At the ISU Reference Desk I found an interesting directory called The World of Learning: 2005. This two-volume reference book includes entries of each country in the world with lists of their academic, research, and art institutions. It also contains contact information for each of these institutions as well as for learned societies. Alongside the contact information for the various universities, this book also names the professors who teach and research at the university in question.
Since the publisher relies on each institution to complete a form each time it updates the information, not all of the university entries include a full listing of faculty, but they do name at least the principal leaders, number of students, number of teachers, their librarians, and the names of their journal publications. A brief description of the university explains when it was founded and any name changes it has undergone.
This resource identifies international institutions as well as institutions within the United States. Most entries contain email and internet addresses next to the telephone number and physical address.
I suspect a resource like this would be useful for researchers and students who intend to study abroad. Researchers could contact the pertinent institutions in the country where they will travel and ask if they have any archives or resources that would be useful for their research. Students could learn quite a bit by going to such an institution to see how things differ from their own institution. Graduate students looking for programs could also learn about an institution's programs. It's a good faculty directory.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
Partnering with Writing Centers and Teachable Moments
Recently I read two good articles in The Reference Librarian. The first one discussed the issue of teachable moments, looking for times when patrons might be willing to receive more information. Susan Avery notes that these "moments" cannot be planned or "anticipate[d]," are "dependent on the readiness of the recipient," and are "serendipitous." Librarians can give more help than required; we can share our expertise of the many information tools we encounter on a regular basis. Of course, Avery does acknowledge that librarians should be "sensitive to the needs of the patron." Frankly, some individuals could care less about conducting a database search more efficiently as they have other priorities and demands on their time. Therefore, librarians must make their own judgment calls, paying attention to receptivity, attitudes, perceived time constraints, information needs, etc. (117).
Along these lines, Avery suggests ideas that can be found in your standard library-science textbook on reference work:
1. Listen.
2. Be patient and flexible.
3. Look for body language cues.
4. Keep it short and to the point.
5. Let the students do the work.
For understanding the different setting in which a librarian might look for a "teachable moment," see the article.
Works Cited
Avery, Susan. "When Opportunity Knocks: Opening the Door Through Teachable Moments." The Reference Librarian 49.2 (2008): 109-18.
Rachel Cooke and Carol Bledsoe promote the idea of including the Writing Center within the campus library. Doing this would "provide opportunities for partnership" (119). This would be more convenient for the students, particularly those involved in the research and writing process. They discuss how librarians and writing tutors could provide help at each others' desks. Librarians could also train the writing tutors to do some basic research, which would benefit many students simultaneously as many tutors are actually students.
Much of the article revolves around five "challenges" encountered by reference librarians and writing tutors alike:
1. Guiding students through the sequence of the writing process (120).
2. Uncertainty about the assignment (121).
3. "The paper is due in an hour" (121).
4. When students request a librarian or writing tutor to do their research or edit their paper (122).
5. Students who say: "I can find everything on Google. I'll just cut and paste." This touches on the quantity and quality of sources as well as proper citation of these sources.
Let me make just one comment about challenge number one. The authors make a good point that librarians and tutors should not assume that the writing process is the same for everyone. Increasingly, college instructors require their students to write a paper without doing research--at least at the outset. Particularly with lower-division students, instructors find that they let the sources do the talking. Having students write their own thoughts first helps them know what they think; then they can analyze and evaluate what the sources say in comparison with their own ideas.
Therefore, once the students has written their own personal idea paper, then the instructor requires them to research in the area of their topic and write a paper that incorporates their own ideas while also considering the ideas of others. I repeat myself here, because this is something I want to remember. The idea seems to promote real learning and connecting it with real life. What do I know about X? Why do I think this way? What do others say about this topic in question? How do my ideas differ from someone else's? Do their ideas expose any gaps in my own logic? Will I change and adjust my own thinking on this? How?
