Library Instruction Handouts & Worksheets

Each year the Early College Program at Idaho State University invites high school teachers involved with the program to come to the Pocatello campus for instruction.  These instructors teach the classes wherein students can earn college credit at reduced rates before even graduating form high school.  On several occasions I have been able to provide a workshop, showing and demonstrating how to access and use the library resources. 

This year, rather than demonstrating and talking the whole time, I decided to put them to work exploring the resources in groups.  Each individual received handouts that highlighted search strategies and important points about all the resources; however, individuals were divided into groups and handed a group worksheet with questions to work on together.  Each group reported their discoveries back to the class.  One thing I failed to do was to explicitly tie the handouts to the worksheet and encourage them to use the handout while answering questions on the worksheet.  At the beginning, one of the teachers was excited to get copies of the group worksheet, so she could have her students learn from this activity.

It did not go over quite as well as I hoped as several groups had too much time and others need more.  Some of the teachers did not seem very engaged.

Following is a short description of each of the handouts I updated or created for this workshop:

• The CQ Researcher handout shows how to access this database via the ISU Library homepage and offers reasons why this may be helpful plus it gives a short description of the resource.  By the way, several teachers seemed quite interested in learning about this resource, asking if it were available to students not dually enrolled at the University.  Unfortunately it is not.  Much of this information was found on the CQ Researcher About page.

• Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP Test offers criteria for students to apply to sources they find to determine their reliability. 
• Since we have access to many EBSCOhost databases, I shared an EBSCO Best Practices handout, which has been created by EBSCO.  They show some of the basic search functions and offer some useful tips for searching.
• The ISU Library is just beginning to implement the PRIMO search tool, but it still seemed important to make these teachers aware of this new tool, so I created this PRIMO Search handout.

• Perhaps the handout I worked on the longest was the Research Pyramid handout.  It shows how a student can progress from broad/general information to focused and specific information during the research process.  I like to explain how it can be helpful to find reference articles in encyclopedias, handbooks, guidebooks, etc., because they give an overview of the topic, identify areas of focus, and sometimes point to other useful books and articles, thus launching students on a potentially successful research trajectory.  Books can be worth more than 5 or 10 articles sometimes, if you find one that is relevant to your research question.  Articles can be easily accessed online from home; our e-book collection is still not very large.  As the authors, students express their opinions and can cite personal experience to illustrate or bolster an argument.  They may also interview an expert or someone worth quoting in their paper.  This illustrates the research process.

Research Pyramid.  The research process often starts with the general and progresses to the specific.

Do you still create handouts?  Do you use handouts when given them?  Are they helpful in this digital world where we now live?  What makes a good handouts?  Do you print them or just share them online now?

Please cite me or the Eli M. Oboler Library at Idaho State University as the source if you want to use any of the handouts that I created.

Got Statistics?

According to their "What We Provide" page, the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder provides statistical data the population, economy, and other bits of information about communities the United States of America.  The American Community Survey gives data and estimates related to commute time to work, age, race, income, home value, veteran status, and more.  Search boxes allow interested individuals to search for statistics by topic, race/ancestry, industries, state, county, or place.

Image from Claremont Insider.

To test the system, I looked for one-year estimates of household incomes in Idaho.  Below are some 2010 estimates discovered in the search:

• Total households in Idaho: 576,709
• About 108,000 Idaho households make less than $20,000 annually = 18.7%
• ~73,000 Idaho household make more than $100,000 annually = 12.7%

S1901:

INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2010 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS)  
2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates

FactFinder makes it easy to limit by race or ethnicity.  Here are the numbers for income in last 12 months for white, non-hispanic households:

• 96,000 White/Non-hispanic households earn less than $20,000 annually = 16.6% of all Idaho households
• 65,000 White/Non-hispanic households earn more than $100,000 annually = 11.3% of all Idaho households

B190001H: HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2010 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) (WHITE ALONE, NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO HOUSEHOLDER)
Universe: Households with a householder who is White alone, not Hispanic or Latino   2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates

Hispanic/Latino households, according to the American Community Survey estimages, earn the following over a 12-month time:

• 13,000 Hispanic households earn less than $20,000/year = 2.3% of all Idaho households
• 2,000 Hispanic households earn more than $100,000/year = 0.3% of all Idaho households

B19001I: HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2010 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) (HISPANIC OR LATINO HOUSEHOLDER)
Universe: Households with a householder who is Hispanic or Latino   2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates

A different look at the numbers:

• Total number of White/Non-hispanic households: 509,056
• 18.9% of Whites earn less than $20,000/year
• 12.8% of Whites earn more than $100,000
• Total number of Hispanic/Latino households: 45,626
• 28.5% of Hispanics earn less than $20,000/year
• 4.4% of Hispanics earn more than $100,000/year

For more statistical resources see this Resources by Subject: Statistics page.  Personally, I like the statistics section on the Speech page.  It seems that many college students like to make reference to statistics in their speech and communications classes.

