For the most recent unit in English 101, the students learn to dissect scholarly articles, finding information to answer their research question and guide them in writing their thesis. The process is designed to introduce them to this type of writing and set them up for success in future classes. As this is likely the first time students have had to work with scholarly research, the approach for this unit may feel "backwards" to some. Anne Marie compiled resources that compliment each other. The topic the classes were examining was: student success in college. She compiled three scholarly articles, as well as chapters from their required text, The Naked Roommate, and an article from The Chronicle of Higher Education. Throughout the week the class examined the articles together, identifying the pieces that helped answer their research question, "How do various factors influence college student success?" Students were to have read each of the articles prior to class (and were to have printed them to bring to class, to annotate as we discussed the important factors and results). The first day, Anne Marie popped in at the end of class to give students an idea of what to expect for the next class. On Wednesday the entire class dissected the first scholarly article all together, extracting factors and measures of success. That Friday I helped facilitate small group discussions (we broke into two groups, each discussing a different article). I was impressed with my students' abilities to see past the "fancy-author-talk" and interpret the article to get to the meat of what we were looking for. The next week we discussed both break-out articles as a class.
In addition to teaching, I assisted patrons at the reference desk, and Anne Marie and I spent quite a bit of time preparing our paper for LOEX--It will be here before we know it!
Showing posts with label reference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reference. Show all posts
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Top Ten List: Number Ten
From the Iowa Library Association/ACRL Conference, in reverse chronological order:
10. Seeking Wisdom in Community: Shaping a First-Year Research Experience given by Andi Beckendorf, Germano G. Streese, of Luther College
10. Seeking Wisdom in Community: Shaping a First-Year Research Experience given by Andi Beckendorf, Germano G. Streese, of Luther College
- This session was particularly interesting to me, partially because I'm a Luther grad, and also because this program targets first-year students and their learning experiences. As a transfer student into Luther, I did not take Paideia. While I had heard stories about the course from my friends, this session allowed me to see the instructor side of the course. Germano and Andi provided a brief history, how they identified the need to modify the program (both the course and library approach). With new needs identified, the library was able to utilize LibGuides to support student learning. This integration led to changes in what was observed at the reference desk; questions shifted from the seemingly simple "how do I," skill-based questions (that can be answered with a set of directions), to more complex, strategy-based questions.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Week Eight: Scheduling, Implementing, LOEX Preparing, and Curriculum Library Touring
Here's an easy-to-digest list of last week's happenings:
- Info lit observation/teaching scheduling
- Reference desk manning (including an instance when a student used the library to woo a girl--we go the extra mile for our patrons!)
- LOEX presentation preparing/collaborating
- Preparing for Web Sub-committee meeting'
- Institutional repository informal discussions
- Concept map transcribing/digitization (for several classes)
- Curriculum library tour (collection policies, transitioning to a new space, what to keep/what to deselect, how it supports education program)
- CIS 101 Plagiarism assignment run through (done by Mary Anne and Jon to fill the rest of the staff in on what they have planned for the classes)
- A little bit of everything (because that's what librarians do)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Article Discussion: Making Twitter Work: A Guide for the Uninitiated, the Skeptical, and the Pragmatic
In an effort to embrace the technologies I am exploring, I joined Twitter a few weeks ago. I've connected with some friends, and have added the occasional comedian, many library-related tweeters, and news organizations. I can definitely see how some may easily get lost in the "Twittersphere," but how can it work for libraries and professionals? It is another way to directly connect with library users--and the "keep it short, stupid" set-up of Twitter is convenient for those with little time to commit to social networking. I'm still learning, but what does Forrestal have to say about Twitter?
Forrestala, V. (2011). Making Twitter Work: A Guide for the Uninitiated, the Skeptical, and the Pragmatic. The Reference Librarian, 52(1), 146-151. doi:10.1080/02763877.2011.527607
As many of us who have explored Twitter can see, communication via this medium continues to grow. Librarians are some of the most active Twitter users, and Forrestala cites Young's 2010 study of influence on Twitter, stating "an unnamed librarian as being one of the most influential non-celebrity users on the service."
For those not familiar with Twitter, it is a website that allows users to post short updates or conversation starters (up to 140 characters). Users can follow others' updates (tweets), and profiles may be either public or private, depending upon user preference. If you decide to make your profile private, those who wish to read your tweets must request and be approved by you. You can also have conversations with other Twitter users by utilizing the @ symbol along with their username. Retweeting is sharing another's post with those who follow you. Hashtags (#) allow for tagging, attaching labels to tweets to organize them. A common hashtag currently being employed is the #Egypt label. If you click on the hashtag, Twitter compiles the tweets that have included that label, allowing you to see what others are saying about it (not just those you follow).
