Jeff Ginger Vitae

Work experience


Postdoctoral Research Associate	College of Education Department of Education Psychology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2020 - present
Core Personnel for Project WHIMC, a long-term, large-scale NSF-funded grant. ‣ Feedback and testing and user referal system for PBS Nova Exoplanet lab ‣ Multipurpose role includes project management and leadership, media production, design and development, instruction and curricular construction as well as computational and qualitative social science research ‣ Collaboration with the Ateneo Laboratory for Learning Sciences in the Philippines to create a mirror of our project ‣ Technical work included server upkeep, updates and systems for automated use analysis, content creation and interaction design focused on improving UX and science realism, writing and updating code (java) for data collection and generating datasets and information architecture for AI-based education agents (NLP, image-driven, path-finding) ‣ Similar assistance with STEM-C, a related NSF-funded grant on fostering computational creativity and teaching kids how to program for STEM applications ‣ Upcoming work anticipated with FISKE planetarium (camps and dome show) as well as NASA's Exoplanet outreach program (world building competition)
Creative Technology Coordinator	Jefferson County Public Library West of Denver, Colorado	2020
‣ Assisted in planning, research and development for capacities to enable new technology-related services ‣ Implementation of resources for AV recording, digitization and assistive technologies ‣ Created curriculum and videos to carry out workshops for in-person and online creative technology training ‣ Pushed for stronger and more collaborative security, asset and information management practices
Director	CU Community Fab Lab University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2014 - 2020
‣ Oversight and guidance of all operations and project teams at both the main fab lab and all remote fab lab locations in CU as well as handling of local and international PR ‣Established the core mission to include education, research and art-entrepreneurship ‣ Leveraged a range of local, state and federal resources to grow staff from three to over twenty, amplified funding ten fold and increased building space allocation by 3 times; quadrupled total level of programming ‣ Continual "lead from the front" style involvement with many operational aspects of the lab, including community engagement, instruction, IT, media, etc ‣ Development and coordination of several Fab Lab research teams and multiple courses, events and grant collaborations ‣ Coordinated summer camp operations since 2014, personally leading and developing several and seeding others; 40+ unique offerings in total, reaching hundreds of youth over the years
Program Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty	Illinois Informatics School of Information Sciences (formerly GSLIS) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2011 - 2020
‣ Proposal, development, execution and evaluation for state and nationally-funded grants (see list below) ‣ Assist with administration and event coordination (such as CU Make and Playful by Design) and student mentoring ‣ Membership in multiple faculty working groups, including Prairie Futures, TIER ED and Playful by Design, with a focus on promoting design thinking and digital literacy education at UIUC ‣ Over 8 years experience developing and teaching numerous Informatics, Information Science and Art Education studio courses on user experience, rapid prototyping and community engagement; directed several independent studies; one or more per semester
Operations Lead and Community Outreach	CU Community Fab Lab University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2012 - 2014
Helped to transition the Fab Lab from a small-scale all-volunteer operation to a hybrid staff-volunteer community-engagement network Much like running a small non-profit, this job entailed many tasks: (1) program implementation and curriculum development, (2) recruiting and managing staff and volunteers, (3) community engagement and media production, (4) equipment acquisition, upgrades and maintenance and (5) research, evaluation, grant writing and publishing
Research Assistant	School of Information Sciences (formerly GSLIS) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2008 - 2009, 2012
Assisted with web development and graphic design as well as program development, execution and evaluation with several grants for both the Center for Digital Inclusion and Community Informatics Initiative
Teaching Assistant	Graduate School of Library and Information Science Illinois Informatics Institute Department of Sociology Program on Intergroup Relations University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2007 - 2011
Courses included (1) Libraries, Information and Society, (2) Community Engagement (GSLIS), (3) Social Aspects of Information Systems, (4) Social Perceptions of the Family, (5) Social Research Methods, (6) Introduction to Sociology, and (7) Intergroup Dialogue Facilitation on Race and Ethnicity
Computer and Network Technician	University Housing University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2003 - 2008
Extensive IT technician and user support experience, also included an internship for CDW Corporation
Web Design and Development	ROC Group Chicago (2003 only) Numerous University organizations	2003 - 2008
Web design, development and support for student, professional and academic organizations

