SPEED DATABASING: A fun way of getting to know databases
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Abi Ward, UWE Bristol Library
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SPEED DATABASING: A fun way of getting to know databases
- 1. SPEEDDATABASING: A fun way of getting to know databases Image by Laura Ockel on Unsplash.com Abi Ward, UWE Bristol Library Abi.ward@uwe.ac.uk @APWSouthWest
- 2. • “an active learning activity for introducing students to a variety of library research databases. The activity draws on the metaphors of SpeedDating™, online matchmaking apps, and personals ads. The combination of humor, time limits, and movement turn the traditional show-and-tell lecture into something fun and memorable.” • Community of Practice: https://osf.io/k6b4h/ What is it?
- 3. • At the sound of a bell, students have 3-5 minutes to review a database profile, search in the database, and take notes. • At the next bell, students have 1 minute to wrap up, then move on to the next database. • This process repeats until the end of the session. Students complete a follow-up homework assignment: ▪ Answer questions about a favourite database, and/or ▪ Create an original profile for another database (one they did not meet in class) How does it work?
- 4. • Step 1 Select the databases • Step 2 Create personals ad style descriptions • Step 3 Draft questions for students to answer as they “meet” each new database. • Step 4 Create a worksheet for students to complete during the exercise. • Step 5 Prepare an introductory presentation. • Step 6 Prepare an assessment and/or assignment. • You can find the template and sample homework assignments on the OSF Speed Databasing CoP (https://osf.io/k6b4h/ ). Preparation
- 5. • OPTION 1 – Computer Cluster (Moving) • In a classroom with computers at each desk where frequent movement is easy (wide aisles, no tripping hazards), students start at a given computer, then at the sound of the bell, move to the next computer. • OPTION 2 – Computer Cluster (Staying in Place) • In a classroom with computers at each desk, but where frequent movement is difficult, students complete the entire exercise at one computer. Instruct them to begin with one database, then at the sound of the bell, switch to the next database. • OPTION 3 – Laptop Stations (Moving) • In a room without resident computers, you can set up laptop stations (at least one per database). Students start at one station, then at the sound of the bell, move to the next station. • OPTION 4 – Personal Laptops (Staying in Place) • If each student has their own laptop, they can complete the entire exercise on their own machine. Instruct them to begin with one database, then at the sound of the bell, switch to the next database. Possible variations
- 6. Props (to use or not depending on context) Picture credits (clockwise from sweets): Patrick Fore, Szucs Laszlo, Jonathan Borba, Rebecca Matthews, Eric Nopanen, Luis Perdigao all on Unsplash.com.
- 7. •Staff training •First year students •Bitesize drop-in •Fellow librarians Case studies
- 8. What do you think? • You now have 5 minutes to look at the materials in the envelopes. • Have a think about the questions below. Discuss with those sitting near you and add your thoughts to this padlet: https://padlet.com/abi_ward/SpeedDatabasing • What do you think of the concept and the materials? • Do you think you would use it? • If so why/why not? Are there any adaptations you would make?
- 9. And finally… • From looking at the ‘Personal Ads’ is there a database that particularly caught your eye or piqued your interest? • Which one would you most like to get to know better? • Go to menti.com and enter the code: 24 25 86
Editor's Notes
- Step 1 Select the databases you want to introduce to the students. Step 2 Create personals ad style descriptions for each database. You can find a template ad on the Open Science Framework (OSF) Speed Databasing community of practice (CoP) website (https://osf.io/k6b4h/), along with completed ads that you can reuse or revise as needed. Step 3 Draft questions for students to answer as they “meet” each new database. These can be included on a handout, posted at each computer, or displayed on a screen at the front of the room. You can find sample questions on the OSF Speed Databasing CoP. Step 4 Create a worksheet for students to complete during the exercise. You can find a template worksheet on the OSF Speed Databasing CoP. Step 5 Prepare an introductory presentation. As required, kick off the session with an introduction to research databases in general, then follow with brief instructions on the exercise. Step 6 Prepare an assessment and/or assignment. If this is a one-off activity with no assignment, create a survey or other instrument to assess learning. If you are running the exercise as a guest in another class, ask the instructor for his/her feedback. If possible, include a homework assignment to reinforce learning. Ask students to select a database (in their discipline, related to their project, etc.), then create a personals ad for that database. Provide students with the template design. You can find the template and sample homework assignments on the OSF Speed Databasing CoP (https://osf.io/k6b4h/ ).
- OPTION 1 – Computer Cluster (Moving) In a classroom with computers at each desk where frequent movement is easy (wide aisles, no tripping hazards), students start at a given computer, then at the sound of the bell, move to the next computer. OPTION 2 – Computer Cluster (Staying in Place) In a classroom with computers at each desk, but where frequent movement is difficult, students complete the entire exercise at one computer. Instruct them to begin with one database, then at the sound of the bell, switch to the next database. OPTION 3 – Laptop Stations (Moving) In a room without resident computers, you can set up laptop stations (at least one per database). Students start at one station, then at the sound of the bell, move to the next station. OPTION 4 – Personal Laptops (Staying in Place) If each student has their own laptop, they can complete the entire exercise on their own machine. Instruct them to begin with one database, then at the sound of the bell, switch to the next database. Prepare the physical and virtual space. As needed, set up computers and arrange furniture for ease of movement. Post directional arrows and questions. Pre-set browser windows to each database. If you are adopting a romantic mood, scatter the rose petals, “light” the tea candles, and turn the music on low.
- Timer: You will need a reliable timer that can alert you when time is up. There are plenty of these online. Bell: It would be handy to have a bell as this gets the point across that it’s time to switch over. I have gone for a quirky bell Rose petals: In the demo I attended there were fake rose petals strewn across the desks. It was fun and quirky but was at a demo at a conference. I haven’t used them in practice. Candles: I don’t want to be encouraging fires! There are ‘fake’ little tealights you can get and these were effective at the demo I went to but I haven’t used them in any of the sessions I have run. Music: According to the Community of Practice a lot of people use music. It can help to relax people and ‘fill the silence’ if it is a session where the students are ‘one to one’ with the databases. I haven’t tried this myself, though I am considering it for next year. Not necessarily Barry White though… Sweets: As anyone who is into gamification knows, people love sweets and it helps them get into a playful mood. I do use heart shaped haribo in my sessions and they are popular.
- Staff training: I successfully used Speed Databasing to introduce library staff to a range of databases in a short space of time This helped them gain awareness of resources across other topic areas First year students: A short version was used as an ice breaker activity in a couple of teaching sessions. The rest of the session involved more in-depth searching and evaluating the results Biteseize drop-in: I am currently preparing a Bite size session to run in Autumn 2019. This will be a 10 minute drop-in session open to all students Students can select a general area of interest (eg Law, health, social sciences, education, history) and pick a relevant personal ad from a bag. There will be time for 3 rounds of 2.5 minutes so they will get to ‘know’ 3 databases in their area. ARLG-SW Teachmeet: I did a demonstration at a Teachmeet for Librarians across the South West. They did it in groups and moved to each table on the bell.