We are testing out Polleverywhere.com to use as an activity with our Freshman Orientation.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Interesting article on assessment
Our Assistant Vice President (library director) forwarded me this article recently: What Are They Learning? Pre- and Post-Assessment Surveys for Libr 1100, Introduction to Library Research" by Jon Robert Hufford. It's from College and Research Libraries preprint articles page, which incidentally has a feed.
It's an article about the experience of a group of Texas Tech librarians who administered a pre- and post-test to their library research course. Although our situation is a bit different in several significant ways, I found it very helpful, and very much wish I might have had a chance to read it before we got started in our assessment efforts.
It's an article about the experience of a group of Texas Tech librarians who administered a pre- and post-test to their library research course. Although our situation is a bit different in several significant ways, I found it very helpful, and very much wish I might have had a chance to read it before we got started in our assessment efforts.
- Elapsed time--from what I understand, they tested their students at the beginning and at the end of a semester. In our assessment, we pre- and post-test one shot classes at the beginning and the end of class. Although ours is different, its very illuminating to compare results of a semester-long class as opposed to a 50 minute session.
- There is a useful literature review in the beginning, though elsewhere the author laments the fact that there are not many articles written in the literature on this particular subject, and near the end of the article encourages other people to contribute with their experiences.
They included an analysis of their questions and the responses, which was also highly useful.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Assessment fun with clickers; and mobile phone clickers too
And welcome back from the hiatus--I don't know where the semester went! Please forgive the retro-post, getting back into the saddle and finishing up some of the posts I started and didn't quite publish!
We are continuing to focus on our assessment efforts. We have our big assessment project involving first year English composition students. We crunched the numbers with that and also going forward with revising our tests again. I will save that for a later post, but we did do our first pilot assessment using our Senteo/Synchroneyes clicker software and equipment as part of our continuing efforts to extend assessment into other classes. We are targeting next our Freshman Seminar classes.
I am looking forward to trying this out. I did not personally do the pilot clicker assessment but my colleague indicated that he felt it went very well. It was a simple post-test consisting of three questions, given at the end of the instruction session. I can say that I handled the statistics for the class. Synchroneyes/Senteo has a very decent system for results--they come out in a neat graph with basic statistics like class average and percentage answering correctly in an Excel file.
The only drawback is that the statistics do not appear to be cumulative, and so to extend this to all our other Freshman Seminar classes we'd have to evolve a system to name each Excel file with the name of the librarian, class, and possibly date or time, and then save in a shared folder. And then later if I wanted to add up the statistics for all the students taking that post-test, I would have to combine the Excel files....
If anyone out there has used Synchroneyes/Senteo and has a better approach, please please do let me know!
Another intriguing development is the use of web-based software so mobile phones/smartphones can be used as clickers. (an example would be Polleverywhere) I did a very desultuory search on Google and there were a few links. One of the things that came to mind immediately as a possible use for this technology would be our massively large Freshman Orientation sessions.
The fall orientations usually last 3 days, working about 3000 students in batches throughout the day. We generally show them several videos, and the last few years we have given them a paper "quiz" which we collect at the end of the session. It's quite rough to tabulate so many "quizzes" and so it seems having the students vote on the answers to various simple questions tied to the outcomes for this orientation, with a chart displayed on the big screen of the teaching theater where the orientation sessions happen would bring a welcome sense of interactivity to the library portion.
I am not quite sure given the scale of this orientation, that it might work well, but it's definitely an interesting idea..........:) and one I hope might come to pass eventually.
We are continuing to focus on our assessment efforts. We have our big assessment project involving first year English composition students. We crunched the numbers with that and also going forward with revising our tests again. I will save that for a later post, but we did do our first pilot assessment using our Senteo/Synchroneyes clicker software and equipment as part of our continuing efforts to extend assessment into other classes. We are targeting next our Freshman Seminar classes.
I am looking forward to trying this out. I did not personally do the pilot clicker assessment but my colleague indicated that he felt it went very well. It was a simple post-test consisting of three questions, given at the end of the instruction session. I can say that I handled the statistics for the class. Synchroneyes/Senteo has a very decent system for results--they come out in a neat graph with basic statistics like class average and percentage answering correctly in an Excel file.
The only drawback is that the statistics do not appear to be cumulative, and so to extend this to all our other Freshman Seminar classes we'd have to evolve a system to name each Excel file with the name of the librarian, class, and possibly date or time, and then save in a shared folder. And then later if I wanted to add up the statistics for all the students taking that post-test, I would have to combine the Excel files....
If anyone out there has used Synchroneyes/Senteo and has a better approach, please please do let me know!
Another intriguing development is the use of web-based software so mobile phones/smartphones can be used as clickers. (an example would be Polleverywhere) I did a very desultuory search on Google and there were a few links. One of the things that came to mind immediately as a possible use for this technology would be our massively large Freshman Orientation sessions.
The fall orientations usually last 3 days, working about 3000 students in batches throughout the day. We generally show them several videos, and the last few years we have given them a paper "quiz" which we collect at the end of the session. It's quite rough to tabulate so many "quizzes" and so it seems having the students vote on the answers to various simple questions tied to the outcomes for this orientation, with a chart displayed on the big screen of the teaching theater where the orientation sessions happen would bring a welcome sense of interactivity to the library portion.
I am not quite sure given the scale of this orientation, that it might work well, but it's definitely an interesting idea..........:) and one I hope might come to pass eventually.
Monday, April 20, 2009
ACRL 2009 - the assessment sessions
Hello. I am back with more about some of the sessions I attended at ACRL. The last post was about some useful technology for researching and creative instruction ideas. This post will cover assessment topics that were presented at ACRL 2009 in Seattle.
I attended the Fishing for Information: Using Focus Group Research to Discover Student Perceptions of Library Services and Resources The presenters, Rebecca Byrum and William Wearefrom from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana had 3 volunteers from the audience pretend to be their example focus group to demonstrate the methods used for a focus group study. The presentation was active rather than passive since they were using the same type of questions for the volunteers as they did for their original focus group. The original focus group was conducted to find out what the students needs were in the library.
They pointed out some good things to know when you are planning a focus group study:
- Need to get and oral and written consent from the participants
- Names of participants should not be revealed
- Let participants know that results will be used for presentation
- Make participants feel comfortable, so they will be honest
- Use clear simple questions
- Intro Question
- Transition Question
- Key Question - grade certain characteristics of topic (report card)
- Discussion of report card - Allow participants to drive questions, e.g. "Are there any other categories that you would like to assign a grade to?"
- Open question - "Do you have anything else you want to say or tell us?"
- Ending Questions - Summary, "Have we missed anything?"
More on assessment in the next post.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
ACRL 2009 in Seattle, Washington
It has been about a month since ACRL 2009 in Seattle but spring break was right after the conference and it takes a little time for all that I learn and see to sink in. I thought the conference overall was very well organized and engaging. I was very pleased about the green theme and happy to see the green practices being followed through with during the conference.