Education


PhD Library and Information Science	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2009 - 2015
Area of Interest: Social and Community Informatics Dissertation: Capturing the Context of Digital Literacy: A Case Study of Illinois Public Libraries in Underserved Communities Course work included history and foundations of information science, additional research methods experience (qualitative) and various individual topics of study in social and community informatics: distributed knowledge, ubiquitous learning, IT and the black experience, community engagement, human-computer interaction, geographic information systems, and digital literacy
PhD Sociology (transferred, incomplete)	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2006 - 2009
Masters paper: The Facebook Project: Performance and Construction of Digital Identity Course work equivalent to a masters with emphasis on science and technology studies, race and ethnicity; classes included social science research methods (ethnography, interviews, surveys, intermediate statistics), classical sociology theory, exploration into individual topics of identity and racism, art interactivity and interface design
BA Sociology, minor in Computer Science	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	2002 - 2006
Course work and senior projects included digital ethnography, the design of accessible web resources, black leadership + leveraging ICTs and community history and racism in Illinois

Awards

Listed in "Ten Notable Dissertations of 2015" by American Libraries magazine

List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Fall 2007, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Fall 2014, Spring 2017)

Service


Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab	2011-2020
Volunteered here before I worked here; I still volunteer time well above and beyond my regular workload I make sure the Fab Lab stays committed to its mission of Public Engagement – this means the lab will always be an equal balance between community outreach, free public access and services for University research and classes This includes volunteering with the connected community organizations like The Urbana Free Library and Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center for events and workshops
Tap In Leadership Academy	2011-2015
Assisted with various digital literacy workshops, including helping kids to use multimedia equipment to plan, capture and edit video interviews Preliminary summer camp workshops with the CUC Fab Lab, initial off-site mini-fab lab site
New Hope Academy	2012-2013
Wrote and secured a $3000 grant from the City of Champaign to obtain new equipment and hire someone to teach classes Developed and led digital literacy workshops (creating videogames, learning computer hardware), rebuilt and setup two computer labs (hardware, software, network, policy)
Community Informatics Club (video overview)	2008-2012
Conducted numerous volunteer and education projects in collaboration with community groups in Champaign county, East St. Louis, and Chicago The club was key to forming and retaining the Urbana Free Library technology volunteers, conducted workshops like Storytelling in [stop] Motion Collaboration with the Urbana Independent Media Center - Zine Library, Books2Prisoners, WRFU Awarded a $2500 grant by UIUC student affairs for outstanding, cutting-edge community service
Various other clubs and organizations at the University of Illinois	2003-2013
Eclectic Design and Research Group, 2011-2013 Social Informatics Reading Groups, 2011-2012 GSLIS Action and Town Hall organization group, 2011 Research Writing Group, 2010-2011 Association of Undergraduate Sociologists, 2003-2008 Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, 2005-2007 Beckwith Hall Training and Web Accessibility, Spring 2006 Avalanche alternatives to drinking weekend program, 2004-2005
I am also an Eagle Scout. I renovated a bird sanctuary to make it accessible again back in 2002.

Notable Publications and Presentations

Presentations

Lane, H.C., Ginger. J. (2020). "Interest, Play and Learner Engagement." Public lecture and podcast at Ateneo University in the Philippines, 02.2020

Ginger, J. (2019). "Makerspaces, Education and Libraries in the US." Speaking on behalf of the US State Department at the Trends in Libraries Conference, State Scientific Library in Banská Bystrica, 05.2019

Ginger, J. (2019). "Research and Education with the CU Community Fab Lab." Beckman Curious and Eclectic Speaker Series. Beckman Institute, 03.2019

Ginger, J., Bievenue, L. (2018). "Research Models and Methods to Assess Learning Outcomes in Makerspaces in Formal and Informal Education Settings" iSchool Research Showcase, UIUC, 10.2018

Ginger, J., Choate, C. (2018). "The CU Community Fab Lab and The Urbana Free Library." A presentation for the Rotary Club, Clark-Lindsey Retirement Community, 05.2018

Ginger, J. (2017). "It's not DIY. It's DIWO: do it with others." PechaKucha @ Pygmalion Festival 2017. Location 51 Main, 09.2017

Chan, A.S., Ginger, J. (2017). "Design Research: The Space of Design Research." Erlanger House, University of Illinois, Design Research Initiative, 04.2017

Ginger, J., Linder, S., Silverman, D. (2017). "Curriculum at the Fab Lab." Teaching with Technology Seminar Series, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, UIUC, 02.2017

Ginger, J. (2016). “Beyond DILP: Metacognitive Strategies for Learning and Design Center Public Engagement.” University of Illinois Extension Annual Conference, UIUC, 10.2016

Ginger, J. (2016). Starting a Small Community Fab Lab. Videos published as a deliverable for the Digital Innovation and Leadership Program, 2016

Ginger, J., Nelson, J. (2016). Fab Labs: Opportunities for Education, Research, Entrepreneurship and Communities Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (abroad), 03.2016.