Somewhat reminiscent of Hegel's model, an instructor who follows this kind of assignment encourages students to form a thesis, consider an antithesis, and then synthesize the two. Adopting this approach could facilitate higher orders of thinking for many students, since too often students revert back to their comfort zones of reporting what they find, rather than thinking about what they find in their research. These "comfort zones" hearken back to show-and-tell activities in the early stages of a child's education.
Cooke, Rachel and Carol Bledsoe. "Writing Centers and Libraries: One-Stop Shopping for Better Term Papers." The Reference Librarian 49.2 (2008): 119-27.
Along these lines, Avery suggests ideas that can be found in your standard library-science textbook on reference work:
1. Listen.
2. Be patient and flexible.
3. Look for body language cues.
4. Keep it short and to the point.
5. Let the students do the work.
For understanding the different setting in which a librarian might look for a "teachable moment," see the article.
Works Cited
Avery, Susan. "When Opportunity Knocks: Opening the Door Through Teachable Moments." The Reference Librarian 49.2 (2008): 109-18.
Rachel Cooke and Carol Bledsoe promote the idea of including the Writing Center within the campus library. Doing this would "provide opportunities for partnership" (119). This would be more convenient for the students, particularly those involved in the research and writing process. They discuss how librarians and writing tutors could provide help at each others' desks. Librarians could also train the writing tutors to do some basic research, which would benefit many students simultaneously as many tutors are actually students.
Much of the article revolves around five "challenges" encountered by reference librarians and writing tutors alike:
1. Guiding students through the sequence of the writing process (120).
2. Uncertainty about the assignment (121).
3. "The paper is due in an hour" (121).
4. When students request a librarian or writing tutor to do their research or edit their paper (122).
5. Students who say: "I can find everything on Google. I'll just cut and paste." This touches on the quantity and quality of sources as well as proper citation of these sources.
Let me make just one comment about challenge number one. The authors make a good point that librarians and tutors should not assume that the writing process is the same for everyone. Increasingly, college instructors require their students to write a paper without doing research--at least at the outset. Particularly with lower-division students, instructors find that they let the sources do the talking. Having students write their own thoughts first helps them know what they think; then they can analyze and evaluate what the sources say in comparison with their own ideas.
Therefore, once the students has written their own personal idea paper, then the instructor requires them to research in the area of their topic and write a paper that incorporates their own ideas while also considering the ideas of others. I repeat myself here, because this is something I want to remember. The idea seems to promote real learning and connecting it with real life. What do I know about X? Why do I think this way? What do others say about this topic in question? How do my ideas differ from someone else's? Do their ideas expose any gaps in my own logic? Will I change and adjust my own thinking on this? How?
Somewhat reminiscent of Hegel's model, an instructor who follows this kind of assignment encourages students to form a thesis, consider an antithesis, and then synthesize the two. Adopting this approach could facilitate higher orders of thinking for many students, since too often students revert back to their comfort zones of reporting what they find, rather than thinking about what they find in their research. These "comfort zones" hearken back to show-and-tell activities in the early stages of a child's education.
Cooke, Rachel and Carol Bledsoe. "Writing Centers and Libraries: One-Stop Shopping for Better Term Papers." The Reference Librarian 49.2 (2008): 119-27.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Using Google Analytics to Track Usage of Your Websites or Blogs
Not too long ago I learned that it was possible to track the number of visitors who come and visit your website or blog. I decided to give it a try and began an account with Google Analytics. This account remains free to me for now. I do not know enough about it right now to say whether or not it would charge for more specific data gathering or crunching.
Anyway, I largely forgot about this, until recently I wondered if it had gathered any statistics for me. It shows a report of the last month's activity on my site. Apparently, 139 people have viewed my blog in the last month, but these people have visited it 149 times. It's likely that I am the only repeat visitor. Please tell me if this is not the case. 70.75% found my blog via a search engine. 19.05% found the site from a referring site, perhaps a blog reader. That leaves 10.20% who visit this blog directly, so I guess that would be me. 50 pages were viewed a total of 216 times.
