Digital Commons Network^™

Using Web 2.0 Tools Such As Google Apps In Library Instruction Sessions With Non-Traditional Students, Alyssa Martin, Jana Slay, Kent Snowden

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

Much has been written about traditional undergraduate students and their familiarity with Web 2.0 tools. But how “tech savvy” are non-traditional students? How can tools such as Google Apps be used in library instruction with these students?

Troy University Montgomery Campus serves an especially diverse student body; roughly two-thirds are adult, non-traditional students (average age of 28). Librarians on this campus surveyed students in library instruction classes to find out their knowledge and use of Web 2.0 technologies such as social networking, image and video sharing, collaborative authoring tools, communication tools, social games/spaces and blogs. Survey results show that many …

Treading New Paths: How Creative Collaboration Transformed Teaching The Research Process To Usc Upstate’S First-Year Students, Andrew Kearns

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

What are the special needs of first-year students in learning the research process? How will students come to see information literacy as a process rather than a set of discrete skills? What research and information literacy skills need to be intentionally taught in the classroom and library instruction sessions? How do we as librarians make sure that our instruction session fits organically into the course of which it is ostensibly a part? At USC Upstate, we have addressed these questions through creation of our First-Year Information Literacy Program in three first-year courses, involving creative collaboration between the library, the University …

Instruction 2.0: Engaging Students And Faculty Through Course Wikis, Kristine Esch Kasbohm, Hazel A. Mcclure

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

Merriam-Webster online defines a "wiki" as "a Web site that allows visitors to make changes, contributions, or corrections". Librarians at Canisius College have used a variety of web-based collaborative resources such as wikis, Google applications, and Angel course management software to improve student engagement and faculty interest in information literacy instruction. These collaborative resources offer instructional support beyond the one-shot session in the library. They also provide an avenue for librarians to interact with students and faculty.

We have used wikis in several different ways. When students do not completely understand something discussed in the library session, or when they …

Training The Conductor: Providing Professional Development For Duke University Instruction Librarians, Courtney Mack

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

Duke University Instruction & Outreach department has created a programmatic module to provide instruction librarians continuous opportunities to strengthen and enhance their teaching and information literacy skills. Initially began as monthly meetings that were attended by few, has blossomed into a year-long of engaging programs that are attended by anyone within the library system interested in instruction. With pedagogy, teaching strategies, active learning, faculty collaboration and assessment serving as the overall themes of this module, these opportunities contributed to the quality of library instruction provided at Duke. This presentation session will detail the planning and collaborative efforts of the Instruction …

From Candy To Clickers: Interactive Activities To Involve Students In Library Instruction, Randy Christensen, Richard Eissinger

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

This highly interactive session will demonstrate teaching strategies through the use of educational gaming, audience response systems, and interactive online tools to engage students and add interest and excitement to library instruction. Educational gaming activities will range from large group interactive games useful as ice-breakers to small group activities to encourage concept brainstorming. The presenters will discuss reasons for using gaming activities, techniques for creating games, and how to improve student engagement. Clickers, an audience response system, will be used to demonstrate how this technology can be used as an ice-breaker, to improve attentiveness, to confirm student understanding, and to …

Help Us Help Them: Instruction Training For Lis Students And New Librarians, Amanda Click, Claire Walker

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

The online tutorial has emerged as a ubiquitous representation of information literacy (IL) instruction and often is the visible face of IL programs. Tutorials have been evaluated primarily in relation to criteria of instruction. This presentation asks new questions: Does the tutorial reflect the library's goals and mission for information literacy? Does it do what we say we will do in our mission? The presentation details the process and provides graphic results of the in-depth evaluation of one library’s mission and tutorial. The audience will be asked to participate in an analysis of a library’s mission statement and online tutorial. …

The Path To Assessing Library Instruction: Using Project Management Techniques To Guarantee Results, Lesley Brown

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

As librarians begin to search for methods of assessing library instruction, they may feel overwhelmed and unsure of which path to take. A common problem is finding a sustainable method of assessment that can be easily realized. This presentation will detail one librarian’s experience using project management techniques to successfully propose and implement the use of an audience response system (clickers) to assess library instruction at Michigan State University. Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. The primary challenge of project management is to …

Taming The Research Paper, Robert Matthews, Sushmita Chatterji

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

The first-year college student’s approach to a research paper assignment can be similar to that of a wild bucking horse loose in a pasture. Librarians and classroom faculty members, on the other side of the fence, find it their role to corral these wild horses. During this experiential workshop, Hudson Valley Community College “horse whisperers,” Robert Matthews from the Marvin Library and Sushmita Chatterji from the English Department will demonstrate successful partnership techniques developed to assist students in taming these mustangs.

Developing An Online Credit-Bearing Information Fluency Course: Lessons Learned, Rebecca Blakiston, Yvonne Mery, Leslie Sult

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

This presentation will focus on the University of Arizona Libraries’ development and implementation of its first online one-credit information fluency course, the Skillful Researcher. This course is taught entirely online and has allowed the Library to reach new students who have little experience with the Library and its resources. The presentation will be aimed at librarians who are currently planning their own online or credit-bearing courses. Attendees will learn how we developed the course from its inception to its evaluation and how they can avoid the same mistakes and pitfalls in their own development.

Utilizing Students Employees As An Alternative Means Of Providing Library Instruction, Stephanie M. Mathson, Joyce Salisbury

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

In tough financial times, library administrators want to keep expenditures down while offering outstanding services to and maintaining good public relations with patrons. In order to accommodate requests for tours and library instruction from non-university groups, we have Reference Public Support student assistants provide such services. Our presentation will outline the procedures we use to prepare the student employees to do this work, as well as the skills our students gain through it. We will also discuss the benefits for high school and community college students.

