The week of March 7th was filled with great discussions, observations, and reference work, and instruction experiences. Monday I observed additional RES104 Humanities sessions and worked with the students to understand the Humanities in relation to their next paper. In Humanities Day 1 the students worked in groups to find resources to provided questions. They then gave an informal presentation demonstrating how they found a resource containing the requested information.
I taught the "Q" section of Research 104 and we discussed finding credible resources to be used for their Humanities paper (we focused on web evaluation and finding relevant articles/books for their annotated bibliography, due shortly). The students submitted their website examples and, as a class, we discussed what aspects of the website made us think it was credible, and what aspects made us hesitant to use it to write papers. I also showed them a couple of databases and where to find humanities resources on the library's website. The students came up with great topics and I was excited to hear their paper ideas.
We had another Web Committee meeting, discussing more details of the changes we would like to make on the "How do I?" page. There are lots of pieces we'd like to see incorporated (embedding Jing videos, mobile interface, continuing to tweak/modify language and categories for tutorial content and other questions). In addition to technology related to the website, we are looking at bigger-picture issues such as the use of QR codes, computing in the cloud, and other software and technologies that can help UD grow in terms of technology offered to help students, faculty, and staff be their most effective.
The rest of the week was spent tweaking my ILA/ACRL presentation, "Cultivating Future Librarians: Turning Students into Colleagues Through Mentorship." I got a call from one of the ILA/ACRL Awards Committee members informing me that I was selected as the 2011 ILA/ACRL Spring Conference Scholarship recipient! I am very excited to not only be attending and presenting, but to also have received this award!
Showing posts with label web content. Show all posts
Showing posts with label web content. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
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)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Week Seven: Web Meetings, Career Week Displays, and Scheduling Reference/Instruction
The week began with a meeting that returned to an earlier discussion about the library's "How Do I?" page. Jenny, another intern, shared some examples with the committee and we discussed the features we liked and those we didn't. Quite a bit of time was spent discussing: purpose, audience(s), format(s), and the features themselves. While students are the primary audience for the FAQ/How Do I? page, we still need to keep in mind faculty and other library patrons. There is a heavy lean toward Information Literacy as the focus, but there are still elements that are straight forward Q & A. Many of us liked the clear language and the white space found on the University of Central Florida's website. We also liked the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee's simple, browsable, one page format. Though fairly well hidden (those unfamiliar with the website would have to look carefully to find it), the page presents basics using headers to categorize questions (that use jargon-free language). A sub-committee (made up of Jenny, Anne Marie, Becky, and me) are going to review the websites and create an outline of the content and presentation we would like to see for the new version of the "How Do I" page. What was left of Monday was spent reviewing professional literature.
The library is almost to the implementation stages for the Library Student Worker Career Development Program, where students are paid to visit with a representative from the Career Services Office. I worked with Diana Newman, the library secretary, to finish up the brochure that will be given to students. The rest of the week was spent preparing materials for the Career Week display. I looked up various items in the catalog (general suggestions were given by Trina, our contact in the Career Services Office), printed off my list, and explored the stacks to find materials for the physical display. My cart filled with résumé writing guides, discipline-specific career guides, books geared to help students find their vocation, and popular movies about students finding their way in college and the "real world." I changed all of the items' status to "on display" should anyone be looking for them, and set them up on the reference shelves on the main floor of the library (near the main entrance). Right after I set the items up, a student came to the reference desk asking about cover letters--I was able to directly to the display and grab a book that helped her prepare her application to become a Dorm Resident Assistant!
I was also able to review my teaching with Anne Marie (who had observed me the week before). In the next few weeks I'll be assuming more solo teaching and reference desk responsibilities. We also discussed institutional repositories, library assessments, reporting library statistics to various agencies, and University accreditation (more on that in the future). Jenny and I are also going to be working together to facilitate a professional development book discussion with the librarians (happening in early April).
The library is almost to the implementation stages for the Library Student Worker Career Development Program, where students are paid to visit with a representative from the Career Services Office. I worked with Diana Newman, the library secretary, to finish up the brochure that will be given to students. The rest of the week was spent preparing materials for the Career Week display. I looked up various items in the catalog (general suggestions were given by Trina, our contact in the Career Services Office), printed off my list, and explored the stacks to find materials for the physical display. My cart filled with résumé writing guides, discipline-specific career guides, books geared to help students find their vocation, and popular movies about students finding their way in college and the "real world." I changed all of the items' status to "on display" should anyone be looking for them, and set them up on the reference shelves on the main floor of the library (near the main entrance). Right after I set the items up, a student came to the reference desk asking about cover letters--I was able to directly to the display and grab a book that helped her prepare her application to become a Dorm Resident Assistant! I was also able to review my teaching with Anne Marie (who had observed me the week before). In the next few weeks I'll be assuming more solo teaching and reference desk responsibilities. We also discussed institutional repositories, library assessments, reporting library statistics to various agencies, and University accreditation (more on that in the future). Jenny and I are also going to be working together to facilitate a professional development book discussion with the librarians (happening in early April).
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.
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