How should I interpret this data? I do not know for sure, but the cool thing I liked about the report was it's feature that showed me which pages were visited the most. It gave a top four list:
1. Library Instruction A La Carte Information Literacy
2. Updated Teaching Philosophy
3. Active Learning Ideas
4. How Do You Know if it's Scholarly
I like how it shows the average amount of time a person viewed your page. The "Updated Teaching Philosophy" averaged about 8 minutes a view, while the "Active Learning Ideas" page was viewed about 6 minutes a view. It's just fascinating to me that I can track this now. I'm not sure how this will affect what I do with my blog. It seems that the proprietors of the blog applications and the analytics applications would want you to understand a bit how you are reaching out to the world, perhaps that would inspire the blogger to write a bit more and consider topics that would appeal to a larger audience.
We shall see if I write about this more in the future. There are certainly sites and blogs that discuss ways in which the bloggers can make their blogs more prominent and visible.
Anyway, I largely forgot about this, until recently I wondered if it had gathered any statistics for me. It shows a report of the last month's activity on my site. Apparently, 139 people have viewed my blog in the last month, but these people have visited it 149 times. It's likely that I am the only repeat visitor. Please tell me if this is not the case. 70.75% found my blog via a search engine. 19.05% found the site from a referring site, perhaps a blog reader. That leaves 10.20% who visit this blog directly, so I guess that would be me. 50 pages were viewed a total of 216 times.
How should I interpret this data? I do not know for sure, but the cool thing I liked about the report was it's feature that showed me which pages were visited the most. It gave a top four list:
1. Library Instruction A La Carte Information Literacy
2. Updated Teaching Philosophy
3. Active Learning Ideas
4. How Do You Know if it's Scholarly
I like how it shows the average amount of time a person viewed your page. The "Updated Teaching Philosophy" averaged about 8 minutes a view, while the "Active Learning Ideas" page was viewed about 6 minutes a view. It's just fascinating to me that I can track this now. I'm not sure how this will affect what I do with my blog. It seems that the proprietors of the blog applications and the analytics applications would want you to understand a bit how you are reaching out to the world, perhaps that would inspire the blogger to write a bit more and consider topics that would appeal to a larger audience.
We shall see if I write about this more in the future. There are certainly sites and blogs that discuss ways in which the bloggers can make their blogs more prominent and visible.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Searching the Library Catalog
Finding the right book through the catalog can be a tricky thing sometimes. Recently, someone came to the Reference Desk asking for help to find a book on book binding. She had done a basic keyword search. Our catalog defaults to a "Quick Search," which automatically connects terms with the AND operator. She showed me that she had inputted "book" and "binding" into the search box. She identified just one out of twenty-nine results that satisfied her criteria, and that book had been checked out already: Books, boxes, and portfolios : binding, construction, and design step-by-step. After opening up the full record I pointed her to the subject heading: Bookbinding --Handbooks, manuals, etc. Clicking on this heading yielded six results, and these titles seemed to satisfy this particular individual.
What the student and I did not know was that "book binding" may not find you what you want, but "bookbinding" may. Who would know that it was one word instead of two? I am just glad the subject-heading strategy worked in this case.
Knowing how to use the subject heading can be rather useful. Thinking of synonyms for terms can also be helpful, although a search for book and binding or bookbinding would bring back more than 100 results. Again, once a person identifies a book that they think will match their information needs, they can look at the full record to view the subject headings available. Clicking on the subject heading may retrieve additional useful results.
What the student and I did not know was that "book binding" may not find you what you want, but "bookbinding" may. Who would know that it was one word instead of two? I am just glad the subject-heading strategy worked in this case.
Knowing how to use the subject heading can be rather useful. Thinking of synonyms for terms can also be helpful, although a search for book and binding or bookbinding would bring back more than 100 results. Again, once a person identifies a book that they think will match their information needs, they can look at the full record to view the subject headings available. Clicking on the subject heading may retrieve additional useful results.
Oboler Library ca. 1975
Here's a photos of construction on the Eli M. Oboler Library about 1975. It was completed in 1977 and ready to be open for the Fall semester in August of that year.