Ginger, J. (2015). Fab Labs: Opportunities for Education, Research, Entrepreneurship and Communities. University of Costa Rica, 04.2015

Nicholson, S., Ginger, J., Mayer, B. (2013). “Monster or Bust: Enabling Youth through 3D Modeling and Printing.” A presentation in Creating Game-Based Makerspaces, American Library Association Annual Conference, Chicago, 06.2013

Ginger, J. (2012). "Building Capacity for Innovation through a Local Community Fab Lab Network." Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago, 11.2012

Ginger, J. (2012). "User Experience Design." a presentation to the Illinois IDEA organization at UIUC, 10.2012

Ginger, J., McGrath, R. Barrett, B. & McCreary, V. (2012). “Mini Labs: Building Capacity For Innovation through a Local Community Fab Lab Network” Fab8nz (agenda), Wellington, New Zealand 2012.

Ginger, J. (2011). "Fostering Digital Literacies with Storytelling in [Stop] Motion", GSLIS in a Flash, UIUC, 10.2011

Ginger, J. (2009). "The São Tomé Map Project: Empowering People through Geographic Information Systems, GIS Fair 2009, UIUC, 12.2009

Ginger, J. (2009). "Uncovering Racism on Facebook", a follow-up, a presentation to DTC 475 at Washington State University, Vancouver, 07.2009

Haythornthwaite, C., Twidale, M., Ginger, J. (2009). "Facebook and Ubiquitous Learning" HASTAC conference 2009, UIUC, 04.2009

Ginger, J. (2008). "Web2.0 Resources and the Digital Divide: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly", presentation to the Mortenson Center Associates, UIUC, 10.2008

Ginger, J. (2007). "The Facebook Project: Social Capital and the Chief." Ethnography of the University Initiative Student Conference, UIUC, 11.2007

Posters

Guerrero, B., Lane, H.C., Ginger, J., Lawson, W., Mattson, E. (2021). "Integrating computational thinking and science learning in Minecraft." Technology, Mind and Society Conference, online, 11.2021.

Lane, H.C., Comins, N., Perez-Gallego, J., Condon, D., Gadbury, M., Ginger, J. (2021). "WHIMC: Inspiring and Strengthening STEM Interest with Games and Informal Learning Environments." Advanced Informal STEM Learning annual PI conference, online, 10.2021

CU Community Fab Lab Road Show, numerous dates, events and locations, 2014-2019

Ginger, J., Butt, E., Kumaran, A. (2019). "Iterative Learning With Lithophane Light Boxes." FabLearn 2019, New York, 03.2019

Ginger, J., Israel, M., Teasdale, R., Bievenue, L., Linder, S., Bentz, J. (2016) “Towards a Progressive Model for Metacognitive Strategies and Makerspace Learning.” iSchool Research Showcase, UIUC, 10.2016

Ginger, J. (2019). "The Digital Innovation Leadership Program (DILP)", GSLIS Research Showcase, UIUC, 04.2015

Ginger, J. (2019). "Service Roles, Community Engagement and Digital Literacies: A qualitative study of Illinois Public Libraries in Underserved Communities." GSLIS Research Showcase, UIUC, 03.2014

Ginger, J. (2019). "Champaign Urbana Community Fab Lab." Public Engagement Symposium, UIUC, 03.2014

Ginger, J. (2019). "The Local Fab Lab Network as Community Informatics: Avenues for LIS-oriented Inquiry." GSLIS Research Showcase, UIUC, 03.2013

Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab: Community MiniLabs, Public Engagement Symposium, UIUC, 02.2012

GSLIS Student Community Engagement 2012, Public Engagement Symposium, UIUC, 04.2012

Enabling Spatial Data Infrastructure Development: Collaboration, Supportive Web Technologies and São Tomé, iSchools iConference 2011, Seattle, 01.2011

