lectures, conversations, etc.
Search Creative Commons for public domain images that you can use and adapt for non commercial purposes. While the images are free to use you still need to adhere to any citations requested by the owner or creator of the image.
The Writer’s Diet test is an online tool to help you diagnose clutter, flabbiness, and other weaknesses in your writing. Just cut and paste your text in, run the test, and read your results.