The location of the conference was excellent since it was in the beautiful waterfront city of Seattle. I did see the famous Seattle Public Library and was quite amazed and the modern architecture and design of the building. There were many patrons busy using the resources when I went in to tour it. Below is a photo I took of the "Living Room" area on the the 3rd floor of the Seattle Public Library.
I attended a little bit of all the different types of presentations. I saw a couple of Cyber Zed Shed presentations which were 20 minute presentations about how libraries are using different new technologies. Nedra Peterson, the Director of Woodbury Library in Burbank California, had great ideas to make instruction classes more engaging and memorable by using video or audio clips from popular movies or songs that reference research related topics. Her presentation was called Popculture Multi-Media and Library Instruction.
She pointed out that the emotions invoked by the media clips can help students identify with the content you are presenting which will help them remember it better. She mentioned using clips from the movie School of Rock, the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a music clip from a Green Day song. Now hopefully I can keep my eyes and ears open and be as creative as Nedra is about finding research related clips to use for my library instruction classes. Thanks for the great ideas!
Another Cyber Zed Shed presentation I saw was iMacros presented by Todd Quinn at Northern State University. iMacros extension is a very efficient Firefox extension that you can use to create a series of search steps into one click. Or in other words, it is a little program to perform repetitive, multi-step tasks on your browser. Quinn said you could use it as a poor librarians federated search. iMacros that you make can also be bookmarked on your computer or on sites like delicious and shared with others. This handout has a link to the Firefox iMacros extension and other important info to get you started using iMacros. Also, Quinn's LibGuide page at Northern State has a list of other useful tools he has presented about at other conferences. Thanks Todd!
See you all in my next post when I talk about some of the contributed and invited papers as well as panel discussions I attended at the ACRL 2009 conference.
The location of the conference was excellent since it was in the beautiful waterfront city of Seattle. I did see the famous Seattle Public Library and was quite amazed and the modern architecture and design of the building. There were many patrons busy using the resources when I went in to tour it. Below is a photo I took of the "Living Room" area on the the 3rd floor of the Seattle Public Library.
I attended a little bit of all the different types of presentations. I saw a couple of Cyber Zed Shed presentations which were 20 minute presentations about how libraries are using different new technologies. Nedra Peterson, the Director of Woodbury Library in Burbank California, had great ideas to make instruction classes more engaging and memorable by using video or audio clips from popular movies or songs that reference research related topics. Her presentation was called Popculture Multi-Media and Library Instruction.
She pointed out that the emotions invoked by the media clips can help students identify with the content you are presenting which will help them remember it better. She mentioned using clips from the movie School of Rock, the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a music clip from a Green Day song. Now hopefully I can keep my eyes and ears open and be as creative as Nedra is about finding research related clips to use for my library instruction classes. Thanks for the great ideas!
Another Cyber Zed Shed presentation I saw was iMacros presented by Todd Quinn at Northern State University. iMacros extension is a very efficient Firefox extension that you can use to create a series of search steps into one click. Or in other words, it is a little program to perform repetitive, multi-step tasks on your browser. Quinn said you could use it as a poor librarians federated search. iMacros that you make can also be bookmarked on your computer or on sites like delicious and shared with others. This handout has a link to the Firefox iMacros extension and other important info to get you started using iMacros. Also, Quinn's LibGuide page at Northern State has a list of other useful tools he has presented about at other conferences. Thanks Todd!
See you all in my next post when I talk about some of the contributed and invited papers as well as panel discussions I attended at the ACRL 2009 conference.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Interesting Second Life educational activity
Time to play catch up. :) The semester started with a bang! and in the slight break in the business that I have had, I'd like to share an interesting experience I had in Second Life, a month or so ago. In addition to my librarian/IL duties, I am also part of the group developing and steering our Second Life campus. I participated in a test learning activity, designed by one of the other members of our group, Robyn Herry. I have to admit at first I was slightly skeptical, when presented with a scenario that involved the kidnapping of an Avatar character, and then the need to solve several puzzles to get clues to be able to find out where to locate and rescue the kidnapped character.
We were assembled in world, on our Second Life campus, and given the first "clue" which linked us to the evil genius' MySpace page. I was lucky to have the game designer there helping and giving clues, because otherwise it might have been a little too hard for me. But what was fascinating was the use of outside webpages along with the in-world element. This lesson appeared to be about codes and code breaking--I had to figure out to highlight the myspace page to get the code sequence to find out the name of a clue (using the letters of the people on the friends list) , go to another website, and use the decoded phase as a password to get the next set of directions. and then from there I flew in world to a statue to figure out the next sequence. I had to google the name of the code, and then use the chart to try to begin to decode for the next set of clues. Unfortunately this is as far as I got after an hour, but I can begin to see the potential for educational activities using Second Life without having to build major structures. I admit it was quite fun too, because after the first 15 minutes or so I felt very involved and motivated to solve the puzzle.
On the whole it was a really cool experience and I think I would like to try to do something similar for our classes eventually.
We were assembled in world, on our Second Life campus, and given the first "clue" which linked us to the evil genius' MySpace page. I was lucky to have the game designer there helping and giving clues, because otherwise it might have been a little too hard for me. But what was fascinating was the use of outside webpages along with the in-world element. This lesson appeared to be about codes and code breaking--I had to figure out to highlight the myspace page to get the code sequence to find out the name of a clue (using the letters of the people on the friends list) , go to another website, and use the decoded phase as a password to get the next set of directions. and then from there I flew in world to a statue to figure out the next sequence. I had to google the name of the code, and then use the chart to try to begin to decode for the next set of clues. Unfortunately this is as far as I got after an hour, but I can begin to see the potential for educational activities using Second Life without having to build major structures. I admit it was quite fun too, because after the first 15 minutes or so I felt very involved and motivated to solve the puzzle.
On the whole it was a really cool experience and I think I would like to try to do something similar for our classes eventually.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
ACRL Assessment Immersion notes part one
I had the very good fortune to have attended the ACRL Assessment Immersion in Nashville, TN the past 4 days, and I must say it has really been exceedingly helpful. I had attended an Immersion for Teaching a few years back, and found it was a very important experience in terms of my development as a teacher.
And my expectations were pretty much exceeded in regards to the amount of useable information that I will be taking back with me. Our Teachers/Leaders are Anne Zald, Deb Gilchrist, Megan Oakleaf, and Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe.
The only hard part of immersion is the gruelling schedule, which goes from 8.30 in the morning to 9pm at night (with meals and breaks of course). But as an experience for someone who will be doing assessments, in terms of what you learn, and how you learn it, it is literally the best thing you can do to get a thorough balanced overview and also practical tools.
I am snatching a few moments in our final day to note a few things that pop up in my head, but probably when i have more time to reflect and collect my thoughts, I should have a little more.