Community Informatics Club, Public Engagement Symposium, UIUC, 04.2011

Exploring Methods in Community Informatics, iSchools iConference 2010, UIUC, 02.2010

Academic Workshops

Lane, H.C., Ginger, J. (2020). "WHIMC collaboration with ALLS and Arete." Professional development workshop for Ateneo University in the Philippines, 02.2020

Ginger, J. (2018). "Minecraft 3D Printing for Teachers." Professional development workshop for University of Illinois Extension Teacher Tuesdays event, Fulton-Mason-Peoria-Tazewell Unit, Peoria, IL, 04.2018

Ginger, J., Serbanuta, C. (2017). "Storytelling with Quantitative & Qualitative Evaluation Methods." Presentation for the Mortenson Center Moldovan Librarian Associates, UIUC, 07.2017

Linder, S., Ginger, J., and Nelson, J. (2016). “Arduino Powered Pom Pom Robots for Fun and Learning.” Fab Learn Conference, Palo Alto, 10.2016

Twidale, M., Ginger, J. Organisciak, P., Floyd, I., Smith, B. (2013). “Tech Learning Potluck” and “Design Jams in iSchools: Approaches, and examples,” iSchools iConference 2013, Fort Worth, 02.2013

Twidale, M., Ginger, J. Organisciak, P., Floyd, I. (2012). “Design Jam Session: Approaches, Challenges and Examples,” iSchools iConference 2012, Toronto, 02.2012

Papers

Lane, H. C., Yi, S., Gadbury, M., Ginger, J., Comins, N., Henhapl, J. (accepted for 2022). Triggering interest with Minecraft: Effects of a hybrid summer camp on STEM interest and engagement. Technology, Mind, and Behavior: Innovations in Remote Instruction.

Lee C., Samuel N., Israel M., Arnett H., Bievenue L., Ginger, J., Perry, M. (2020) "Understanding Instructional Challenges and Approaches to Including Middle School Students with Disabilities in Maker activities: A cross-case analysis." FabLearn 2020, Columbia University, New York

Ginger, J. (2015). "Capturing the context of digital literacy: a case study of Illinois public libraries in underserved communities." Dissertation. Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS

Ginger, J. (2009). “Storytelling in [Stop] Motion.” VO[I]CES, 2(1), 9. Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS

Ginger, J. (2008). "The Facebook Project - The Missing Box: The Racial Politics Behind the Facebook Interface." Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS. First follow-up, second follow-up

Ginger, J. (2008). "The Facebook Project - Social Capital and the Chief." Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS

Ginger, J. (2008). “Digital Divide 2.0: African American Communities and Library Resources in Illinois" Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS

LoDolce, K., Ayad, M., Ginger, J., McCauley, S., Thompson, A., Williams, K., Jamali, B. (2008). “Prairienet and community networking: An annotated bibliography.” Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS

Grants

Core Personnel on Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) - National Science Foundation (2017-2023) “Fostering Enduring Interest in STEM through Exoplanet Education and Interactive Exploration and Creation of Potentially Habitable Worlds” #1713609 & #1906873, with Principle Investigator H. C. Lane, Co-PI's N. Comins and J. Perez-Gallego - $299,949 and $2,738,242

Core Personnel on STEM + Computing (STEMC) - National Science Foundation (2019-2022) “Cultivating Creativity to Integrate Computation and Science Problem Solving in Informal Learning” #1934087, with Principle Investigator H. C. Lane - $530,459

Principle Investigator on Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12) - National Science Foundation (2017-2019) “Project MAPLE: MAkerspaces Promoting Learning and Engagement.” In collaboration with Maya Israel (Co-PI) and Lisa Bievenue (Co-PI), awarded $669,253

Advisory board and instruction on Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) - National Science Foundation (2017-2019) “Fostering Interest in Science through Interactive Exploration of Astronomy What-If Simulations.” In collaboration with H. Chad Lane (PI), Neil Comins (Co-PI) and Jorge Perez-Gallego (Co-PI), awarded $299,949

UC2B Community Benefit Fund (2017-19) - Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center Teen Tech Learning Lab. In collaboration with Janice Mitchel and Jared Dunn, awarded $24,410

Illinois Learning Sciences Design Initiative (ILSDI) Seed Funding Program (2015-2016) - “Making a difference: Project based approaches to STEM engagement in Middle School.” In collaboration with Emma Mercier (PI), Sharlene Denos, Barbara Hug and University High School staff, awarded $37,000

Advisor for Makers UIUC - CU Make, winners of the 2016 Chancellor’s Public Engagement Student Fellows Award. In collaboration with Joey Lund, Sophia Pipathsouk, Cameron Alberg, Lawrence Elizter and Isak Massman, awarded $825

The Chancellor’s Public Engagement Student Fellow Award (2015) for Open-Source Makerspace Curriculum, in collaboration with The Urbana Free Library. Awarded $1500.

