Faculty
Why Service Learning? Get inspired. Increase engagement. Make a difference.
- Allows faculty to be innovative and creative in their teaching approach
- Enriches and enlivens teaching and learning by extending learning beyond the classroom
- Strengthens relationships with students
- Facilitates interdisciplinary ad collaborative projects
- Builds reciprocal partnerships with the local community
- Extends campus resources into the community
- Supports the college's vision of "engagement with our community"
Faculty FAQs
Service Learning Showcase - Spring 2022
Offering a service-learning course this semester? Here are some items to get you started:
- Service Learning Request Form - Let us know if you are offering a service learning course!
- Mini-Grant Applications - If you need help funding your service learning projects, we can help. Awards can range up to $500 per semester (depending on number of applications). Apply!
VIRTUAL SERVICE LEARNING: Ten sites to find easy ideas for any subject
If you’re looking to take your online volunteering worldwide, this is the place to start. UNV connects you with organizations working for peace and development in need of skills like research, writing, art, and design. There are already over 12,000 volunteers from 187 countries lending their talents to organizations around the globe.
4. Smithsonian Digital Volunteers
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, but even they could use a little help sometimes. Help make their collections more accessible by volunteering online to transcribe historical documents or edit Wikipedia articles related to their artifacts and research.
Operated by Amnesty International, this network of digital volunteers helps conduct research into global human rights violations. Volunteers have used their phones and computers to verify the location of oil spills, find evidence of drone strikes, and flag abusive tweets to women politicians in India.
Founded in 1971, this may just be the virtual volunteering effort that started it all. The goal is to create the largest digital library, and so far they’ve amassed 59,000 free eBooks. Volunteer by donating eligible materials, transcribing books into a digital form, or proofreading others’ work.
DoSomething empowers young people to enact social change both online or off. Volunteer online through one of our campaigns to help solve real-world problems. DoSomething members have used the internet to successfully urge Apple to diversify their emojis, change the dictionary definition of “Black/black”, and create the largest crowdsourced anti-bullying guide.
Federal crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Catalog. Dozens of projects from across U.S. federal agencies that students can jump into.
9. Translators Without Borders
For those fluent in more than one language, check out this nonprofit that combines language skills with humanitarian aid. Volunteers provide translations (10 million words a year!) to international organizations that focus on crisis relief, health and education.
10. Catchafire
This volunteer search tool is exclusively for online volunteer projects. Each one has a timeline that can range anywhere from an hour to a few weeks. So whether you have an afternoon or several, you can help not-for-profit with tasks like writing thank you letters or editing photos.
Faculty Thoughts on Service Learning...