One of the main revelations for me was learning of the existence of database/assessment collection/data management systems like Zoho, which appears to be a Google docs like version of Access. This is definitely something I'd like to look at for our library.
So, we are about to do an activity, so I will wrap this up for now. :)
And my expectations were pretty much exceeded in regards to the amount of useable information that I will be taking back with me. Our Teachers/Leaders are Anne Zald, Deb Gilchrist, Megan Oakleaf, and Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe.
The only hard part of immersion is the gruelling schedule, which goes from 8.30 in the morning to 9pm at night (with meals and breaks of course). But as an experience for someone who will be doing assessments, in terms of what you learn, and how you learn it, it is literally the best thing you can do to get a thorough balanced overview and also practical tools.
I am snatching a few moments in our final day to note a few things that pop up in my head, but probably when i have more time to reflect and collect my thoughts, I should have a little more.
One of the main revelations for me was learning of the existence of database/assessment collection/data management systems like Zoho, which appears to be a Google docs like version of Access. This is definitely something I'd like to look at for our library.
So, we are about to do an activity, so I will wrap this up for now. :)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Target Marketing Library Instruction
This is a flyer that I made for the Art & Design department here at Texas State. I am the Art & Design subject librarian and wanted a way to let the students know that I am available for personal art & design research help. I also wanted to use a format and images that would catch their eye. After finding the type of images/emotions I wanted in my art books and then finding them on ARTstor to download, I put them in the comic template. I made it using a program called Comic Life which you can try with a free trial and then if you like it you can buy it pretty cheap, like twenty bucks. I will be hanging the flyers around the art building and a few here in the library. We will see how it goes. Next semester I may tweek it a bit depending on the kind of feedback I get from this one. And I think we will try this approach for different subject areas to make students and faculty more aware of our services.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Information Literacy Across the Curriculum Workshop part 2
I attended the second part of the "Information Literacy Across the Curriculum", workshop which is given jointly by the TLT group and ACRL this last Tuesday. Michelle Millet was the presenter for this installment of the series. I had attended a previous presentation she did in person, which was very informative. This presentation was also very helpful because it had a slightly different focus and I picked up several good ideas.
Michelle's institution has chosen Information Literacy as their "Quality Enhancement Plan" which is required for their reaccreditation. Her perspective is very interesting because this level of support and widespread integration is not always so easy to achieve and I personally think it is a wonderful example of how to do things, and I find her recommendations to be very enlightening and practical as well.
Michelle's institution has chosen Information Literacy as their "Quality Enhancement Plan" which is required for their reaccreditation. Her perspective is very interesting because this level of support and widespread integration is not always so easy to achieve and I personally think it is a wonderful example of how to do things, and I find her recommendations to be very enlightening and practical as well.
Some of the major ideas/points/interesting bits that I came away with:
- Her description of the marketing and publicity. She mentioned t-shirts and also a Youtube video
- She continued to stress assessment as a very important step
- It interested me very much to hear that they had an annotated bibliography assignment as part the First Year Experience program. It sounded like they had the students prepare it over the summer.
- She mentioned Graduate students which interested me as well, I believe she also mentioned workshops for those students.
- It sounded like they had quite alot of ways of reaching faculty--such as annual workshops, course stipends, travel grants, and a standing Information Literacy committee.
And of course her final recommendations, which were again to stress assessment, to find and learn from other programs, to host discussion, and to be persistent.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
A Sad Day
If you are reading this, wherever you are in libraryland, I would ask you to pause for a moment in remembrance of Devin Zimmerman. If you have been a regular reader of this blog, you might have remembered that Devin was the Information Literacy Coordinator here at Alkek from January to August 2007. Tragically he was shot and killed while on duty yesterday at his workplace in San Antonio. Although I only worked with him for a relatively short time, he made a lasting impression on me and the people here at Alkek.
I think Devin was one of those special people who bring a light with them in the darkness and illuminate everyone around them, a catalyst that causes those around to grow and change. I have seen the tributes on his facebook page, and I know that he made a difference to many people. For me myself he was a mentor, and in a friendly competitive way spurred me onto new things. As I sit here in the office that he once occupied I remember and am grateful for his encouragement and advice even after he left to work at Alamo Community College.
By way of a memorial I'd like to link to his youtube videos and his very first blog post. He had also posted some podcasts but sadly the files did not survive. It may seem an odd memorial but I think although it may only reveal some of Devin's unforgettable character in a small way, at least they are his own words.
I think Devin was one of those special people who bring a light with them in the darkness and illuminate everyone around them, a catalyst that causes those around to grow and change. I have seen the tributes on his facebook page, and I know that he made a difference to many people. For me myself he was a mentor, and in a friendly competitive way spurred me onto new things. As I sit here in the office that he once occupied I remember and am grateful for his encouragement and advice even after he left to work at Alamo Community College.
By way of a memorial I'd like to link to his youtube videos and his very first blog post. He had also posted some podcasts but sadly the files did not survive. It may seem an odd memorial but I think although it may only reveal some of Devin's unforgettable character in a small way, at least they are his own words.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Interesting Online workshop
I just attended the first part of a really interesting online workshop called "Information Literacy Across the Curriculum", which was given jointly by the TLT group and ACRL. There will be two other meetings, on the 14th and the 21st of this month. There will be three other presenters, each to present a case study of their experiences in their institutions. Today's session was given by Lisa Hinchliffe, who is the Coordinator for Information Literacy Services and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
One of the first things I noticed as she was speaking was the size and diversity of their program, or rather as she described it as " multiple IL programs." I may have heard this incorrectly but I thought she said that they had from 20-50 staff teaching classes.* If it got that right, it sounds quite vast.
* Note: Special thanks to Lisa H. who graciously sent me the correct numbers via her comment below:
70-100 librarians
20-30 graduate assistants (library school students)
35-45 library units in 27 different campus buildings. (Wow. That *is* vast.)
It was very interesting though to me because although our university is not as large as UIUC, we still are pretty decently sized (29,125 students according to our website) and I could see how some of the things she spoke about could be adapted in our situation.
My ears perked up at several outreach/marketing activities that she mentioned; the idea of having a person dressed as a book and roaming around campus so students could take pictures with him is very endearing. And apparently they have iconic frisbees they give away as well. That is one area that I would like to learn more about--ways to advertise and get the world out in very creative approaches.
I found the interrelated relationship between their IL program and Reference to be also very intriguing, mostly because what she described corresponded to some observations that I had made about our own situation. She described consultations (I thought she meant individual type research consultations) , workshops (in particular for graduate students), tours in several different languages (Chinese, French, etc), and also very heavy IM use. For us IM usage has been steadily increasing although it isn't exactly "heavy." I have noticed though that our individual consultations are increasing and I wonder if this is something that other folks are seeing.
Some other things that stuck out in my mind (and notes):
One of the first things I noticed as she was speaking was the size and diversity of their program, or rather as she described it as " multiple IL programs." I may have heard this incorrectly but I thought she said that they had from 20-50 staff teaching classes.* If it got that right, it sounds quite vast.