Library Art
Works of art have been donated to the Oboler Library through the years. Some of the pieces, though, originate from the University's collection of art, including works from former graduate students. This work of art does not include a title, and the artist's signature in the lower right is not easily legible.
During the month of November works of art have been hanging in the Current Display area. Afterwards they will be sent back to other locations in the Library.
During the month of November works of art have been hanging in the Current Display area. Afterwards they will be sent back to other locations in the Library.
Book Sale Prices
Here's a photo with the prices. It looks like hardbacks sold for $3.00 on the first day and $1.50 the second day. Paperbacks sold for $1 the first day and 50 cents the second day. I managed to find a children's book about the Nativity told entirely with pictures of Gothic sculptures from the outside of a cathedral in France.
Anyone can donate books to the Oboler Library. We also have a Book Swap rack where individuals may bring a book in exchange for one on the rack.
Anyone can donate books to the Oboler Library. We also have a Book Swap rack where individuals may bring a book in exchange for one on the rack.
Library Book Sale
Every other year the Oboler Library has a book sale. Usually, the books have been donated to the Library, and a bibliographer has determined that we already have a copy or we do not need that book for our collection. The money made from the book sale goes back into purchasing more books for our Library. We sold books for two days. The first hour or two was the busiest, as it seemed that local book sellers came to buy as much as they could. They knew what they wanted and would dump them into boxes. The first day each book was a dollar and then the second day they were fifty cents, if I remember correctly. It seems that the paperbacks were sold for less than the hardbacks.
Recently, the Library has begun a continuous book sale. A stand of books are always for sale near the Circulation Desk. I have heard that it is going rather well. I frequently see people looking at the books available.
Recently, the Library has begun a continuous book sale. A stand of books are always for sale near the Circulation Desk. I have heard that it is going rather well. I frequently see people looking at the books available.
Arrrrgh! Come to the Library!
A year ago we had a theme of finding buried treasure at the Library, so I dressed up as a pirate for the white-tent event. We gave away brochures and pens. I did have to almost grab people to get their attention. Most students thought it was fun, and a few wanted to take pictures with me.
We rented the hat, boots, and shirt from a local rental place, but most of the paraphernalia came from Library colleagues. We bought the eye patch and the parrot from the rental place.
We rented the hat, boots, and shirt from a local rental place, but most of the paraphernalia came from Library colleagues. We bought the eye patch and the parrot from the rental place.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Photo-Sharing Assignments for the Classroom
Using Flickr & Picasa in the Classroom
Telling Stories
Students in an English class could take or find five photos of their choice and write a story about those five photos. Photos could be uploaded to a photo-sharing site, tagged, and linked to a blog with the story. The photos can also be posted to the blog.
History or Art Classes
Have students take five photos of different buildings around town that represent different architectural styles or historical time periods. Post the photos to a photo-sharing site and tag the photos using terms and ideas from class. Email a link to the teacher, so s/he can view the photos. Teachers can give additional feedback and insight.
Search for Photos Related to Class
Use Picasa Web Albums or Flickr to find images related to class. Encourage students to document their search, so they should tell which photo-sharing site they used, which terms they entered the search box, and the results they got back. Have them identify one image that at first seemed unrelated, but later proved to be relevant. Tell them to explain and/or analyze what happened. Example: I searched for images about “Abraham Lincoln” in Flickr. Naturally, it made sense to find images of Pres. Lincoln in Mt. Rushmore and at the Lincoln Memorial, but a small headstone did not appear relevant. Once I clicked on this image, I saw it was Dred Scott’s headstone. The photo included an explanation of who he was and his impact on American history—that his court case helped Abraham Lincoln win the presidential election.
Take Photos of Things Related to Class
Students in a chemistry class could look for items such as corroded batteries, rusted nails or cars, fizzing alka seltzer, burning matches, etc. With the photos they could also bring questions about how it works. This could be turned into a show-and-tell assignment that each student could do once a semester.