Having veteran student assistants conduct tours and library instruction sessions for non-CMU students extends …

Function Before Form: Designing The Ideal Library Classroom, Diane Dallis, Carrie Donovan

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

At Indiana University-Bloomington, the libraries house many rooms that are used for instructional purposes, but none represents the characteristics of an ideal learning environment. In order to address the growing instructional needs of the IUB libraries and the lack of appropriate space in which to provide IL instruction, the libraries created a committee that was charged with making recommendations for new library classrooms. The group started this task by conducting a literature review on the concepts of classroom design and best practices. Finding surprisingly little research or practical information published about classroom design with which to guide them, the committee …

Assessing One-Shot Instruction: Using Post-Assignment Evaluations To Build Better Assignments, Jennie E. Callas

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

As instruction librarians, teaching is the focus of our job, and evaluations of our teaching effectiveness should contribute to discussions of our overall performance. Traditional course evaluations are used by faculty who spend full semesters with students, but how can we evaluate teaching effectiveness in one-shot sessions? Freshman English students at R-MC evaluate library instruction AFTER they turn in the annotated bibliography assignment the instruction targets. The evaluation, which was developed in part because the original assignment was unsuited to the library’s resources and tools, enables students to reflect on their completion of the assignment and to evaluate teaching effectiveness …

Building And Designing Bridges - Enabling Bilingual Academic Learning Experiences, Eileen K. Bosch, Valeria E. Molteni

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

Attendees will have an opportunity to learn and discuss with two librarians from California State University System about the challenges and issues experienced in implementing bilingual services in reference and instructional sessions to bilingual speaking students on their campuses. In addition, attendees will be able to learn about a strong partnership developed between both librarians as well as empowering a curriculum relationship with faculty in Foreign and Romance Languages Departments. Presenters will also address how to create an ambiance of support to first generation students who often experience a lack of confidence necessary to be academically successful.

After the presentation, …

Wiki-Ing Your Wat Into Collaborative Learning, Molly Beestrum, Kenneth Orenic

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

Information Literacy and Library Instruction literature has touted the benefits of collaborative learning for years. Wikis have added a new dimension to the process of student collaborative learning. This interactive session will demonstrate how quickly and easily librarians can create classroom assignments that engage students, generate immediate results, promote collaboration, and reinforce learning objectives all through the use of a wiki.

Session participants will: * Examine the connection between collaborative or active-learning activities in library instruction and student learning outcomes, * Discuss the ways in which newer technologies, particularly wikis, can facilitate these connections, * Develop practical applications for the …

Library Instruction And Student Engagement In The Age Of Google, William H. Weare Jr., Michelle Kowalsky

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

A typical library instruction session generally includes demonstrations of how to use the library catalog, how to access information via library-provided electronic resources, and how to use the electronic journal list. Given limited time with a new group of students, many librarians would not opt to include instruction on how to effectively and efficiently use a search engine. The 2006 OCLC report College Students’ Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources indicates that “that 89 percent of college student information searches begin with a search engine." Librarians should also consider beginning their library instruction sessions at the place where their students …

We Go Together: An Information Literacy/English Composition Learning Community, Val Ontell

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

A Librarian and an English Professor combined their Community College classes into a learning community. Unlike most such collaborations, the two classes were scheduled back-to-back, blending their syllabi into one. The class was conducted as an integrated whole, with Information Literacy components scattered throughout the semester to facilitate learning the material at the most opportune time within the English curriculum. Greater student success resulted. This PowerPoint presentation will cover insights gained in collaborating with another faculty member to create a learning community, obstacles that may arise, and why this can be successful. Information handouts will be provided.

The Tablet Pc: Cool Toy Or Useful Tool?, Sara D. Miller

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

The tablet PC, or convertible laptop computer, is a relatively new technology - the potential of which is still being tested in the field of education and in libraries. This presentation will provide a brief overview of available tablets, evaluate some of their current uses in libraries and education, and demonstrate how a tablet PC is currently being used during information literacy sessions at Michigan State University. Participants will discuss the tablet’s potential uses in information literacy and will walk away with ideas, information, and best practices for incorporating this new technology into library instruction.

Improving Teaching And Learning Through Instructional Partnerships: Building Librarian Relationships With One-On-One, In-Depth Conversations, Rebecca Payne, Sheila Stoeckel

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

How can librarians work to improve their teaching and student learning and build relationships and community? One solution at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries is the creation of an Instructional Partnerships Program. The Program enables librarians to work on individual instructional goals with the help of a partner. Partner librarians help each other improve their teaching through self-directed activities of reflection, discussion, and observation. Presenters will discuss how the Program was developed and how partnerships are currently helping librarians improve their teaching skills and build supportive relationships with colleagues. With input from attendees, presenters will consider how the Program might …

Constructing A Three Credit Hour Information Literacy Course: A Blueprint For Success, Anne Pemberton, Rachel Radom

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2008

Instruction Librarians from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) will describe their creation, design, and teaching of a three credit hour undergraduate course that focuses on the development of information literacy skills. The course, “LIB 103: Introduction to Library Research and Technology”, is required for UNCW’s Information Technology minor, which is offered by the university’s Department of Computer Science. This interdisciplinary course exposes students to aspects of media literacy, critical thinking, information evaluation, research skills, various information technologies, and current issues in the information age. The challenges of creating such a course from the ground up will be discussed. …