high tech high touch: online instruction

High Tech, High Touch:

Online Instruction

Meredith Farkas

Online instruction doesn’t have to be “less than”

• Not limited by the librarian’s or faculty member’s schedules

• Instruction can take place at logical points in a class instead of all at once

• We can cover so much more than we could in a one-shot

• Students can customize their learning experience based on what they already know

• We can create multiple learning experiences that appeal to different learning styles

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureperfectpose/76138988/

Blogs

Wikis

LibGuides

Facebook

Twitter

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhoadeecha/37420595/

BlogsWikis

delicious

Facebook

LibGuides

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/zakh/337938459/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/akbar2/4843218127/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andercismo/2349098787/

Before I start looking at tech

• Talk to faculty and look at syllabi

• Develop learning outcomes

• Find out what technologies students use and faculty teach with

• Find out how students communicate with faculty and other students

• Find out if distance learners have synchronous components to their classes

Evaluating Tech

•Find the right balance between

•high impact/low impact

•high cost/low or no cost

•more effort/less effort

•Consider long-term sustainability of the project

Some Options for Online Instruction

Subject and course guides/pages

LibGuides

Library a la Carte

Drupal

Facebook

Other options for subject/course guides• Other open source library guide software:

Research Guide, Subjects Plus, Libdata, MyLibrary.

• Wordpress blog, Scriblio (Wordpress fork)

• Wikis (PBWorks, MediaWiki)

• delicious (syndicate RSS feeds of bookmarked content on web page)

• Create inside of course management system

Subject and course guides/pages

• Pros

• Easy to create, tailored to specific courses and subjects, consistent look and feel, often offer places to connect with a librarian

• Cons

• No interactivity, text heavy, as number of guides grows it require significant staff time to update, usability of guides rarely assessed

Static HTML Tutorials

Static HTML Tutorials

• Pros

• Relatively easy to create; easy for students to skim, scan and skip around; easy for students to try out resource while looking at screenshots and instructions; easy to update screenshots and text when interfaces change

• Cons

• No interactivity, text heavy, less engaging, doesn’t appeal to aural learners and those who prefer to watch a demonstration

Screencast Tutorials

Screencast Tutorials

• Pros

• Appeals to diverse learning styles, visually engaging, interactivity can be integrated, quizzes can be integrated

• Cons

• Time-consuming to create and update; have to be short; difficult for students to skim, scan and skip around; difficult for students to apply what they’re learning while they watch; accessibility issues

Teaching Through Web Conferencing

Teaching Through Web Conferencing

• Pros

• Live interaction with a librarian builds a sense of connection, students can ask questions, can be archived for people to watch later, not limited by classroom size

• Cons

• Staff time, cost of technology, possible technology issues for attendees and presenters, not the best idea if distance learning program has no synchronous components

Online Assessment• Quizzes and assignments

• Requires collaboration with faculty

• Best when integrated into course

• Librarian or instructor-graded?

• Open-ended or multiple choice questions?

• Also worth assessing what students think of the learning objects.

Other (less ideal) options

•Videotape live sessions

•Most won’t have attention span to watch

•Embedded librarian

•Librarian on discussion boards in courseware

•Information literacy electronic game

•BIG investment of time/effort

Modular Research Toolkit Approach

Modular Research Toolkit Approach

• Pros

• Can provide a variety of learning experiences using different tools, doesn’t need to be done in a single class session, easy for faculty to integrate into their course

• Cons

• Cons largely dependent on technologies chosen, requires close collaboration with faculty

Important Considerations

• Working closely with faculty is critical

• Working closely with academic computing is ideal

• Even with unmediated instruction, make it easy for students to get help from a librarian

• Design with learning styles in mind

• Think about accessibility

• Think about mobile device compatibility

• Place instruction at users’ points of need

Important Considerations

• Give students choices - let them determine the order in which they wish to learn things

• Integrate active learning as much as possible

• Required instruction is ideal, but if not, get faculty on-board to market to their students

• Information literacy instruction does not need to be provided by a librarian

• Also think about instructing faculty!

Thanks!

Meredith Farkasmgfarkas@gmail.com

AIM: librarianmer