Math and history classes could easily do this as well. Those in math classes could take pictures of cones, cylinders, squares, building, cash registers, computers, leaves, etc. They could highlight some mathematical principle to describe their items. History students could take pictures of plaques, monuments, or statues that help the community remember events or individuals from the past. They could also photograph items owned by family or friends that hearken back to different times: army uniforms, classic cars, wagon wheels, etc.
Much of learning involves language acquisition and understanding how knowledge fits within the larger context of life. The photos prompt students to find images relevant to what they are learning in the classroom. Once they have found or taken photos, they can write or talk about the decisions they made. This can be a mechanism that aids students in developing written, speech, evaluation, and analytical skills.
Use photo sharing to:
• teach students how to search for royalty free photos for project (creative commons licensing in Flickr is great for this!)
• post a picture of the day for students to comment on
• create a montage of photos on a curricular topic
• create an online photo journal with students to capture a field trip or special event
See this wiki.
Telling Stories
Students in an English class could take or find five photos of their choice and write a story about those five photos. Photos could be uploaded to a photo-sharing site, tagged, and linked to a blog with the story. The photos can also be posted to the blog.
History or Art Classes
Have students take five photos of different buildings around town that represent different architectural styles or historical time periods. Post the photos to a photo-sharing site and tag the photos using terms and ideas from class. Email a link to the teacher, so s/he can view the photos. Teachers can give additional feedback and insight.
Search for Photos Related to Class
Use Picasa Web Albums or Flickr to find images related to class. Encourage students to document their search, so they should tell which photo-sharing site they used, which terms they entered the search box, and the results they got back. Have them identify one image that at first seemed unrelated, but later proved to be relevant. Tell them to explain and/or analyze what happened. Example: I searched for images about “Abraham Lincoln” in Flickr. Naturally, it made sense to find images of Pres. Lincoln in Mt. Rushmore and at the Lincoln Memorial, but a small headstone did not appear relevant. Once I clicked on this image, I saw it was Dred Scott’s headstone. The photo included an explanation of who he was and his impact on American history—that his court case helped Abraham Lincoln win the presidential election.
Take Photos of Things Related to Class
Students in a chemistry class could look for items such as corroded batteries, rusted nails or cars, fizzing alka seltzer, burning matches, etc. With the photos they could also bring questions about how it works. This could be turned into a show-and-tell assignment that each student could do once a semester.
Math and history classes could easily do this as well. Those in math classes could take pictures of cones, cylinders, squares, building, cash registers, computers, leaves, etc. They could highlight some mathematical principle to describe their items. History students could take pictures of plaques, monuments, or statues that help the community remember events or individuals from the past. They could also photograph items owned by family or friends that hearken back to different times: army uniforms, classic cars, wagon wheels, etc.
Much of learning involves language acquisition and understanding how knowledge fits within the larger context of life. The photos prompt students to find images relevant to what they are learning in the classroom. Once they have found or taken photos, they can write or talk about the decisions they made. This can be a mechanism that aids students in developing written, speech, evaluation, and analytical skills.
Use photo sharing to:
• teach students how to search for royalty free photos for project (creative commons licensing in Flickr is great for this!)
• post a picture of the day for students to comment on
• create a montage of photos on a curricular topic
• create an online photo journal with students to capture a field trip or special event
See this wiki.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Possible Assignments That Use Social Bookmarks
Using Social Bookmarking in the Classroom
Applying the CRAAP Test
Give an assignment to students, asking them to search online to answer a question about United States history (or whatever topic you choose). They might use Google, Yahoo, or any search engine of their choice. Have students create a Delicious account. Tell students to bookmark websites they feel will help them with their research. Assign students to groups of two or three and have the students look at the websites their classmates found, using the Delicious application. They could use the CRAAP Test to determine whether or not the websites were good ones: www.isu.edu/library/help/ineteval.htm. This activity develops evaluation skills and invites students to be more critical of websites.
Search with Delicious
Invite students to search within Delicious (http://delicious.com). In a history class, they might search “civil war.” They would then find websites that others had marked as bookmarks. Remember that the more a website is bookmarked, the greater its chances of being a reliable or useful site.