* Note: Special thanks to Lisa H. who graciously sent me the correct numbers via her comment below:
70-100 librarians
20-30 graduate assistants (library school students)
35-45 library units in 27 different campus buildings. (Wow. That *is* vast.)
It was very interesting though to me because although our university is not as large as UIUC, we still are pretty decently sized (29,125 students according to our website) and I could see how some of the things she spoke about could be adapted in our situation.
My ears perked up at several outreach/marketing activities that she mentioned; the idea of having a person dressed as a book and roaming around campus so students could take pictures with him is very endearing. And apparently they have iconic frisbees they give away as well. That is one area that I would like to learn more about--ways to advertise and get the world out in very creative approaches.
I found the interrelated relationship between their IL program and Reference to be also very intriguing, mostly because what she described corresponded to some observations that I had made about our own situation. She described consultations (I thought she meant individual type research consultations) , workshops (in particular for graduate students), tours in several different languages (Chinese, French, etc), and also very heavy IM use. For us IM usage has been steadily increasing although it isn't exactly "heavy." I have noticed though that our individual consultations are increasing and I wonder if this is something that other folks are seeing.
Some other things that stuck out in my mind (and notes):
- A graduate level IL credit course--I'd always heard of IL credit courses for undergraduates.
- She mentioned getting assessment plans for programs on campus--sounds interesting
Thursday, September 18, 2008
An Interesting Find (Unity, a game development tool)
One of my colleagues who is the main architect/builder of our Second life campus passed me this link to Unity, a game development tool. Of course I am probably the last person in the world to learn about this program. I haven't had a chance to really look into it, but it seems really cool. It's web-based, and the website says you can make MMOs and Virtual Worlds with it. It appears that you have to download their player first to actually use it. I had fun playing with their little demo.
I like the fact that they have lots of tutorials and documentation. I am mostly a user of Second Life, but one of the things that is so hard at first for people new to Second life, and a potential headache, is the fact that you must create an account and download the software, etc. If this game maker is easy to use, well, oh the fun we could have!
I am deeply curious if anybody else has tried this game maker for their Information Literacy games. This is something that has interested me for a very long time, but I have only recently had time to really begin to research. The 2008 ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Librarians Symposium is coming up in November, and I'd dearly like to go.
I like the fact that they have lots of tutorials and documentation. I am mostly a user of Second Life, but one of the things that is so hard at first for people new to Second life, and a potential headache, is the fact that you must create an account and download the software, etc. If this game maker is easy to use, well, oh the fun we could have!
I am deeply curious if anybody else has tried this game maker for their Information Literacy games. This is something that has interested me for a very long time, but I have only recently had time to really begin to research. The 2008 ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Librarians Symposium is coming up in November, and I'd dearly like to go.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Back from Hiatus
And I am terribly sorry for the delay. It's been a bit of an interesting summer. I went to Hungary and the Czech Republic for vacation most of July, and then it was pretty much straight to Denver at the beginning of August for the Reference Renaissance conference. (I think i will save some of the presentations and our presentation for a later post).
Assessment
But there are lots of interesting and cool things to catch up on. Over the summer, we continued to work on our Assessment efforts for our second-semester Freshman English course. Since we only had two classes it gave us a chance to test the Synchroneyes quiz/test tool a little more comfortably. In the contest of Synchroneyes vs. Survey Monkey, my admittedly non-scientific preference at this time is for Survey Monkey, only because when I used Synchroneyes I had to print out every single survey.
I wasn't able to make it to the LOEX of the West conference, but my colleagues did, and they told me about a great presentation from University of Texas Libraries(which is about 30 minutes away up I-35) called "Assessing out Assessment: Failures and Successes at UT-Austin." I think it is proving to be helpful for understanding and planning our assessment effort, and I wanted to give a shout-out to AJ Johnson, who let me ask questions about their presentation/project and generally let me pick his brain.
And, along other lines, we are going to experiment with using "clickers" to do assessment. We have used them in some of our classes as part of our active learning activities. With that in mind I have been reading this article: Clicking your way to library instruction assessment.
Embedding Librarians in TRACS (SAKAI)
I know this is already something that has been happening in other places, but this semester we are going to make an effort to "embed" ourselves in the course software. We have done some things in the past, with a few classes, mostly building wiki pages using the course management software wiki function (as distinct from our wiki) But we'd like to try more classes and do more, like embed a meebo widget in the class site. So stay tuned for that.
I think I will stop for now. :)
Assessment
But there are lots of interesting and cool things to catch up on. Over the summer, we continued to work on our Assessment efforts for our second-semester Freshman English course. Since we only had two classes it gave us a chance to test the Synchroneyes quiz/test tool a little more comfortably. In the contest of Synchroneyes vs. Survey Monkey, my admittedly non-scientific preference at this time is for Survey Monkey, only because when I used Synchroneyes I had to print out every single survey.
I wasn't able to make it to the LOEX of the West conference, but my colleagues did, and they told me about a great presentation from University of Texas Libraries(which is about 30 minutes away up I-35) called "Assessing out Assessment: Failures and Successes at UT-Austin." I think it is proving to be helpful for understanding and planning our assessment effort, and I wanted to give a shout-out to AJ Johnson, who let me ask questions about their presentation/project and generally let me pick his brain.
And, along other lines, we are going to experiment with using "clickers" to do assessment. We have used them in some of our classes as part of our active learning activities. With that in mind I have been reading this article: Clicking your way to library instruction assessment.
Embedding Librarians in TRACS (SAKAI)
I know this is already something that has been happening in other places, but this semester we are going to make an effort to "embed" ourselves in the course software. We have done some things in the past, with a few classes, mostly building wiki pages using the course management software wiki function (as distinct from our wiki) But we'd like to try more classes and do more, like embed a meebo widget in the class site. So stay tuned for that.
I think I will stop for now. :)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Back to LOEX of the West 2008....
The next session I went to was called a Pecha Kucha. It was three different presenters with about10 minutes each on the same topic and was called A MUVing Experience: Three Perspectives on the Curricular Integration of Second Life. The presenters were Colleen Carmean - Director, Information Technology Services, Arizona State University, Sandra Ley - Instruction Librarian, Arizona State University, and Lisa Kammerlocher - Librarian, Arizona State University. All of the presenters discussed their experience as instructors using Second Life to teach their courses. Most of the students responses to the experience were positive.
The next day I went to a great session given by Jerremie Clyde- Liaison Librarian, University of Calgary and Chris Thomas - Liaison Librarian,University of Calgary entitled Benevolent Blue: Playing with Information Literacy. This was the best session I went to because it actually included a virtual game that the presenters are creating that we the audience actively played on the computers. The game addressed information literacy in a very political theme with violence and adventure.
