Exploring student engagement with mobile technologies at a regional university

Exploring student engagement with mobile technologies at a remote and regional universityJulie Cartwright, Sally Cummings, Bernadette Royal, Michelle Turner and JoAnne Witt

Where is CDU?
Photo credits: http://www.australia.com/destinations/states/nt.aspx
http://amazingaustralia.com.au
and Flickr-Creative Commons

Charles Darwin University Library
Casuarina Campus

Challenges of Supporting Internal and External Students
Photo credits: http://www.eightacresofeden.com/2009/12/lighting-for-teenagers-deskstudy.html

Orientation For All
Group Mascots
On campus
On campus no phone
Online
Online no phone
Photo credits: Steve Boak (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jalbarragup_artworks/), Grant Williamson (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gjw/) and
Sam Fraser-Smith (http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfrasersmith/). Cartoonified using BeFunky.

Enticements
Thank you for the generous sponsorship of the CDU Library Treasure Hunt.

Online Students
Liaison Librarian Page
Referencing Lib Guide

On Campus No Phone
Posters

On Campus No Phone
Postcard .

On Campus with Phone
.
Posters

On Campus with Phones
Postcards

Free Tools We Used
PercentMobile
Quickmark QR code reader for PC
i-nigma
Blabberize

Lone Ranger or Social ?

Keeping it
silly

Promote! Promote!

Promoting QR Codes

Linking the Physical to the Virtual
Note: The accompanying video is embedded in the following slide

Serious Art of Having Fun

Collecting the Stats
Built in from the beginning!
Treasure Hunt entries
Different phrases used to indicate modes of entry
Treasure Hunt LibGuide stats
Bit.ly stats for URLs and QR codes
Feedback survey
Observations of mobile use in library

Differentiating Entry Modes
Four different phrases used to indicate modes of entry
On campus, with phone
(Achieve great results, live your dream use CDU library )
On campus, no phone
(Improve your marks by using the library resources)
Online, with phone
(Now you know your library)
Online, no phone
(Use CDU library to improve your results)

Treasure Hunt Entries
70 on campus (31%)
8 / 70 (11.4%)
used QR codes
223 entries
153 online (69%)
15 / 153 (9.8%)
used QR codes
Comment: “A great way to familiarise my way around the CDU library site. Great fun too, a break from study!”

Treasure Hunt Libguide
1205 visits in Feb & March
203 visits to the About QR codes tab

Bit.ly Stats for URLs and QR Codes

Feedback Survey
Voluntary, no prizes offered
7 questions

How did Students Hear about the Treasure Hunt?

What did They Think of it?

Do Students Own Smartphones?

What is Their Experience with QR Codes?

Are Students Interested in Accessing Library Services via Mobile Devices?

What Worked
Comprehensive planning, walk-throughs, building in evaluation measures
Working with lecturers to bring student groups through or embed treasure hunt into information literacy classes
LibGuide provided education role (learning about QR codes) as well as starting point of activity
Incorporating multimedia where appropriate (eg. videos)

What Didn’t Work
(or could be improved)
Scheduled session times in the library had low uptake
Difficult to reach students through CDU emails, both for promotion and contacting winners
Promotion on-campus and online was difficult to do effectively
On-campus students had less opportunity to learn about QR codes beforehand

What We Learnt
Students motivated by fun as much as (if not more than) prizes
10% of participants used QR codes
Online activities had greater uptake than on-campus activities
CDU librarians were upskilled in the use of QR codes and mobile technology

Plans for QR Codes at CDU
Aim for high impact low cost. Don’t overinvest.
Linking physical spaces or items directly to associated electronic resources.

QR code links to video/text/images instructions on how to print

QR Code links to tutorial on how to add money to card using card machine and eftpos facility

LCD screen in CDU Library foyer.
QR code links to video/text/images of Library news, sites and events

QR code copies call number to mobile device/maps physical location/more info

Wrap Up
How do we identify what aspects to adopt and promote?
Observations indicated high level of clients using mobile devices within the library. CDU Library policy will ensure mobile compatibility is considered in all future system and content purchases
Statistics collected indicate fun, instructional video clips worthy of adopting &promoting
CDU Library QR Codes can be used in any promotional arena/campus wide/Territory wide
Are they worthy of our time and budget?
Yes, increasing library profile to external & internal clients through the use of free software tools such as Animoto & Blabberize clearly demonstrated high level of student engagement.
How to overcome difficulties for smaller Libraries who may lack staffing, expertise and resources?
We addressed these difficulties by sourcing freeware, self taught play time, drawing upon existing knowledge from within the team and the common goal of providing a fun learning experience for everyone involved.

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Exploring student engagement with mobile technologies at a regional university

by Sally Cummings on May 21, 2011

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