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10 minutes of interaction: bite sized information literacy for new university students. Davis & Newton
This document outlines an information literacy program for new university students created by librarians at the University Library. It describes the roles of those involved, including authors, editors, and a learning technologist. The program was developed using a consistent structure and pedagogical approach, including interactive elements and a guided tour. It was promoted to students and faculty and plans were made to evaluate the program and identify areas for future improvement.
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10 minutes of interaction: bite sized information literacy for new university students. Davis & Newton
- 1. 10 minutes ofinteraction: Bite sized Information Literacy for new university students Simon Davis & Angela Newton
- 2. University Library About us Simon Davis Learning Technologist s.j.davis@adm.leeds.ac.uk Angela Newton Faculty Team Librarian a.j.newton@leeds.ac.uk
- 3. University Library In thissession The challenge Team roles & process Structure, pedagogy & guided tour Promotion & evaluation strategy Future plans Q&A
- 4.
- 5. University Library Team roles Authors: 3 pairs of librarians Content creation using Simon’s templates Learning technologist: Guidance on structural & pedagogical issues Liaison with authors & editor Technical delivery Editors: Project co-ordination, timescales etc Liaison with authors, learning technologist & managers Troubleshooting
- 6. University Library The process August2007 September 2008 Concept and brief Appointment of Learning Technologist Selection & briefing of authors Creation of content Editing & proof reading Go live & publicity
- 7. University Library Structure, pedagogyand guided tour Consistent look & feel and structure Simple, linear navigation Kept learning content as main focus Allows learners to work through and reach the end Kinesthic learners Activities Visual and auditory learners Design elements Guided tour (3.42)
- 8. University Library Model Slide typeMain learning style Example use Plain text Reading, visual Simple pre-requisite information Multiple choice / Multiple select Kinesthetic, reading Assess knowledge / understanding Give information ( individual Feedback) Compare options Rollover Kinesthetic, visual Give information Compare options Identify items Text entry Writing, kinesthetic, visual, Test knowledge / understanding Give information ( individual Feedback) Check opinions / reflection Drop down text select Kinesthetic, reading Test knowledge / understanding Differentiate terms and vocabulary Identification Screen capture / video / animation Visual, auditory Show demonstrations / model behaviour Case study / realisation Audio images Auditory, visual, kinesthetic Give information Provide opinions, case studies, exemplars
- 9. University Library Promotion &evaluation strategy Skills@Library Online tutorials page for students Promotion to academic staff; launch, postcards, events etc Promotion to students; leaflets, displays, workshops etc Evaluation Focus groups 2009-2010 questionnaire Academic use
- 10. University Library Future plans Identify potential improvements with evaluation data Extend range of topics covered Revisit promotion Improve suitability ‘signage’ from website Provide brief teaching notes http://skills.library.leeds.ac.uk/online_tutorials.php
- 11.
Editor's Notes
- #3 Simon: Over 10 years experience of working with technology as a tool for promotion and education, both in the community and in higher education. Simon is currently a Learning Technologist in the Staff and Departmental Development Unit at the University of Leeds where he helps academic staff get their content online in an engaging and usable way.
