Enhancing Library Instruction to Undergraduates: Incorporating Online Tutorials into the Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Librarians can replace or supplement traditional in-class instruction with course-specific online tutorials. The literature demonstrates how tutorials customized for specific courses are more beneficial than tutorials on basic research skills. Many authors discuss creating online tutorials but do not design one devoted to a specific course. With increasing demand for instruction services, online tutorials can ease staffing concerns prevalent at many libraries and otherwise enhance the quality of instruction and its application to varied learning styles. Using the Blackboard course management system, the authors created an online tutorial tailored to the required World Civilizations course at the University at Buffalo. The tutorial incorporated elements of successful online tutorials described in the literature: clear terminology, a quiz for self-assessment, opportunities for active learning, and individual e-mail feedback between students and librarians, and applied them to a specific course. The authors discuss student and librarian reaction to the tutorial and make recommendations for how the tutorial can be improved and implemented in everyday instruction services.     

互联网思维下的在线课堂设计要素分析——以“数据分析”课程为例

[目的/意义] 旨在探究能够契合"网络一代"自主探究学习模式的在线课堂教学及课程设计方式。[方法/过程] 以"数据分析"课程为例,选取TED-Ed和中国大学视频公开课这两类具有代表性的在线课堂进行对比分析,调查发现互联网思维对于在线课堂的影响是深刻的。[结果/结论] 在面向"网络一代"的在线课堂设计中应以学生的需求为中心,以学生的学习为主体,围绕知识单元和主题,以扁平化方式组织教学资源,创建互动在线学习环境及符合其学习需要的课程内容和课程结构。     

Preparing for Practice: Strengthening Third-Year Medical Students’ Awareness of Point-of-Care Resources

This column describes the development and implementation of a responsive library course designed to train third-year medical students as they begin their clerkships. The course design consisted of a brief face-to-face introduction during third-year orientation and an online course developed in Canvas, an online learning management system. The objective of the course was to not only introduce students to the resources but also to teach them how to effectively use those resources at the point-of-care. Students evaluated the course to assess the overall effectiveness of the instruction. Course development and content, feedback provided by students, as well as suggestions for improvement are discussed.     

Using the Quality Matters Rubric to Improve Online Cataloging Courses

Quality Matters is a program that certifies online and hybrid courses. For a course to earn Quality Matters certification, it must meet eight standards of online course design and pass a rigorous peer-review process. In fall 2008, this author's online Cataloging and Classification course went through the Quality Matters peer-review process and was awarded Quality Matters certification. It is the only cataloging course in the nation to earn this certification. The author's Quality Matters peer-review process is discussed as is the potential of the Quality Matters rubric to improve online cataloging courses.     

Collaboration between Library,Faculty, and Instructional Design to Increase All Open Educational Resources for Curriculum Development and Delivery

ABSTRACT

Students at universities spend an average of $1,250 yearly on textbooks and course materials. Can a collaboration between the Library and the Instructional Design Department create value for student populations by incorporating OER into the course development process? This is a case study of one University with a large online and distributed network with controls over the course design, timeline and curriculum delivered by the faculty. This University’s team tested whether the entire course could be designed in a scalable format using OERs collaborating with a librarian to organize the resources so students will have ready access to OER every time the course is offered. The result was an internal recommendation on structuring collaboration with the Library and course developers and presentation of the selected OERs in the Learning Management System. The result explored how adopting OERs redesigned course assignments and assessments in courses and fostered the development of original OERs in discipline-specific topics and content. The impact was a greater use of library resources by faculty and students and an economic impact to the student who does not have to purchase costly course materials. This process also supported course authentic assessment creation that are not dependent upon paid resources.     

Creating a Research Literacy Course for Education Doctoral Students

Abstract

Education students are often not very information literate, and doctoral students are no exception to this “rule of thumb.” The challenge of preparing doctoral students in education to use online resources as they begin the literature review process becomes even more complicated when these students are also distance students who happen to meet at various sites throughout the United States. This presentation will discuss the pros and cons of designing and delivering online and face-to-face versions of a one-credit elective course for students in Programs for Higher Education at Nova Southeastern University. The advantages and disadvantages of delivering content in synchronous and asynchronous formats are examined. Issues addressed include: (1) the relative merits of using WebCT versus using ordinary Web pages and WebBoard discussions, (2) how to incorporate active learning into both modalities for delivering the course, (3) how to pace and structure the delivery of both versions of the course to meet the needs of distance learners, (4) how to meet the needs of students with different learning styles, (5) how to assess learning outcomes, (6) how effective group work was in synchronous and asynchronous environments, (7) how much sequential and developmental learning is necessary in the instructional process for doctoral students, and (8) how the dynamics of collaboration with an academic program can impact the political realities of the design process.     