Annotated Bibliography, Evaluating Websites, and Sports Law

Many college freshmen do not understand what an annotated bibliography is.  Mary George provides a definition in her book The Elements of Library Research: What Every Student Needs to Know:

A list of sources that includes a brief summary of each, which may be descriptive, critical, or both.  Faculty may request that students submit an annotated bibliography during the library research process as a way to tell what sources students have discovered and how they expect to use them.  Scholars sometimes publish extensive annotated bibliographies on a topic, either as long journal articles or as whole books.  See also abstract; review; survey article. (166)

For many freshmen it sounds like some big scary thing, but once they understand that it is just a Works Cited or References page with a short paragraph or two describing and evaluting each source, then it makes more sense. 

At the end of the course I taught last semester, I had a day in which we evaluated websites, worked on doing this in groups, and discussed the final project, or the annotated bibliography.  The outline has been posted to my ACAD 1199 webpage.  When evaluating sources or websites I still think that the CRAAP Test provides a good list of criteria to consider.  However, in the end, it seems the most important criteria is whether or not a source is relevant or not.  Will it support my argument or not?

A couple of weeks ago, I taught a physical education class to upper division students.  The class focuses on disabilities, and students are required to give a report on a single disability or someone with a disability.  A colleague of mine helped me teach the class.  She taught the students about the health science resources, and I talked about basic search strategies and the sports sciences resources. 

My colleague created a wiki page with the title of the course: PE 4494.  I went back to look at the page, and she had updated it.  Interestingly enough at the bottom of the page a note appears telling how many times the page has been viewed: "This page has been accessed 1,785 times."  This was interesting.  It appears that many have seen this page.  It does have useful resources for anyone needing to look up information on disabilities.

Finding Primary Sources for U.S. History Papers

Where can you go if you need primary sources for a research paper in your history class?  As a reference librarians, sometimes it is challenging to help students looking for primary sources.  Wikipedia defines a primary source like this:

 Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied.

The University of Maryland Libraries also explains the differences between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources in more detail, offering useful examples.  Essentially an item or document created by a single person at the time of the event can also be considered a primary source, so primary sources could be any of the following:

• Letters between individuals
• Diaries or personal journals
• Speeches written and given at an event
• Newspaper articles written at the time of the event
• Original studies published in peer-reviewed journals
• Books reviews of titles that are recently published (Some people may argue that any book review is a primary source as it recounts the recent event of someone's experience or reaction to reading a book, whether it is a new book or not.)

 Milestone Documents of American Leaders: Exploring the Primary Sources of Notable Americans. Ed. Paul Finkelman.  Dallas, TX: Schlager Group, 2009.

This four-volume title contains many primary documents of well-known Americans, beginning with colonial figures like Abigail Adams and George Washington while also including more recent figures like Sandra Day O'Conner and George W. Bush.  Yes, this could be one of the best places for finding primary sources.

The first entry in volume #4 features Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (1908-1972), who was a U.S. Congressman in the 1940s through the 1960s.  His entry commences with these life details, plus mention of the three primary sources associated with him:

• Speech on Civil Rights (1955)
• "Black Power: A Form of Godly Power" (1967)
• "Black Power and the Future of Black America" (1971)

Each entry holds to the same structure: overview, explanation and analysis of documents, impact and legacy, key sources, further readings, essential quotes, questions for further study, and, last of all, the primary documents themselves.  The overview about Representative Powell's life provides specific details about his life that are relevant to the documents in question.  In the pages that explain and analyze the documents there appears a timeline of his life, noting significant events mostly related to his political life.  A glossary explains words, contextual references, and may give an entire person's name when a partial one is given in the text.

Each of the entries include a large, full-page photo on the page before the article begins.  Use the subject index at the end of the fourth volume if you need to find where certain persons or ideas are mentioned within the four-volume set.  Placed before the index is a list of documents by category:

• Correspondence and Diaries
• Essays, Reports, and Manifestos
• Interviews
• Legal
• Legislative
• Military
• Presidential/Executive
• Speeches/Addresses (looks like the lengthiest section)

Each volume contains a "Contents" section at the beginning for the whole set, listing all the individuals in alphabetical order.

All in all, this appears to be a great resource for anyone looking to find primary sources of American leaders.  Take a look in your library's catalog to see if they have this reference set.  If your library does have this title, they may also have the E-book version that you could access online.  Look for a link to access the E-book.

Following is one of the "Essential Quotes" from Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.:

Tremendous changes are taking place in our country eradicating the concept of second-class citizenship.  Yet the United States Congress has done absolutely nothing in this sphere.  We are behind the times.  We are a legislative anachronism.  In an age of atomic energy, our dynamic is no more powerful than a watermill.  (Speech on Civil Rights, 1955, p.1740)

Scholarships for Undergraduate Students

Earning and maintaining scholarships can be a full-time job.  Students should treat their college studies as a full-time job.  The benefits can be huge.