Accessing Twitter is done in a variety of ways. You can visit the Twitter website, desktop applications like TweetDeck or Seesmic, access it via smart phone, or submit new tweets using text messaging. But how can you make using Twitter meaningful for your library and those who follow your library?
Forrestala recommends making what you Tweet meaningful by creating conversation, not just broadcasting happenings or making announcements. By making it a place where conversation can happen, you bring the interactive aspect to the media that others may not be incorporating. The article says you can also create an RSS feed (covered in my last post) for certain searches, i.e. the name of your library, by utilizing the "feed for this query" link. While this is true for what is currently the "old twitter" the new redesign appears to have eliminated this option (or at least hidden it very well).
As a librarian, you can create a list of people in your area who have tweeted about library-related topics. Forrestala gives the examples of "research," "paper," or "writing." You can respond to their post, directing them to your library's services, even though the post doesn't mention the word "library" or "homework," reaching out to users less likely to seek out assistance.
By searching your library Twitter can serve as a "virtual comment box" to learn more about what your users are saying about you. You can also put widgets (a box that links to your tweets) that can direct others to your tweets, or that can show your most recent tweets--particularly useful for those not interested in setting up a Twitter account, but may still be interested in quick snippets about library happenings. You can also connect your tweets to display in other forms of social media (i.e. Facebook, website, blog).
An interesting experiment done by Harvard was the "Library Hose" which generated a tweet for every book that was checked out (including title and author, not any information that could identify the patron). This gets one point across: the library is widely used. But it ignores another point the author highly values: using Twitter as a way to communicate with library users, to open communication and dialog (as opposed to a broadcasting tool).
Particularly helpful for those looking into using Twitter was the section highlighting strategy. Figuring out the purpose and focus of your account comes first. Connecting the Twitter profile to your organization, not just electronically, but also visually but incorporating images, colors, and other links helps to establish the credibility of the account. Examine best practices, including rules for behavior and interaction. Forrestala continues to emphasize the interactive uses of Twitter, lending itself to conversation. Checking your account regularly helps users feel less like they are being ignored (particularly important with reference interactions)and (perhaps) may be more likely to form a positive association with the library. The author notes that being active and helpful can help the institution in the long run (with future alumni donations) if users can maintain a lasting connection to the school. It can also be a great starting point for a conversation, which may then be moved to another medium (i.e. blog, phone, email, Facebook, in-person).
For professional growth, librarians can follow live tweeting at conferences, colleagues tweets, and breaking news.
Three blogs Forrestala mentions (that I plan on exploring in more depth) are:
Tame the Web
Librarians Matter
Mashable
An article came across my Twitter feed (someone retweeted the article) about the "10 Twitter Features You Might Be Missing."
Sherman, A. (2011). 10 Twitter features you might be missing. Gigaom. Retrieved from http://gigaom.com/collaboration/10-twitter-features-you-might-be-missing/.
Sherman quickly and easily highlights some of the features basic users of Twitter might be overlooking. I will briefly outline the main points:
Forrestala, V. (2011). Making Twitter Work: A Guide for the Uninitiated, the Skeptical, and the Pragmatic. The Reference Librarian, 52(1), 146-151. doi:10.1080/02763877.2011.527607
As many of us who have explored Twitter can see, communication via this medium continues to grow. Librarians are some of the most active Twitter users, and Forrestala cites Young's 2010 study of influence on Twitter, stating "an unnamed librarian as being one of the most influential non-celebrity users on the service."
For those not familiar with Twitter, it is a website that allows users to post short updates or conversation starters (up to 140 characters). Users can follow others' updates (tweets), and profiles may be either public or private, depending upon user preference. If you decide to make your profile private, those who wish to read your tweets must request and be approved by you. You can also have conversations with other Twitter users by utilizing the @ symbol along with their username. Retweeting is sharing another's post with those who follow you. Hashtags (#) allow for tagging, attaching labels to tweets to organize them. A common hashtag currently being employed is the #Egypt label. If you click on the hashtag, Twitter compiles the tweets that have included that label, allowing you to see what others are saying about it (not just those you follow).
Accessing Twitter is done in a variety of ways. You can visit the Twitter website, desktop applications like TweetDeck or Seesmic, access it via smart phone, or submit new tweets using text messaging. But how can you make using Twitter meaningful for your library and those who follow your library?