The interactivity and then short survey of our experience really made this session worthwhile and interesting because, remember, I was looking for ways to make my classes engaging. Here I found it but it still wasn't an easy answer. It wasn't just the game they had made, it was the combination of their case study type presentation, along with the hands on experience and the short survey questions they gave us that made the whole session more energetic. We were all participating and exchanging information, audience and presenters. Now that is a class. Their project is still in beta and they did ask us to email them if we wished to be included in the future in the testing before the game goes public.
I really went the opposite way with the next session I chose because it was a discussion of information literacy competencies. I went from hands-on with game to discussion of the information literacy theory. I felt like I was playing the game where someone hides something and they tell you when you are hot or cool as you get closer to what you are looking for. I was cool to almost cold.
Cold was a good way to be in the hot dessert city of Las Vegas. I took a tour of the beautiful LIED Library to see what a ultra-modern library has to offer. It didn't disappoint me with its automated retrieval (space saving) system and comfort in the interior of wood and steel. I loved this library and actually took a lot of pictures to help me with our library's space assessment team that I am a member of.
I never found the perfect game to use in my instruction sessions so I will just have to make up my own game. But I guess now I know what parts of a session make it engaging for me and that games do make you think, which is better than watching someone blather on sans active participation. Yeah for games, LOEX of the West and for Vegas!
The next day I went to a great session given by Jerremie Clyde- Liaison Librarian, University of Calgary and Chris Thomas - Liaison Librarian,University of Calgary entitled Benevolent Blue: Playing with Information Literacy. This was the best session I went to because it actually included a virtual game that the presenters are creating that we the audience actively played on the computers. The game addressed information literacy in a very political theme with violence and adventure.
The interactivity and then short survey of our experience really made this session worthwhile and interesting because, remember, I was looking for ways to make my classes engaging. Here I found it but it still wasn't an easy answer. It wasn't just the game they had made, it was the combination of their case study type presentation, along with the hands on experience and the short survey questions they gave us that made the whole session more energetic. We were all participating and exchanging information, audience and presenters. Now that is a class. Their project is still in beta and they did ask us to email them if we wished to be included in the future in the testing before the game goes public.
I really went the opposite way with the next session I chose because it was a discussion of information literacy competencies. I went from hands-on with game to discussion of the information literacy theory. I felt like I was playing the game where someone hides something and they tell you when you are hot or cool as you get closer to what you are looking for. I was cool to almost cold.
Cold was a good way to be in the hot dessert city of Las Vegas. I took a tour of the beautiful LIED Library to see what a ultra-modern library has to offer. It didn't disappoint me with its automated retrieval (space saving) system and comfort in the interior of wood and steel. I loved this library and actually took a lot of pictures to help me with our library's space assessment team that I am a member of.
I never found the perfect game to use in my instruction sessions so I will just have to make up my own game. But I guess now I know what parts of a session make it engaging for me and that games do make you think, which is better than watching someone blather on sans active participation. Yeah for games, LOEX of the West and for Vegas!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
LOEX of the West 2008 in fabulous Las Vegas
After a little more than a week of being back from the LOEX of the West 2008 conference at the fabulous UNLV, Las Vegas, I have had some time to think about and summarize my experience. Just like I went there hoping for easy wins, I also went thinking I would get some easy answers to my ongoing search for adding engaging activities or games into my library instruction courses that I teach here at Alkek. On both counts I was wrong. As far as winning, I did come out ahead, but only thanks to the awesome roulette and blackjack lessons that we were given at the LOEX reception which took place at UNLV's International Gaming Institute in the Casino Lab. As far as getting quick and easy ideas for games I could use in my instruction sessions, I got ideas to help me think of my own games or tutorials but no easy handouts.The first Session I attended was A Library of Learning Objects: Teaching Tools to Quickly Tailor Instruction and Meet Class Needs presented by Lori Mardis, Information Librarian, Northwest Missouri State University and Connie Ury, Library Outreach Coordinator, Northwest Missouri State University.
They basically talked about project management and how to think of instruction in smaller parts that you could piece together later for fast complete sessions. They use flash tutorials made by student interns. The tutorials allowed for multiple learning styles to be addressed as well as quick ways to customize instruction sessions. The tutorials could also be used outside of the classroom accessible via the web.
Beating the Odds with the Insider's Scoop: Tips and Tricks from the Library Secrets! Librarian
presented by Jennifer Kelley, Resident Librarian, College of DuPage was a case study of Kelly's implementation of Web2.0 tools, including a blog, and other marketing techniques to increase student awareness of the library and all it had to offer.
I was happy that our library is already doing this as well as engaging in other Web2.0 activities. We have a delicious site, Facebook group, MySpace page, Flickr account and have a YouTube Channel where we post our tutorials and other vidoes. We use instant messaging for reference questions and have two blogs, the Alkek Library News & Research Help Blog and our Information Literacy Blog that you are reading right now! Needless to say, we are very into Web2.0. In fact, three of the librarians here at Alkek, including me, just presented a staff development workshop entitled Web 2.0: What is it and Why Should I Care?
More about LOEX in the next post...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Better Late than Never: Summary of Computers in Libraries 2008
Here is my long overdue but hopefully useful summary of the Computers in Libraries 2008 conference in Washington D.C. Overall, I found this conference to be cutting edge and very applicable to our library and instruction team's activities. I have included many links to open source software and to the presenters' information.1. Monday - Session: Going Local in the Library: Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Local 2.0Link to slideshow: http://www.slideshare.net/BizBrary/local-library-presentation-computers-in-libraries-2008
Presented by Charles Lyons, Business Librarian, University at Buffalo
Internet is not as local as you might think. Local web is the joining of the virtual world and the real world. It is about the community you live in and you and your library are a part of it. Ways to advertise library in local virtual world.
Examples:
Google Maps http://maps.google.com/
SketchUp http://sketchup.google.com/
3D modeling of local areas
Local News
Local Government Info
Blogs
Social networks (Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/, MySpace, etc.)People!
Metroblogging
http://www.metblogs.com/Google Custom Search Engine
http://www.google.com/coop/cse/Guide spot
http://www.guidespot.com/City Guides
http://austin.citysearch.com/TimeSpaceMap
http://www.timespacemap.com/home.htm- E-Podunk http://www.epodunk.com/
- Gathering Guide http://www.gatheringguide.com/
- Your Street, local News, http://www.yourstreet.com/san-marcos-tx
2. Monday - Session: Library Web Presence: Engaging the Audience
Presented by Ellysa Stern Cahoy, Information Literacy Librarian,
Pennsylvania State University, Emily Rimland, Information Literacy
Librarian, Pennsylvania State University, Binky Lush, Web Developer,
Pennsylvania State University, Kristina DeVoe, English &
Communications Librarian, Temple University, Derik Badman, Digital Services Librarian,
Temple University
They talked about tools to improve web services and make them
more 2.0 or interactive. Using customizable widgets to make library
services more portable and allow users to put library created widget
anywhere they want.