基于项目课程的“文献检索”网络课程设计

针对现阶段文献检索网络课程教学中存在的问题,提出将项目课程法引入文献检索网络课程的教学,着重论述了基于项目课程的文献检索网络课程的教学设计以及结构和功能方面的设计思想,并简述构建网络课程的关键技术。     

Building BRYT: A Case Study in Developing an Online Toolkit to Promote Business Information Literacy in Higher Education

This paper highlights the design and development process that two academic business librarians employed to create an online toolkit of eLearning supports for business students. After receiving funding from their institution’s internal teaching innovation fund, they hired and worked with two eLearning design companies to produce the toolkit. The toolkit includes videos and PDF resources that show students how to retrieve specialized resources for key business research tasks. The librarians undertook this project to increase the online business information literacy offerings at their university and better support their institution’s diverse commuter, distance, and part-time student population. To develop a student-centered toolkit, the librarians used a curriculum mapping exercise, online surveying, focus groups, usability tests, and a student review group. They also adapted the ADDIE instructional design model and consulted adult learning theory to develop a series of micro-learning supports that were relevant and useful for undergraduate and graduate business students.     

Creating Interactive Online Instruction: The McGoogan Library Experience

Online instruction is a hot topic at academic medical centers. Seizing the opportunity to join the online movement at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), the McGoogan Library created an open access course made up of six learning modules. The modules addressed three issues: 1) supplementing one-shot library instruction, 2) offering opportunity for instruction when a librarian is not embedded in a course, and 3) showcasing the library as an online instruction supporter. This article discusses the planning process, technology used, how the modules were received, and how this initial project increased McGoogan Library's involvement in the UNMC online movement.     

Writing as an Information Literacy Tool: Bringing Writing in the Disciplines to an Online Library Class

ABSTRACT

The Writing in the Discipline (WID) concepts lend themselves to execution in an online realm, where written communication is the primary means of contact between students and instructors. The author instituted WID in an online section of a 1-credit research class and found the WID framework also made it easier for students to demonstrate information literacy. WID provides space within a course for students to become accustomed to the discourse of a discipline, writing to understand before being asked to formally communicate. This article explains the concepts behind WID and outlines how it was executed within an urban community college online class.     

New Ways of Looking and Learning in Natural History Museums: The Use of Gigapixel Imaging to Bring Science and Publics Together

This article describes a series of demonstration projects that use multiscalar gigapixel image technology to iteratively design, test, and study how visitors learn to observe more scientifically in museums, online, and through museum‐based programming. We consider how the particular affordances of systems like these can move science communication and learning from didactic approaches centered on one‐way communication toward technology platforms that encourage shared observation, dialogue, and engagement.     

When Faculty Behave Like Students

ABSTRACT

Each semester, the instructional designers at the University of Central Florida facilitate an innovative course for faculty only. IDL 6543 is an eight-week professional development course that prepares faculty to teach online.

IDL 6543 models how to teach online using a combination of seminars, labs, consultations, and Web-based instruction. A librarian was typically invited to a lab session to present information about the library's online resources. Because there was so much information, this portion of the course was migrated to the online environment in the fall semester of 2004. The in-person presentation was transformed into an online learning module for the faculty to read and participate in at their own pace.

This poster session will address collaborating with instructional designers, creating an online module of library information aimed at teaching faculty, moderating a faculty discussion of library resources, and comparing the in-person training session with an online module.     

Collaborative Learning in an Information Literacy Course: The Impact of Online Versus Face-to-face Instruction on Social Metacognitive Awareness

Metacognition and social metacognition play important roles in information literacy, online learning, and collaborative learning. This study examines how students rated themselves in both metacognitive and social metacognitive awareness after a collaborative project in an information literacy course offered face-to-face and online. Students in the face-to-face version of the course rated themselves as having higher social metacognitive awareness, though metacognitive awareness scores were similar. Because of this finding, this article makes recommendations for improving collaboration online for information literacy instruction.     