Forrestala recommends making what you Tweet meaningful by creating conversation, not just broadcasting happenings or making announcements. By making it a place where conversation can happen, you bring the interactive aspect to the media that others may not be incorporating. The article says you can also create an RSS feed (covered in my last post) for certain searches, i.e. the name of your library, by utilizing the "feed for this query" link. While this is true for what is currently the "old twitter" the new redesign appears to have eliminated this option (or at least hidden it very well).
As a librarian, you can create a list of people in your area who have tweeted about library-related topics. Forrestala gives the examples of "research," "paper," or "writing." You can respond to their post, directing them to your library's services, even though the post doesn't mention the word "library" or "homework," reaching out to users less likely to seek out assistance.
By searching your library Twitter can serve as a "virtual comment box" to learn more about what your users are saying about you. You can also put widgets (a box that links to your tweets) that can direct others to your tweets, or that can show your most recent tweets--particularly useful for those not interested in setting up a Twitter account, but may still be interested in quick snippets about library happenings. You can also connect your tweets to display in other forms of social media (i.e. Facebook, website, blog).
An interesting experiment done by Harvard was the "Library Hose" which generated a tweet for every book that was checked out (including title and author, not any information that could identify the patron). This gets one point across: the library is widely used. But it ignores another point the author highly values: using Twitter as a way to communicate with library users, to open communication and dialog (as opposed to a broadcasting tool).
Particularly helpful for those looking into using Twitter was the section highlighting strategy. Figuring out the purpose and focus of your account comes first. Connecting the Twitter profile to your organization, not just electronically, but also visually but incorporating images, colors, and other links helps to establish the credibility of the account. Examine best practices, including rules for behavior and interaction. Forrestala continues to emphasize the interactive uses of Twitter, lending itself to conversation. Checking your account regularly helps users feel less like they are being ignored (particularly important with reference interactions)and (perhaps) may be more likely to form a positive association with the library. The author notes that being active and helpful can help the institution in the long run (with future alumni donations) if users can maintain a lasting connection to the school. It can also be a great starting point for a conversation, which may then be moved to another medium (i.e. blog, phone, email, Facebook, in-person).
For professional growth, librarians can follow live tweeting at conferences, colleagues tweets, and breaking news.
Three blogs Forrestala mentions (that I plan on exploring in more depth) are:
Tame the Web
Librarians Matter
Mashable
An article came across my Twitter feed (someone retweeted the article) about the "10 Twitter Features You Might Be Missing."
Sherman, A. (2011). 10 Twitter features you might be missing. Gigaom. Retrieved from http://gigaom.com/collaboration/10-twitter-features-you-might-be-missing/.
Sherman quickly and easily highlights some of the features basic users of Twitter might be overlooking. I will briefly outline the main points:
- Take a look at Twitter's suggestions (under "Who to Follow--View Suggestions." You can even browse by interest or have Twitter use your email account to find people you know from your address book.
- Twitter for business: the guide lists terms, best practices, case studies and tips.
- You can advertise on Twitter and use analytics to find out more about your users (though this applies more to businesses than libraries).
- As Forrestala mentioned above (though, with more of a RSS feed emphasis), using the searching features (and saving your searches, or making lists) you can check for new tweets about topics related to your services.
- Twitter Tales: this was new to me. Twitter tales are brief stories featuring Twitter users. This can be particularly helpful to glean new ideas about how to use Twitter to meet your patrons' needs.
- Widgets: these badges can be used to advertise your Twitter page, display tweets, and allow others to follow your posts from boxes that can be embedded in websites, blogs, etc.
- Similar to widgets are the "Follow Me" buttons, which are basically html coding that links to your Twitter page. Another embeddable element is the "Tweet Button" which allows others to tweet about your blog or webpage with the click of a button.
- Keyboard Shortcuts: The article showed this awesome image of the various shortcuts (below).
Monday, January 31, 2011
Week Four: Four Weeks Already?! Haikus, Collection Development, Research, and Web Content
It's hard for me to believe it has already been four weeks since I began my internship here at UD!
Last week was the kickoff week for RES 104. Becky Canovan, Reference and Instruction Librarian, has been working tirelessly to prepare the first set in a series of instruction sessions for this course. The librarians join each section of RES 104 (13 on campus sections, and one online section) six times throughout the semester to assist them with the research and writing process. The first round of sessions introduces the research process as it relates to the students' first paper covering social science topics.