Librarians did this at Penn State: Made downloadable widgets to
search library catalog, search research guides, and for library
quick links. Very cool! http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/jumpstart.htm
They used: Widgetbox
http://www.widgetbox.com/ lets you make your own widgets!
Librarians at Temple University purchased LibGuides. Link
to their slideshow: http://madinkbeard.com/library/SubjectGuides.ppt
Customizable research guide pages with interactive functions.
Research or subject guides can be connected by the tabs with course
guides or class outlines be connected with Example:
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/jumpstart.htm
Has meebo chat window
Calendar for apts on research
guideUses tabs
Uses RSS for up to date news
and research articles from popular subject journalsCan add polls
Users can rate the guide
Users can comment on content or
co-edit, “community building”, conversation from
university community. This gives chance for faculty collaborationCan imbed video
Search boxes directly on page
for faster searching
My Library
http://mylibrary.library.nd.edu/demo-implementations/
-- Open Source or Freeware for organizing library resources,
research guides, course guides, etc.Google webmaster tools
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/docs/en/about.html
-- for tracking site statistics and supporting changes.Subjects Plus - http://ithacalibrary.com/subsplus/
-- Open source tool for organizing library resources, research
guides, course guides, etc.LibData - http://libdata.sourceforge.net/
-- Interface for subject guides, course guides, Open SourceResearchGuide
- http://researchguide.sourceforge.net/
-- Web-based management of subject guides for academic libraries. An
example from the University of Michigan, Harlan Library, Darlene
Nichols’ Resources on Sociology Subject Guide
http://www.lib.umich.edu/grad/guide/guide.php?id=4LIbCB -
http://sourceforge.net/projects/libcb/
-- Open source tool for organizing library resources, an example at
the University of Rochester, Earth Science subject guide by Katie
Clark http://www.library.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=160
Monday - Session: Fast and Easy site
tune-ups by Jeff Wisniewski, Web Services Librarian, University
of Pittsburgh
Update copyright date
Add photos to contacts/names
Replace instances of “click
here” with the real content. “Click here for
current articles” should be “Current articles are
available here.”Create and read microformats.
Firefox has an add-on called tails
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2240. Or Operator
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4106- Both let you connect with the semantic web. Allows you to collect electronic
business cards and connect with other websites like Flickr or Google
Calender. For more info about Microformats go to
http://microformats.org
Use 3 question surveys:
1.What is purpose of your visit to our site today?
2. Were you able to complete your task today?
3. If not, why?
4. Ask for their email address.
- Add forward slash to href
directory links (?)
Web 2.0ify your logo with Web
2.0 STYLr http://web2.0stylr.com/stylr.aspx
– free logo maker!Sans serif font
- Cheery colors
Use the WikiMedia
Commons to add bling to your site. Make icons, use
photos, art symbols.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Icons_%28computing%29- Speed up your site:
- Firebug
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843 - YSlow
http://developer.yahoo.com/yslow/ - Set media types, CSS, PDFs,
and image file types not to expire. - Combine multiple images into
single image map. Speeds up downloads due to fewer http requests. - Eliminate inline scripts
except home page - Use WC3 validator to clean up
page. - Have good page titles
4. Monday - Session Learning Commons: The “In” in the CIL
presented by Tom Impri, Head of Media & Computer Services,
University of Nevada at Las Vegas
link to slideshow: http://www.slideshare.net/Tombrarian/learning-commons-the-in-in-cil
- 2nd Life is compliment to physical space
- More Laptops!
- Group Study Rooms
- Movable furniture
- Rich application suite (Open Source?)
- White Boards
- Smart Boards
- Multi-media production editing
- Vending machines
- Practice presentation room
REALLY IMPORTANT FEATURES!
5. Tuesday - Session: Mashups for the Nontechies by Jody Fagan, Digital- Students define the space
- Variety of spaces (indoor, outdoor, cafe)
- Comfort
- Engaging environment
- Human centered design
- De-centered-ness
- Positive emotional experience leads to better learning!
- Active construction of knowledge by the learner - Constructivist/Cognitive theorists
- GROUP WORK - sharing and learning from each other
- Space facilitates or hinders learning
- They leave if not comfortable
- Need seamless work environments
- access
- manage
- produce info
- all @ same workstation
Check out The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students
and Information Technology, (Sept) 2007
Services Librarian, James Madison University
slideshow link http://cil2008.pbwiki.com/f/Mashups+for+the+Nontechies_Final.ppt
- FURL – social bookmarking site like delicious where you can also create a feed of your bookmarked sites so others can subscribe to your feed and stay up-to-date with your bookmarks.
- Yahoo! Pipes – a tool to aggregate RSS feeds together in one feed. I tried this at work and it works! Here is our Alkek Library News Blog and Information Literacy Blog together in one blog! http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=ghVpfv0S3RGnpnFoy6ky6g
6. Tuesday - Session: The Library Sandbox: Testing Innovative Ideas by Barbara Tierney, Science Reference Librarian,University of North Carolina
She basically read from her book
Transforming Library Service Through Information Commons :Case Studies for the Digital Age, D.
Russell Bailey and Barbara Gunter Tierney, ALA Editions
Academic, public, and school librarians who
are considering an IC or are looking for ways to improve their IC will find a
wealth of information here. More
Case Studies she mentioned:
- NCSU
- EmoryUniversity
- Temple University
- 20 case studies are listed in the book.
Points to keep in mind when planning a learning commons:
- Substance over space (?)
- Learning commons as classroom – this is a very simple view, I think
- IL as program
- Evolution from users needs creates tech changes
- Study spaces into LC conductive to group work, coffee shops, comfort, modular furnishings
(I really like this idea, point)
7. Tuesday - Session: Libraries as Laboratories for Innovation by Matt Gullett, Emerging Technology Manager, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County
- Talked about how he created the virtual village for patrons to play with new technologies like a lab.
- Virtual village music playing
- Can share community stories
- INFORMAL INSTRUCTION at COUNTER
- Game lab at PLCMC
- UNC the playground
- Tech connect CMS
- Linden Labs
- Institute of Museum and Library Services
8. Tuesday - Session: Video, You Tube, & Libraries by Karen McBride, Web services
librarian, Des Plaines Public Library and Nick Baker, Reference & Web services
librarian, Williams College Libraries
Basically they presented how to do simple screencasting and upload to youTube. Pretty simple
presentation.
I find the fuzzyness of UTube videos for displaying screenshots
of the library’s website unacceptable.
9. Wednesday - Session: ELearning: IL Instruction & Out-of-the-Box Software by Robert Monge, University of South Dakota; Steve Borrelli, Washington State University; Julie Cavender, Jones Knowledge e-Global Library
Analysis>Design>Develop>Implement
Publish in flash or HTML
Software for creating tutorials Free or up to $6000 :
- Articulate
- Trainer soft
- Toolbook Trainer
- Courselab this one is freeware http://www.courselab.com/
Books they discussed:
1.
