Real Time with the Librarian: Using Web Conferencing Software to Connect to Distance Students

Real Time with the Librarian: Using Web Conferencing Software to Connect to DistanceStudentsTom Riedel, Paul BettyRegis University

Fifteenth Distance Library Services ConferenceMemphis, Tennessee

April 18-20, 2012

The librarys Distance Services Department (composed of Tom and Paul) is the primary instruction liaison to nearly10,000 students enrolled in accelerated online and ground-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs. A dynamic duo

-Opening slides are a chance to summarize the institutions mission, student and faculty population, curriculum, etc. 2We travel many miles to provide face-to-face library instruction sessions to students taking courses at six extended campuses (five in Colorado and one in Las Vegas, NV)Truckin on down the line

-face to face instruction has traditionally set the baseline in terms of instructional services. Perhaps worth noting at this point or later in the presentation, is that some faculty teaching ground based courses have expressed more satisfaction with the web casts since the session is archived. No longer can absence be used as an excuse. 3A targeted approach to instructionACTIONS:Identify courses that include a research componentSolicit instructors via emailClearly defined areas of service between library departments

A targeted approach to instructionRESULTS:Strong relationships with some affiliate faculty; continued collaborationEstablish a norm among affiliate faculty Librarians become collaborators in course development and (re)design. The Distance Services department has a long tradition of providing asynchronous library instruction to students via discussion threads in the Learning Management System. All asynchronous, all the time.

-asynchronous interaction can consume a lot of time. Some days during the height of the instruction period, thw whole day is spent replying to student posts. 6Asynchronous time saversWe make use of copy and paste tools as much as we can to save time for one-to-one interaction in forums.Templates / scriptsHandouts Tutorials

The number of library instruction sessions provided by the department has increased 300% in the past ten yearsboth a measure of our success as well as an indicator of how close to the breaking point we are. Hitting the target means greater demand for services

Move towards synchronous2008

2011

Previously had used chat feature in course management systems University licenses Adobe Connect softwareLibrarians receive training and request own meeting roomsProvide webcasts on requestFormalize practiceAdobe Connect

Keepin it real (time)MOTIVES for providing SYNCHRONOUS library instruction at Regis UniversityDirect requests from faculty membersUniversitys acquisition of software with flexible licenseLearning stylesACRL Guidelines for Distance LearningPotential time saver?Keepin it real (time)BARRIERS to providing SYNCHRONOUS library instruction at Regis University Asynchronous interaction the de facto standard in online instructionGeographic dispersion of online student populationWebcasts compete with on-the-ground instruction for scheduling

-note that bandwidth/technology has not proven to be much of a barrier. However, this only considers feedback from persons who attended the webcast or viewed the recording afterward. But from this sample group, tech support does not seem to be an issue. 12Offering an increasing array of real time library webcasts is time intensive. Best practices for conducting web conferences suggest a two person approach: moderator and presenter. This is not feasible in our two person department. It takes two to make things go right?

Flying solo: being THE presenterOur practices include the following: Logging in 15 minutes early for troubleshootingOnly use video feed from web cam at the start, then it is paused to clear more bandwidthShare desktop and/or applicationUse descriptive language that matches what is being demonstratedMonitors: 2 > 1Provide recording afterwardPilot and Co-pilot

15Flying solo: interactionOur practices include the following: Only the librarian has audio privilegesAttendees use chat to communicateLevels the playing fieldAllows librarian to push the agendaPoll studentsShare desktop or applications for live examples.

Flying solo: know the scoreOur practices include the following: Session are 45-60 minutesbut less likely to cover as much as in a face to face settingPush content asynchronously before the webcast to maximize time spent in the online meeting room. Software has its quirks; understand what it looks like from the attendees side Real time impressionsStarting with the second eight week session in October, 2011, students in online classes were surveyed about the library webcasts afterward.Two versions of the survey were administeredGroup1 (Fall 8wk2): 49 students completed the surveyGroup 2 (Spring 8wk1): 42 students completed the survey50% of respondents attended in real time; 28% watched recording afterward

Total of 26 web casts were offered from period Fall 2011- Spring 2012. Survey period total is from Fall 2011- Spring 8wk1 (19 total webcasts)18Real time impressionsResearch guides Database searchingDatabase selectionResearch assistance (reference desk, virtual reference)

Interlibrary loan

79%78%73%51%

35%

Which of the following aspects of the presentation did you find beneficial?

Note the total number of webcasts offered from Fall 2011-Spring 2012 19Real time impressionsvery goodgoodOKbadvery badnot applicableSigning in66%24%4%0%0%6%Visibility70%25%5%0%0%0%Audio43%43%12%2%0%0%Chat55%25%7%0%0%13%If you attended or watched the webcast, please rate the following features of the online "meeting room."Real time impressionsDesktop Computer22%Laptop Computer72%iPad or similar tablet computer1%Mobile phone or other handheld device0%What kind of device did you use to participate in the webcast?Real time impressionsvery good good OK bad very bad75%20%5%--

Overall, how would you rate the usefulness of the library webcast?The next time: recommendationsWhat could we do better during our library instruction webcasts?

Provide further documentation about the online meeting room (screenshots, video captures, etc.)Incorporate more interaction via breakout sessionsStudents still comment on attendance and availability of recording

Real time conclusions +

_Student and faculty feedback has been overwhelmingly positiveUtilizing webcast software for other services (orientations, office hours, ground based courses, etc.)Practice makes perfect (um, kind of!)ScalabilityHard to appease everyone (time, technical issues, etc.)

webcast was very useful. I wish I had had this available to me earlier in my Regis career. But am glad to have had the opportunityI really enjoyed the webcast. I attended one in my business class a while back and just think you can always learn something. Thank you for giving your time to do thisI use the online services the library has to offer and I didn't think I could learn anything, but I was wrong. The webcast explained how to narrow down the search and how to look for an active peer-review journal article instead of ordering it. But if it is not available, ordering it through the interlibrary loan process.

24Time is up! Questions?Tom Riedel, Paul BettyRegis University

Fifteenth Distance Library Services ConferenceMemphis, Tennessee

April 18-20, 2012