The librarians here give each other the opportunity to observe (for the benefit of both the person rehearsing the instruction, and for those observing to be more comfortable with the content and approach before jumping into teaching). Becky ran through the Res104 Day 1 lesson (she is teaching all of the Day 1s and the Days 2 and 3 are divided between all of the librarians). She put together a creative first day incorporating various technologies as well as a haiku matching game where the students matched example topics to the prepared haikus (you can learn more about them in her blog post, click here). I was able to observe the first two (of three) of the social science sessions for one of the sections (with the third observation taking place later this week), taught by Becky. It was interesting to see (even between just the first two sessions) the difference in the ways the students responded to the instruction. I could see them connecting the ideas presented in the first session to the initial/exploratory research in the second section, as they looked to see if their proposed research questions were viable. I loved going around, helping students refine their searches and topics, asking questions and offering suggestions to help them be more successful.
This past week, Anne Marie and I also had the opportunity to discuss the collection development practices in a bit more in depth. Each librarian is responsible for approximately four different liaison areas. As is the case in many libraries, when purchasing for their liaison areas, the librarians welcome suggestions from faculty and students. The faculty suggestions are particularly key when purchasing in subject areas that are not the librarian's subject of specialty. In addition to faculty suggestions, librarians consider how the curriculum is changing, and whether the selections may serve multiple areas. Anne Marie gave examples of her selection and deselection processes, though weeding tends to fall to the bottom of the list behind instruction, public services, and selecting new items. Weeding happens, typically in the summers when the library is less busy, when space becomes an issue; deselection policies vary with department standards.
I was able to complete the WV2 prep (though some professors have yet to submit their partnering organizations to us so we can prepare the slides), update discussion threads on Moodle for the instruction sessions, and observe at the reference desk. As it was still early in the semester (only three days into the term), there were only a handful of reference questions, allowing Anne Marie and I the opportunity to discuss another one of the core classes, English 101 (ENG 101).
The design of ENG 101 is different than that of any other course I've seen, in that students are developing critical thinking, evaluation, and thesis developing skills through the writing of essentially the same research paper for the entire class. The students are learning about the research writing process and, rather than complicate or distract the students from the elements of this process, the students are presented with the same resources; as a class they evaluate the resources, formulate a class thesis, and compile the same bibliography. The students then write their own research paper using the resources from the class. The pedagogical idea is that the students are there to learn the process, not get bogged down in the resources or the last minute habits that seem to plague younger college students. By emphasizing the process and grading along the way, the students are able to better understand the building blocks of writing and connect that process to future classes (RES 104) where they complete the research, evaluation, thesis writing, and paper writing process independently. The librarians participate in a two-week unit (4-5 class days) in which the students examine the same articles (popular, scholarly), discuss, develop research questions as a class, break into smaller groups and complete a similar process for other articles, discuss answers as a class, develop a thesis/argument, and discuss how to read a scholarly article.
This week was another week where I came in on Friday to participate in meetings and instruction session observations. We had a meeting to discuss one area of the UD library's web page, the "How Do I?" page. What began as a quick reference has gotten bogged down with text, and is not necessarily presenting the information in a concise or organized fashion. We discussed:
What are the goals of the page? Is it a teaching tool? Should it not duplicate what we do in the classroom? Or should it present the same information, but in a "Reader's Digest" form? Do we want to include podcasts/screencasts? Who is our target audience (on campus students, distance students, those needing help with the research process, faculty, all)?
The plan is to look at other library web pages (including public libraries) to see how they present their FAQ or "How do I?" pages, whether it is presented in database form or browsable form or both, examine mobile interfaces, and look at best practices for libraries.
This week I'll be shadowing in several areas of the library and continuing to observe classroom instruction sessions.
Last week was the kickoff week for RES 104. Becky Canovan, Reference and Instruction Librarian, has been working tirelessly to prepare the first set in a series of instruction sessions for this course. The librarians join each section of RES 104 (13 on campus sections, and one online section) six times throughout the semester to assist them with the research and writing process. The first round of sessions introduces the research process as it relates to the students' first paper covering social science topics.
The librarians here give each other the opportunity to observe (for the benefit of both the person rehearsing the instruction, and for those observing to be more comfortable with the content and approach before jumping into teaching). Becky ran through the Res104 Day 1 lesson (she is teaching all of the Day 1s and the Days 2 and 3 are divided between all of the librarians). She put together a creative first day incorporating various technologies as well as a haiku matching game where the students matched example topics to the prepared haikus (you can learn more about them in her blog post, click here). I was able to observe the first two (of three) of the social science sessions for one of the sections (with the third observation taking place later this week), taught by Becky. It was interesting to see (even between just the first two sessions) the difference in the ways the students responded to the instruction. I could see them connecting the ideas presented in the first session to the initial/exploratory research in the second section, as they looked to see if their proposed research questions were viable. I loved going around, helping students refine their searches and topics, asking questions and offering suggestions to help them be more successful.