Mapping Uncharted Territory: Launching an Online Embedded Librarian Program

ABSTRACT

Developing a strategy for embedding librarians in online courses can be challenging, but it is essential to demonstrate to accrediting agencies how libraries serve online students. A well-thought-out plan can be scalable and sustainable for rapidly growing online programs and can satisfy accreditation standards. This article examines how one small, liberal arts college developed a plan of action for an online embedded librarian program, including both the conceptual and practical aspects of launching the program: aligning library instruction with course and program learning outcomes, brainstorming strategies for embedded library instruction, and communicating the value of such a program to online teaching faculty.     

Connecting: Adding an affective domain to the information intents theory

The information intents theory strives to explain how and why information is used. In this research the theory was used to discover what happens when online LIS graduate students exchange and use information in threaded discussions. The primary source of data was 33 discussion threads, in which students exhibited cognitive and affective intents and were influenced by their instructor's immediacy in the online classroom. This research provides insight for LIS education, instructional design, and other disciplines that utilize distance education technologies.     

The roles of ingroup identification and implicit bias in assessing the effectiveness of an online diversity education program

ABSTRACT

Diversity education is increasingly recognized as important to the health of a university, however, little empirical work has examined the intergroup processes at play and the effectiveness of online diversity education on college students. This research utilized a repeated-measures mixed factorial design to examine the implicit and explicit effects of online diversity education delivered at a large public university during the course of a semester. The study design was informed by intergroup contact, social identity, and computer-mediated communication research. Findings contribute to theorizing about intergroup processes in the reception of and learning from diversity education and point to practical avenues for employing online diversity education in higher education. Recommendations are made for practitioners interested in designing and delivering diversity training online in an interactive learning environment.     

‘Today and more than ever,I FEEL LIKE A RESEARCHER’: successful online learning collaborations between librarians and a Graduate School

This article describes the development and delivery of an online module at the University of Nottingham on the literature review process. In particular, it discusses how academic librarians collaborated with researcher developers at the Graduate School at the University to deliver a highly successful online learning experience for students. The article provides an overview of the course, a discussion on the experiences of both the tutors and participants involved, concentrating specifically on those in Medicine and Health Sciences. Details about future international collaborations and development of the course are also provided.     

Web 2.0 and Information Literacy Instruction: Aligning Technology with ACRL Standards

The purpose of this article is to report on how Web 2.0 tools in an online information literacy instruction course aligned with ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. A qualitative case study was undertaken on an online graduate course related to information literacy instruction. Data collected included: course activities, assignments, emails, online discussions, and surveys. The educational theory of constructivism and its adherence to reflection, active learning, and social interaction was used to find patterns in the data. Activity theory provided a framework for data analysis and interpretation related to the patterns of activities that took place while students used each Web 2.0 tool. Web 2.0 was found to enhance all five information literacy standards. These standards related to collaboration, information organization, creativity, discussion, and technology education.     

Leveraging Learning Outcomes to Build an Online Information Literacy Tool

This exploratory study applies reflective practice to analyze the role of learning outcomes in developing an online information literacy tutorial. [web address] is a set of ten open access modules that build graduate-level academic literacies and research skills. At the heart of the modules is a set of rigorously crafted learning outcomes that provide the foundational structure on which the self-paced tool is built. Using Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, this study traces how learning outcomes framed an iterative four-stage design process. Drawing on these findings, we offer considerations for teams developing online learning tools for information literacy and research skills.     

Going mental: Tackling mental models for the online library tutorial

Online instructional design is a relatively new field for librarians. Many librarians have taken on the challenge of creating online library tutorials without the benefit of formal education and training in the field. Librarians can learn much from research in system design, human–computer interaction, and applied psychology, as it relates to the creation of online learning systems. Researchers in these areas believe that people approach online learning systems by making use of a conceptual—or mental—model of the system. Designers' mental models influence the way they create learning systems; students' mental models affect the way they interact with and learn from the system. This article compares and contrasts the mental models of librarians and students as they relate to online library tutorials. These mental models are examined through a review of existing library tutorials, usability studies on various library tutorials, and student interviews about the research and writing process. Analysis of these models demonstrates how undergraduates' mental models vary, often significantly, from the mental models of the librarians who design the online library tutorials. Interpretations of this analysis identify ways in which to design a tutorial for more effective instruction aimed at the undergraduate.