- #5 Link out to video: \assets\challenges of existing resources\challenges of existing resources.html What is the best way for me to show the challenges video? Are you sending me the file? They are linked to from the PowerPoint presentation as long as they are stored locally in a folder called Assets. I have put a disc with the files in the correct locations in the internal post. Alternatively I could put them online and you could stream them, however this would rely on the internet connection in the room. Make sure you test that the links work prior to running and if not you can open the videos up in 2 browsers before you start to sit in the background until you need them. You can then toggle between windows using Alt + Tab. QT movie also provided in the folder for backup. Script: Leeds University library, in common with most other institutions, is seen by the rest of the University as the main source of information for “big” information literacy areas such as referencing, copyright or using the web for research tool. Understanding of and engagement with these areas is key to the development of high quality scholarly practice for both new students and to some extent, staff. It is vital therefore that the information available on these topics is accurate, in depth and significantly for this presentation, accessible to new users. Faculty Librarians and information literacy officers had been very good at producing high quality information and supporting materials that ticked the first two boxes and provide the persistent user with everything that they need to know about a subject. However, users were seen to be struggling with an “embarrassment of riches” and were overwhelmed with the range and depth of the information available to them. Analysis of the existing “encyclopaedic” resources found some common themes that appeared to be preventing new students from obtaining a quick overview of the subjects: Information is presented almost exclusively in text format with few illustrations or visual aids Navigation can be inconsistent and at times counter intuitive The abundance of opportunities to follow external links can be distracting and mean that students are constantly directed away from the pages The length and depth of the individual pages and resources as a whole makes the topic seem more intimidating. It was clear that what was needed was not new information, but something that would help learners to make sense of the existing resources. Driven in part by the institutional rollout of the VLE, it was hoped that the learning objects could be adopted by academic staff for use in their modules to provide new students with a ten minute intro into a key area of information literacy. The decision was made therefore to commission a number of pedagogically driven learning objects with the following guiding principles: Interactive and engaging (activity rich) Objects would take between 10 to 15 minutes to complete Driven by focussed and realistic learning objectives Accessible, user friendly and consistent Aesthetically pleasing Most importantly the new materials had to be the “missing step” between learners who were new to these areas and the resources that already existed. They would need to allow someone new to the subjects to get a feel for the main issues quickly and easily, and then lead them to the areas of the in depth resources that were most relevant to them if appropriate.
- #6 Authors knew the ideas and products very well – experts in referencing, web of science and web searching. All had different approaches although we asked them for the same things & they all had the same initial information/brief. In some cases they were very focused and knew exactly how they wanted the content to be delivered, in other cases, they had real difficulty in trimming down their long-hand way of describing ideas into an interactive short-hand. Simon was hugely influential in terms of the structure and pedagogy of the LOs. Working with the editor to develop a solid structure to roll out across all the LOs was very important, but a complex piece of work, and he fed directly into the content creation process by liaising with authors and the editor about how each aspect of each learning object would work in practice. His previous experience in developing interactive learning objects was also invaluable. Editors: I worked on the project day-to-day, using Helen Howard to sound out on wider issues such as the visual identity (which we hired an external company to create). I was very hands-on in dealing with the content and discussed ideas with the authors/Simon directly. I also authored a separate LO in the same format for staff on copyright and the VLE, so I knew how to translate big concepts into small interactive experiences.
- #8 Working from the initial guiding principles the learning objects were all designed from the same template to ensure a consistent look and feel across them. They also followed the same structure which was geared towards ease of use and ensuring that students would be clear about what they were about to learn , what they were learning and what they had just learned. To this end all learning objects started with a true false quiz which laid out the main issues to be covered and finished with an assessment of the main learning points. As the learning objects had a clear and narrow focus their navigation was kept simple and linear. This Intuitive navigation meant that learners would be able to start using them straight away and the absence of any links to other websites removed the temptation to click away; allowing learners to work through the materials within the designed ten minute time. Stripping the design and navigation back to a minimum also allowed the learning content to be the main focus, removing any other distractions that could impede engagement with the materials. Forcing content to fit onto single screens with minimum scrolling within the templates focussed the content producers on getting to the point quickly. Wherever possible learning content was to be delivered through activities with simple instructions or pre-requisite information. Many activities built upon knowledge already delivered in earlier screens, giving learners the opportunity to construct additional knowledge from what they have already been told. Elements such as visual aids and audio objects were designed to meet visual and auditory learner’s styles in addition to kinaesthetic learners who would benefit from the hands on activities throughout the objects. Content developers could choose from a range of elearning activities which within the limited scope of the learning objects mostly focussed on asked them to “do something to get some information” or “do something with some information”. Taking one example from each learning object gives an idea of the variety of interactions that were created: Identify the elements of a book that would make up a reference Audio image and rollovers to give an example the issues faced and solutions found for copyright Drop down lists to teach about selectors for searching databases Putting the items of a reference into the correct order At the end of each learning object there is a summary screen with the all important link to further information.
- #9 We wanted to use a range of interactions in the LOs to make them engaging. Simon’s suggestions in this model allowed us to easily select ideas to put into practice. There is a real push in some current educational literature to engage students on a kinesthetic model (people like Marc Prensky believe that active learning is most effective), so quite a few of the slides Simon has designed pick up on this theme.
- #10 Also asking academics to give their feedback through personal contacts rather than formal questionnaires etc – want the views of real life users.