This past week, Anne Marie and I also had the opportunity to discuss the collection development practices in a bit more in depth. Each librarian is responsible for approximately four different liaison areas. As is the case in many libraries, when purchasing for their liaison areas, the librarians welcome suggestions from faculty and students. The faculty suggestions are particularly key when purchasing in subject areas that are not the librarian's subject of specialty. In addition to faculty suggestions, librarians consider how the curriculum is changing, and whether the selections may serve multiple areas. Anne Marie gave examples of her selection and deselection processes, though weeding tends to fall to the bottom of the list behind instruction, public services, and selecting new items. Weeding happens, typically in the summers when the library is less busy, when space becomes an issue; deselection policies vary with department standards.
I was able to complete the WV2 prep (though some professors have yet to submit their partnering organizations to us so we can prepare the slides), update discussion threads on Moodle for the instruction sessions, and observe at the reference desk. As it was still early in the semester (only three days into the term), there were only a handful of reference questions, allowing Anne Marie and I the opportunity to discuss another one of the core classes, English 101 (ENG 101).
The design of ENG 101 is different than that of any other course I've seen, in that students are developing critical thinking, evaluation, and thesis developing skills through the writing of essentially the same research paper for the entire class. The students are learning about the research writing process and, rather than complicate or distract the students from the elements of this process, the students are presented with the same resources; as a class they evaluate the resources, formulate a class thesis, and compile the same bibliography. The students then write their own research paper using the resources from the class. The pedagogical idea is that the students are there to learn the process, not get bogged down in the resources or the last minute habits that seem to plague younger college students. By emphasizing the process and grading along the way, the students are able to better understand the building blocks of writing and connect that process to future classes (RES 104) where they complete the research, evaluation, thesis writing, and paper writing process independently. The librarians participate in a two-week unit (4-5 class days) in which the students examine the same articles (popular, scholarly), discuss, develop research questions as a class, break into smaller groups and complete a similar process for other articles, discuss answers as a class, develop a thesis/argument, and discuss how to read a scholarly article.
This week was another week where I came in on Friday to participate in meetings and instruction session observations. We had a meeting to discuss one area of the UD library's web page, the "How Do I?" page. What began as a quick reference has gotten bogged down with text, and is not necessarily presenting the information in a concise or organized fashion. We discussed:
What are the goals of the page? Is it a teaching tool? Should it not duplicate what we do in the classroom? Or should it present the same information, but in a "Reader's Digest" form? Do we want to include podcasts/screencasts? Who is our target audience (on campus students, distance students, those needing help with the research process, faculty, all)?
The plan is to look at other library web pages (including public libraries) to see how they present their FAQ or "How do I?" pages, whether it is presented in database form or browsable form or both, examine mobile interfaces, and look at best practices for libraries.
This week I'll be shadowing in several areas of the library and continuing to observe classroom instruction sessions.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Article 1: The Reference Librarian as Non-Expert: A Postmodern Approach to Expertise
Stover, M. (2004). The reference librarian as non-expert: A postmodern approach to expertise. The Reference Librarian, 42(87), 273-300. doi:10.1300/J120v42n87_10
In the postmodern approach to librarianship, emphasis is placed on communication and relationships between librarians and patrons. Subject knowledge, traditional information seeking skills, and the modern view of expertise fall secondary to the librarian’s communication, social psychological, reference interview, and non-verbal skills when assisting patrons with their research needs. Import is placed upon a mutual respect between librarian and patron, and the ability to adjust reference research practices based on his/her needs (as opposed to the quest for “ultimate truth” on a topic). Jargon and an air of superiority (wherein expertise equals power) obstruct patron understanding of and comfort with librarian assistance and can lead to ineffective research and also a negative patron experience, hindering future interaction. Postmodern librarianship lends itself to a partnership between librarian and patron, seeking information in a shared manner. Including information literacy as a part of the services librarians provide will empower patrons to research independently in the future.
In the postmodern approach to librarianship, emphasis is placed on communication and relationships between librarians and patrons. Subject knowledge, traditional information seeking skills, and the modern view of expertise fall secondary to the librarian’s communication, social psychological, reference interview, and non-verbal skills when assisting patrons with their research needs. Import is placed upon a mutual respect between librarian and patron, and the ability to adjust reference research practices based on his/her needs (as opposed to the quest for “ultimate truth” on a topic). Jargon and an air of superiority (wherein expertise equals power) obstruct patron understanding of and comfort with librarian assistance and can lead to ineffective research and also a negative patron experience, hindering future interaction. Postmodern librarianship lends itself to a partnership between librarian and patron, seeking information in a shared manner. Including information literacy as a part of the services librarians provide will empower patrons to research independently in the future.
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