Wednesday - Session: Open Source Solutions to Offer Superior Service by Amy De Groff, Head of Library Technology Services, Howard County Public Library, Ching-hsien Wang, Manager, Library & Archives System Support, Smithsonian Institution, George Bowman, System Adminstrator, Smithosnian Insitution Resea, Smithsonian Institution, Eric Atkinson, Information Systems Department Head, Orange County Library System, Kimberly Babcock Mashek, Information Literacy Librarian, Wartburg College
Link to slideshow http://www.slideshare.net/mlibrarianus/computers-in-libraries-2008-open-source-solutions-to-offer-superior-service
· Open Office.org
· Google Docs
· Opera Desk Now
· Joomia
· Koha
· Finetune.com
· SIRIS Image server
· SOLR Interface Application
11. Wednesday - Session: Integrating Second Life (SL): Courses & Collections by
Craig Anderson, Reference Librarian, Kean University, Krista Godfrey, Liaison Librarian, McMaster University, Troy Swanson, Teaching & Learning Librarian, Moraine Valley Community College, Larry Sloma, Adjunct Librarian, Moraine Valley Community College
- Integrating
- Second Life & Google Maps
- One of them says 3D exhibit is not easy to design
- For exhibit – intro area is good to orient people that are new to SL
- Computer on a desk that can link to gallery webpage
Online tutorials are better for many reasons:
- self-paced
- video and audio make it interesting
- Should not record full screen - don't need to see what other programs you were running when you filmed
- smaller screen size better (640X480)
- to produce video choose Adobe Flash - get more flexibility and features in this format - Flash is streaming format/larger audience acceptance
- Sometimes it is more efficient to redo entire tutorial rather than edit
- can get statistics
- save as a file to server
- can link sttraight to .swf file and it will play
- embed video in a web page (Video code embed generator )
- make tutorials for databases that have little tips that need to be explained
- Could use dreamweaver to imbed flash or other video file format
- don't go full screen
- don't start off talking a lot - no long intro - boring
- Could use music trac too - then use call outs or bubbles
- Jing jingproject.com
- free
- comes with some hosting
- has pause
- for Mac and PCs
- TipCam www.utipu.com
- windows xp and vista
- 20 min max
- can share private or public with url
- Webinaria www.webinaria.com
- windows
- screenshots produce an .avi file
- public or private
- free
- limited editing
- Screencast Recorder freescreencast.com
- Screencast-o-matic screencast-o-matic.com
- web based so for windows ro mac or linux
- output as Java
- no editing
- Wink www.debugmode.com/wink
- windows and linux
- records as screen shots
- free
- CamStudio http://camstudio.org/
- patent debate
Friday, May 16, 2008
Of classroom software and assessment
Although it is the May mini-mester and there are relatively few students we are keeping busy with various projects. Next week will be a bit more busy with several workshops for faculty and also for IL librarians as well. I will be conducting a short training (something of a refresher course) on our classroom equipment. We have a SMARTBoard, along with Synchroneyes classroom control software and Senteo clickers. We are all at different levels of comfort with these tools.
I would very much like to hear from anyone who uses any or all of these tools, and any interesting tidbits about using them in the classroom. One of the things we noticed about the SMARTBoard is that because our classroom is good-sized, it can be difficult for visibility with large classes. I myself love to use it with smaller classes, in particular with ESL classes. I have done a desultory search on google for more (Synchoneyes and assessment in particular) but haven't found much in the literature as of yet.
We will be testing the Synchroneyes quiz function this summer hopefully to see if it is better or easier to use for our Freshmen English assessment. We have gotten through two semesters with Surveymonkey, which works pretty well, but is a bit awkward in terms of delivery (the teacher has to send the quiz link to the students). The other consideration though, is the ease of availability of the raw scores/results. Surveymonkey has a download feature that lets you get the raw scores and results along with other information in an excel file. It has also been helpful to be able to print out the surveys in case of technical malfunction, and then enter in the paper responses manually, which is another feature of Surveymonkey.
At any rate, I foresee a future blog post once I know more, comparing one and the other.
I would very much like to hear from anyone who uses any or all of these tools, and any interesting tidbits about using them in the classroom. One of the things we noticed about the SMARTBoard is that because our classroom is good-sized, it can be difficult for visibility with large classes. I myself love to use it with smaller classes, in particular with ESL classes. I have done a desultory search on google for more (Synchoneyes and assessment in particular) but haven't found much in the literature as of yet.
We will be testing the Synchroneyes quiz function this summer hopefully to see if it is better or easier to use for our Freshmen English assessment. We have gotten through two semesters with Surveymonkey, which works pretty well, but is a bit awkward in terms of delivery (the teacher has to send the quiz link to the students). The other consideration though, is the ease of availability of the raw scores/results. Surveymonkey has a download feature that lets you get the raw scores and results along with other information in an excel file. It has also been helpful to be able to print out the surveys in case of technical malfunction, and then enter in the paper responses manually, which is another feature of Surveymonkey.
At any rate, I foresee a future blog post once I know more, comparing one and the other.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
An idea for Google notebook, and catching up
I was noodling around and rediscovered Google Notebook again. I had noticed it last year (judging from the date of the little snippet I had saved) and most probably forgot about it. It seems to have been around for a while, and probably people are already using it. It just occured to me as I looked at it again that maybe it might be a good tool to use for an assignment for evaluating websites. Students could be assigned several websites, and they could evaluate each assigned site and make notes in their notebook, and then share them with the class. The only hitch is that the students would need a Google account. I did a quick search to see if anybody else is doing something like this--I found this blog post written by Laura Pressley of Wake Forest University referencing a presentation by Jennie Hunt. I am curious how that class/assignment worked out. I am sure to find more if I look deeper, but in the meantime I am thinking it might be an interesting activity to develop, possibly.
I am considering to test it as an activity with an ESL undergraduate class, that is normally a two part class, and only about 10 students.
Interim/Summer is always a very busy time, because although there are less students, we are preparing projects for upcoming semesters and finishing up old projects. Our team has gone through two semesters of assessing freshman year English composition classes, and so currently we are revising the survey and looking to investigate using either our class management software TRACS or Synchroneyes as possible alternatives to using Survey Monkey. I know there have been gallons of ink spilled on assessment already, and really all I venture to add to this vast knowledge is the observation that reading about how other people do assessment is helpful but there is no better learning experience than putting a project into practice. I think i will save a detailed description for a separate post.
We are also setting up several workshops/trainings for staff which should be interesting. One will be on using our our SMARTBoard, Synchroneyes (classroom control software), and Senteo (clickers). Another will be a Web 2.0 presentation for staff. So, looking up to be a busy May.
I am considering to test it as an activity with an ESL undergraduate class, that is normally a two part class, and only about 10 students.