Today I attended an open forum on scholarships.  The presenter talked about finding them, applying for them, and offering thanks for them.  The ISU Scholarship Office put on this forum.  They suggested that students talk with parents and grandparents to see if their workplace offers scholarships to their children.  Additionally, students can ask their departments of scholarships of which they may know of already. 

Many scholarships can be found on the internet.  Again, the Scholarship Office updates a list of outside scholarships, or rather websites that focus on searching and finding all kinds of scholarships available to anyone and everyone.  If you are a college student, consider a visit to your college's scholarship office and dedicating an hour a week to researching and writing scholarship applications.

In the library, you might look for The College Blue Book (LA226 .C685) to see what it can tell you about scholarships, grants, and fellowships.  This titles gets updated yearly and usually resides in a reference collection.  For this book there were two subject headings that looked relevant to this topic:

• Scholarships --United States --Directories.
• Student aid. 

Other titles worth considering:

• The College Board scholarship handbook.
• College student’s guide to merit and other no-need funding
• Scholarships, fellowships, grants and loans.

The library provides books that can help you write a good application as well.

Another Undergraduate Tutorial + Sharing Educational Videos Online

I was practicing a tutorial with the Jing software in preparation for a Camtasia tutorial I was going to record, and this undergraduate tutorial is a result of that practice session.  Recording audio and web browsing can spike up the size of a file quickly.  I learned that our Library only gets a certain amount of space on the University's network, which meant that a Camtasia tutorial was too large to be uploaded to the Library's server.

Since then I have been exploring other options.  We have an Information Technology Resource Center (ITRC) on campus, which does a good job of helping instructors with their technology needs in the classroom.  They provide support with Moodle course management software and other things.  They have handouts on how to install and use specific software, including instructions on publishing and adding audio to PowerPoint Presentations with Adobe Presenter software.  They will even host the Adobe Presenter tutorials, but not other tutorials.

Staff in the ITRC recommended that I look into some online options, such as EduTube, TeacherTube, and Vimeo.  True, YouTube would be an option as well; however, the graduate research tutorial I created surpassed the ten-minute limit that YouTube imposes on all uploads to its site.  I first tried TeacherTube and am still working to see it will accept my uploaded file.  It did not allow me to upload the first time I tried.  They limit file sizes to 100 MB, so mine ought to work.  It looked promising.  In going back to view this new account I created with TeacherTube, it appears that the video I uploaded earlier is currently being reviewed by a moderator.  Hopefully it passes the evaluation.

Upon reading a bit more, it looks like TeacherTube caters mostly to K-12 teachers, sharing multimedia tutorials and printable resources as well in an effort to save them time.  When I was uploading the file, it did include a college/university category as a means for classifying the material I wanted to upload. 

Vimeo makes it easier to find out information than the TeacherTube site.  Their help section includes a link to Vimeo Basics. Go here to learn about uploading, Notice their free and casual style.  It speaks to a larger audience; they are looking to draw a large popular audience to their site:

Vimeo makes it easy for you to upload any kind of video you create. We accept tons of different file formats. Basic (free) accounts allow for 500 MB of storage every week, and we provide easy tools to customize your videos to fit seamlessly into any website or blog. We even support High Definition. Yep, that's right, HD in full 720p!

 The mention of "basic (free) accounts" seems to imply that you can purchase an advanced account if you wish, but I have not see that anywhere, yet.  Nonetheless, 500 MB still stands as a huge amount of space to be given each week.

EduTube contains educational videos.  They look to be high-quality materials.  An easy-to-find link directs individuals to the about page.  They offer this helpful information:

EduTube is an educational video search platform launched in April 2008. Our aim is to organize the best free online educational videos, and make them easy for you to find, watch and download. Because sites such as YouTube are often blocked, each video also has a download link.  EduTube focuses on popular and high quality educational videos.

 They also moderate their content:

EduTube is community-based and anyone is welcome to contribute. However, please note that all submitted content is moderated. It your video does not meet the EduTube educational and quality standards, it may be rejected. See also our rules and policies.

 They do not allow advertising, swearing, pornography, materials with no educational value, poor-quality material (e.g. cannot hear the audio), content published elsewhere, content with contact information, and content that promotes hatred, violence, and racial or religious intolerance.  EduTube has all appearances of being a great website with quality, educational content.

Have you ever uploaded videos or educational content to any of these sites? Do you have any favorite educational videos?  Please feel free to share or discuss in the comments section.

I have 118 YouTube videos tagged--many of which are educational or related to libraries.  View 226 videos with "videos" as the tag.  Well, the numbers may change over time.

Courtesy of Asiatic League on Flickr.com.  This photo was taken on April 17, 2010 using a Canon EOS 550D.