Department of Economic Opportunity and Commerce – Eliminate the Digital Divide (2014-2015). “Digital Literacy for ALL.” In collaboration with Martin Wolske (PI), Lisa Bievenue and the Center for Digital Inclusion, awarded $106,000

University of Illinois Extension and Outreach Initiative – Enhancing Economic Development in Illinois with Digital Tech Hub Creativity Studios. “Digital Innovation and Leadership Program.” In collaboration with Jon Gant (PI), Lisa Bievenue and the Center for Digital Inclusion, awarded $300,000

City of Champaign Digital Divide Grant (2012). Written in collaboration with Reverend Nash of New Hope Academy, Champaign in collaboration with UC2B outreach operations, awarded $3000

Community Informatics Initiative Grant for the Institution of Museum and Library Services (2009). Assistance with reporting in collaboration with Sharon Irish

Technical Summary

Rapid fabrication and modeling: Netfabb, Cura,Simplify3D, Meshmixer, Blender, Sculptris, TinkerCAD, AGIsoft, Arduino and many sensors, Silhouette Studio, SewArt, CNC routing and 3D scanning/printing packages, various tool drivers and interfaces
Programming: Java on IntelliJ with Maven and Gradle, Github, open source game modifications (Minecraft, Lua, etc) – and a few years ago ArcGIS, Google Maps API, VisualStudio, C++, Drupal, Omeka, Wikimedia
Web Development: Responsive HTML(5), CSS(3), JavaScript, php, MySQL, FTP, Apache, Dreamweaver, Wordpress, Emmet, UIkit framework
Graphics and AV: Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator; Canva, Vis.me, Figma, Inkscape, iMovie, Cakewalk Sonar(DAW), a variety of MIDI softsynths, wave editors, and vocal adjustment
Hardware: Extensive experience evaluating, building and repairing computers, tablets, cell phones and peripherals(i.e. printers, scanners) of all kinds as well as most kinds of makerspace equipment, like lasers and 3D printers
Networking: Wireless and wired network administration, cloud and VM solutions, small-scale server applications
Office: Adobe Acrobat Pro, MS Office 365, Sharepoint, Google suite, Monday.com, Clickup, Zoom, Slack, WebEx
Security: Virus prevention, password management,automated backup and image-based lab management
OS: Comfortable using Windows, OSX, Ubuntu, iOS, and Android, various simple scripting and command line

“Soft” Skills – often related to the above

User experience / interaction / information design, usability testing and accessibility (design)
Rapid prototyping and phased-fabrication for varied applications (invention)
Teaching, leadership and organization (people management)
Qualitative and quantitative social science research techniques (market studies)
Critical sociology and divergent thinking skills (cultural studies)
Editing, production and promotion (storytelling)
Context-based writing, speech and graphic design (communication)

Full Bio

From 2014-2020 Jeff Ginger was a Program Coordinator with the Illinois Informatics Institute and Adjunct Instructor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His work included aspects of all three missions of the University of Illinois: public engagement, teaching and research. Jeff draws upon a robust technical, multimedia and social science background, accented by teaching and organizational leadership, and first earned his rabble-rousing reputation as a result of activist research on structural racism as observed on Facebook. His doctoral scholarship and teaching was primarily situated in social and community informatics: deciphering the discourse and effects of the digital divide and Web2.0, critical pedagogy in technology education and contextualized study of human-computer interaction. Jeff’s dissertation focused specifically on the investigation of how public libraries foster digital literacies through community engagement, which ultimately led him to his current work as the director of the Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab, where he lent a critical but optimistic perspective to the study and implementation of makerspaces, particularly by tackling some of its most key challenges, such as cultivating and supporting diversity, a prerequisite to innovation, and sustainably establishing capacity-building technology education services in collaboration with underserved communities.