This article is more than 5 years old.

Demonstration: Active Learning in the Library: The Library Is Not Just for Books

Presenters: Cotina Jones, Phyllistine Poole, Julie Dornberger, Carl Leak, Chris Screen

  • Instruction team includes both librarians and webmasters
  • Realized a need for new types of library instruction
    • Blackboard, active learning templates, gaming, and vodcasting
  • Blackboard
    • A place to house the projects
    • Liked: students familiar, stats, assessment, updates
    • Use it for documents, images, presentations (including Flash), audio, and video
  • Active Learning Template
    • Less lecture, more hands on/critical thinking
    • To appeal to the next generation of students
    • Different learning styles, asynchronous, etc
    • Though the learning materials are online, there are offline components (like a scoring sheet)
    • They have students come up and try things in front of the class with a laptop & projector
  • Gaming
    • Interactive games based on PowerPoint
    • Decided to do this b/c so many students play a lot of video games
    • Games
      • Electronic Resources Raceway
      • O’Kelly Choice Game
      • Danger
    • Chose racing games b/c of curriculum
    • What learned:
      • promotion, promotion, promotion
      • don’t assume they will play or know material
      • account for all levels of learning
      • incorporate into classes
      • They used prizes for incentive
    • Demo-ed Electronic Resources Raceway
      • Based on maze, right answers move you ahead on track, wrong answer takes you to a dead end, where you crash.
  • Podcasting/Vodcasting
    • Literally on iPods
    • Alternative to traditional instruction, adapted for short attention span
      • 2-4 minutes & subject specific
    • Follow up library instruction/reference
      • Some on catalog, databases (searching, on & off campus)
      • MLA/ALA citation
    • Began as a powerpoint
      • used audio, screenshots, and music
  • Handouts on TLT page
  • Q&A
    • Not part of iTunes U, no RSS feed right now
    • Some students disappointed they were educational games, but went over well, should be teaching & testing tools
    • Use lectures & the games in classes (didn’t stop the lectures)