Interim/Summer is always a very busy time, because although there are less students, we are preparing projects for upcoming semesters and finishing up old projects. Our team has gone through two semesters of assessing freshman year English composition classes, and so currently we are revising the survey and looking to investigate using either our class management software TRACS or Synchroneyes as possible alternatives to using Survey Monkey. I know there have been gallons of ink spilled on assessment already, and really all I venture to add to this vast knowledge is the observation that reading about how other people do assessment is helpful but there is no better learning experience than putting a project into practice. I think i will save a detailed description for a separate post.
We are also setting up several workshops/trainings for staff which should be interesting. One will be on using our our SMARTBoard, Synchroneyes (classroom control software), and Senteo (clickers). Another will be a Web 2.0 presentation for staff. So, looking up to be a busy May.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Catching up........and Conference Slides
I finally posted my slides from my TLA Netfair presentation on April 17th here:
I am really happy to have gotten a chance to talk about my experiences as a volunteer. I have really enjoyed my volunteer shifts at the Second Life library.
We are wrapping up our semester and I personally am catching up on various and sundry things. And still digesting some of the CIL 2008 stuff.
I am really happy to have gotten a chance to talk about my experiences as a volunteer. I have really enjoyed my volunteer shifts at the Second Life library.
We are wrapping up our semester and I personally am catching up on various and sundry things. And still digesting some of the CIL 2008 stuff.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Computers in Libraries 2008, day two highlights
One of the difficult things about this conference is that so many of the sessions look really really interesting, and I always desperately wish I could be cloned, at least for the few days I am attending.
The first session of the day (for me) was Next Generation Library Interfaces by Marshall Breeding. This was particularly interesting for me because our library had gotten a new OPAC relatively recently, and I had also read the Library Technology Report on Next Generation Library Catalogs he had written. He started out with a sobering statistic from a 2005 study, that 89% of college students go to search engines and only 2% go to the library website when searching for information. He then went on to ask if OPACs were really just computerized card catalogs, and did library websites both meet information needs and also attract interest? In addition to these considerations, he pointed out some flaws of ILS OPACs, namely:
The presentation began with the del.icio.us segment, which explained that it is a web-based social bookmarking tool, available from any browser, and how their university (University of Central Florida) uses it to increase access to library resources by creating quick on the fly resource lists for classes and individuals. They made an account for ucflibrary and also uploaded 400 database links, tagged resources for students and classes by name in research consultations and library instruction, and trained librarians to use del.icio.us. They are working on subject specific accounts like art and engineering, and also did a survey to assess student awareness. They found that there may need to be some outreach to students, as their students were not natively aware of del.icio.us.
Our library has been using a del.icio.us site, but it was very interesting to see how this library was using theirs pretty extensively.
The Twitter portion was presented by Michael Sauers and Christa Burns. I am regular reader of Michael Sauers' blog, so I was keenly interested to see what he had to say. I have also used Twitter sporadically in my personal life and so was curious how libraries use it institutionally. A few examples that they gaver were the Ann Arbor District Library, that is using it for announcements, and also the Nebraska Library Commission , that uses it to post questions. They also showed BBC technews headlines. Some of the issues about using Twitter were:
The next one I attended was about Virtual Reference, and in particular I caught the part of the presentation about American University's efforts in that realm. They started to transition to IM only in 2006, and they talked about how IM service providers weren't just limited to librarians, but also paraprofessionals. They stressed how it built rapport and helped grow the service. They also talked a bit about their marketing efforts, involving graphic design with faculty and staff input and student reaction. They showed some of their branding, as well as other things like valentine's day themed stickers, candy, and imprinted sharpie pens. They also spoke of how they marketed using facebook, the student news, in-class, on campus newspaper, shuttlebuses, etc. I was also very intrigued as they spoke of evaluating and expanding their service further with meebo, VOIP, and sms/texting.
The first session of the day (for me) was Next Generation Library Interfaces by Marshall Breeding. This was particularly interesting for me because our library had gotten a new OPAC relatively recently, and I had also read the Library Technology Report on Next Generation Library Catalogs he had written. He started out with a sobering statistic from a 2005 study, that 89% of college students go to search engines and only 2% go to the library website when searching for information. He then went on to ask if OPACs were really just computerized card catalogs, and did library websites both meet information needs and also attract interest? In addition to these considerations, he pointed out some flaws of ILS OPACs, namely:
- not good for delivering e-content
- text-based interfaces
- hampered by weak keyword searches
- poor relevancy sorting
- narrow scope of content
- integrate print and online resources
- not force people to use different interfaces
- better relevancy ranked results
- incorporate social networking traits
- bread crumbs
- spell check and search suggest (do you mean this? like in google)
- re-make, evolve LCSH, MARC
The presentation began with the del.icio.us segment, which explained that it is a web-based social bookmarking tool, available from any browser, and how their university (University of Central Florida) uses it to increase access to library resources by creating quick on the fly resource lists for classes and individuals. They made an account for ucflibrary and also uploaded 400 database links, tagged resources for students and classes by name in research consultations and library instruction, and trained librarians to use del.icio.us. They are working on subject specific accounts like art and engineering, and also did a survey to assess student awareness. They found that there may need to be some outreach to students, as their students were not natively aware of del.icio.us.
Our library has been using a del.icio.us site, but it was very interesting to see how this library was using theirs pretty extensively.
The Twitter portion was presented by Michael Sauers and Christa Burns. I am regular reader of Michael Sauers' blog, so I was keenly interested to see what he had to say. I have also used Twitter sporadically in my personal life and so was curious how libraries use it institutionally. A few examples that they gaver were the Ann Arbor District Library, that is using it for announcements, and also the Nebraska Library Commission , that uses it to post questions. They also showed BBC technews headlines. Some of the issues about using Twitter were:
- too many sms tweets
- the ephemeral nature of tweets
- it's posssibly too distracting
- the need to participate to get any reaction
- the need to follow and @comment others
- link to your stuff
- Don’t take non-responses personally
- Be patient
- Avoid addiction
- Use your name
- that Library catalogs are social networks for ideas
- Ideas are social
- The line between intellectual and social space was never there
- it is never a mistake to give users more options
- Talk to users
- Use the tools they are using
- Broadcast what you are doing
- Earn your audience
The next one I attended was about Virtual Reference, and in particular I caught the part of the presentation about American University's efforts in that realm. They started to transition to IM only in 2006, and they talked about how IM service providers weren't just limited to librarians, but also paraprofessionals. They stressed how it built rapport and helped grow the service. They also talked a bit about their marketing efforts, involving graphic design with faculty and staff input and student reaction. They showed some of their branding, as well as other things like valentine's day themed stickers, candy, and imprinted sharpie pens. They also spoke of how they marketed using facebook, the student news, in-class, on campus newspaper, shuttlebuses, etc. I was also very intrigued as they spoke of evaluating and expanding their service further with meebo, VOIP, and sms/texting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
