The Dreamery Sessions

S02E4 - Grit personified

To overcome difficulties brought on by the pandemic, it's taken copious amounts of grit by people from all walks of life. In the Season Two finale, Ray Schmitt, Zach Lonsinger, and Renea Nichols discuss how they've seen grit brought to life by fellow Penn Staters. Episode transcript [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p-23z156JpcvsvT4_WYnR5s3OlQo3wEI/view?usp=sharing]

S02E3 - Inequalities in higher education

As a first-generation college student, Renea Nichols came to know how differing backgrounds shaped how she and her peers navigated the higher ed world. Now, as an assistant teaching professor in Penn State's Bellisario College of Communications, Nichols puts that experience to use to help give her students an equitable experience. With the pandemic providing even deeper context around students' inequalities, Nichols joins co-hosts Ray Schmitt and Zach Lonsinger to talk about how she combats it, how to advocate for deeper change, and more. Please Note: As Penn State prepares for more in-person instruction during the summer and fall 2021 semesters, changes have been made to the technology loaner program that's mentioned in this episode. Please visit the University's Keep Teaching [https://keepteaching.psu.edu/teaching-and-testing/technology/connectivity-and-loaners/] and Keep Learning [https://keeplearning.psu.edu/topics/technology-resources/] websites for more details. One Penn State 2025 [https://www.onepennstate.psu.edu/] Episode transcript [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AL61_C9DXVIHYBTCX-ImT8SLYKSNl8Ck/view?usp=sharing]

S02E2 - Student Engagement

When the pandemic shut down in-person instruction at Penn State, assistant teaching professor Renea Nichols traveled to Arizona to live with family. From there she continued to teach her Bellisario College of Communications students, and worked hard to keep them engaged with the course materials. In this episode, Nichols talks with co-hosts Ray Schmitt and Zach Lonsinger about how her idea of student engagement has evolved, what student engagement could look like in a post-pandemic world, and more. The Gorilla Glue story [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/style/gorilla-glue-girl-tessica-brown-work.html] Episode transcript [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W1K4Co0oru3WWF4khJ6YRYOqVdFq1RWH/view?usp=sharing]

S02E1 - Get to know Renea Nichols

Welcome to Season Two of The Dreamery Sessions! Join Ray Schmitt and Zach Lonsinger in getting to know this season's guest co-host Renea Nichols. An assistant teaching professor in the Bellisario College of Communications, Nichols has a strong track record of innovative and creative teaching methods. Their conversation touches on Nichols' teaching background, how she used technology to help virtually welcome a cohort of first-year students, and more. Penn State's LEAP program [https://summersession.psu.edu/first-year-students/leap-program-university-park] How Nichols created a virtual office and classroom [https://news.psu.edu/story/627411/2020/08/04/academics/leap-instructor-goes-above-and-beyond-engage-students-virtually] Explore Bitmojis [https://www.bitmoji.com/] Episode transcript [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G4x0cPFwPCcjipyRNOaPO-2nt0rBQLD5/view?usp=sharing]

S02E0 - The Bridge Episode

We're back! This episode features a conversation with Jennifer Sparrow, associate vice president for Teaching and Learning with Technology and deputy chief information officer at Penn State. She shares her approach to leading the organization through COVID, lessons learned from the pandemic, and more. Also, Ray and Zach set the table for The Dreamery Session's full Season Two coming later this spring, highlighted by the announcement of a special guest co-host who will be a part of each episode. Show Notes: Tech Tutors and Tech TAs [https://techtutors.psu.edu/] Learn more about our new guest co-host [https://news.psu.edu/story/627411/2020/08/04/academics/leap-instructor-goes-above-and-beyond-engage-students-virtually] Episode transcript [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-ul_aX3lUzrlgOohUjJI9egd_Q9m3we7/view?usp=sharing]