The Virtual Symposium is an artifact designed to showcase your reflections on the course content. Your audience is your fellow classmates.
The Virtual Symposium is the final assignment of the course. It offers an opportunity for each student to creatively share their learning journey, synthesize key takeaways, and demonstrate their personal and professional growth across the semester.
Purpose
The Virtual Symposium is your space to celebrate and share what you’ve learned. There’s no one right way to do this—choose a format that speaks to you and your learning journey. This is a chance to tell your story. How has your understanding of libraries, learning, and users changed? How will you take what you’ve learned into your future work? Your artifact should spotlight your insights, growth, and evolving understanding of hyperlinked library service. Be imaginative and bold!
Here are some ideas to spark your thinking:
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🎥 Create a “Five in 5” Presentation: Share five key takeaways in five minutes using video, audio, or any multimedia format.
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🗣️ Try an Ignite-Style Talk: 15 slides in 5 minutes—fast-paced, energetic, and idea-rich! More info at igniteshow.com
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📝 Summarize Your Inspiration Report: Record a short briefing-style video as if you’re presenting your idea to library leadership or a community board.
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✍️ Curate a “Best Of” Reflection Post: Highlight your top blog entries and synthesize the themes that connect them. What ideas have matured over time?
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🎨 Design a Visual Artifact: Illustrate your learning with an infographic, mind map, visual model of the Hyperlinked Library, or even a comic strip!
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📚 3–2–1 Reflection: Share three “aha!” moments, two ideas you want to explore further, and one action you plan to take—using any format you like.
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🧠 Freestyle It: Podcast your thoughts. Write a song. Create a short story. Design a virtual gallery or zine. Think in formats beyond the traditional!
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💡 Propose Your Own Idea: Have something else in mind? Pitch your concept to Michael or your peers—your creativity is always welcome.
Whatever you choose, your Symposium artifact should reflect your voice, your learning, and your vision for the future of libraries and learning. NOTE: This does not have to be a ton of work or another complete project—it’s a way to share your learning with the other members of our hyperlinked community.
- Requirements
- Visit the Assignment Inspiration Page for some examples from previous semesters.
- Recorded content should be 5 -10 minutes long. (Please see Guidelines for Media-based Assignments)
- Include some discussion of your Progression of Thought and Reflection with the course themes.
- Post on your course blog with the title: Hyperlinked Symposium: [Your Title].
- Submit the URL for the post to Canvas.
- If you are using media, link to the artifact stored in the cloud or use the information on embedding media.
Evaluation Criteria:
Required Components (5 points) – Your submission is engaging and well-organized, shows evidence of significant effort, and creatively conveys your personal perspective. It is polished, media-enhanced (images, links, or other visuals), and error-free. Citation style is consistent where applicable. Work is submitted on time.
Progression of Thought & Reflection (5 points) – Your Symposium artifact demonstrates a meaningful synthesis of course content and themes. It reflects the evolution of your thinking throughout the course, showcasing your ability to integrate what you’ve learned into a thoughtful, creative expression of professional insight.