Worksheets with Delicious
Let students find answers to questions on a handout through the websites you have bookmarked and tagged. Bookmarks can be grouped into “Bundles,” so hints and reference to particular “Bundles” may assist students as they navigate your bookmarks to answer the questions on the handout. It is possible to create Delicious accounts specific to a class and separate from personal accounts. As far as I know, nobody has been limited in the number of Delicious accounts they create.
Find Five Websites for Your Project
Tell students to look for five websites that would be good for a particular research assignment. Then ask them to send these websites to your Delicious account. Do this by including the following tag: for:(+ account name.) Ex: for:sjardine. The saved websites go to your Delicious Inbox, identifying from whom they came.
Applying the CRAAP Test
Give an assignment to students, asking them to search online to answer a question about United States history (or whatever topic you choose). They might use Google, Yahoo, or any search engine of their choice. Have students create a Delicious account. Tell students to bookmark websites they feel will help them with their research. Assign students to groups of two or three and have the students look at the websites their classmates found, using the Delicious application. They could use the CRAAP Test to determine whether or not the websites were good ones: www.isu.edu/library/help/ineteval.htm. This activity develops evaluation skills and invites students to be more critical of websites.
Search with Delicious
Invite students to search within Delicious (http://delicious.com). In a history class, they might search “civil war.” They would then find websites that others had marked as bookmarks. Remember that the more a website is bookmarked, the greater its chances of being a reliable or useful site.
Worksheets with Delicious
Let students find answers to questions on a handout through the websites you have bookmarked and tagged. Bookmarks can be grouped into “Bundles,” so hints and reference to particular “Bundles” may assist students as they navigate your bookmarks to answer the questions on the handout. It is possible to create Delicious accounts specific to a class and separate from personal accounts. As far as I know, nobody has been limited in the number of Delicious accounts they create.
Find Five Websites for Your Project
Tell students to look for five websites that would be good for a particular research assignment. Then ask them to send these websites to your Delicious account. Do this by including the following tag: for:(+ account name.) Ex: for:sjardine. The saved websites go to your Delicious Inbox, identifying from whom they came.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Ideas from Boot Camp for Profs 2008
Last July I had the opportunity to travel to Leadville, Colorado to participate in a week-long set of workshops on teaching. One of the presenters asked us to think of keywords that described a good teacher. Thinking about teaching along these positive lines can be invigorating. I have no doubt that more keywords could be listed, but here are a few that were mentioned: enthusiastic (II), competent, knowledgeable (II), available, treats others as equals/colleagues, authoritative, challenging, inspiring (II), motivating (III), flexible, stimulating, themselves (they do not pretend to be someone else, eccentric, helpful, caring, respected, humorous, nurturing, encouraging, rigorous, committed, and student oriented. True, many of these seem to by synonyms or related, such as inspiring, motivating, stimulating, and encouraging.
The keywords above in the boldface type are my favorites--the ones I want to describe me as a teacher.
Thinking about these keywords that describe good teachers may help those of us who do teach to think about what we want to be and compare that with what we are in the classroom. Sometimes if feels that I am a dull and boring teacher. I need to think of ways to spice up my teaching. Recently, in a conversation with a friend, I heard someone talk about her involvement in a musical. She has performed in this production for a month or more, and there have been nights when it's hard to get excited. Her director encourages her and her colleagues to think of one thing they will do differently during the course of the production. While she may not have mentioned this I imagined they could do a slightly different move or flourish, pick out a child in the audience to sing to or wink at, emphasize a few words differently, etc. She did say that this has helped her perform better. As teachers we ought to consider small things we could do differently, so we can avoid ruts in our teaching.
One presenter at the Boot Camp invited us to write a teaching epitaph [it feels so appropriate to talking about epitaphs right now as Halloween is only two days away]. Here's one that I wrote: "Here lies Spencer Jardine, a competent and loving teacher who inspired students to achieve their great potential--excellence that spilled over into their lives and blessed countless number of individuals." When I was an undergraduate I really liked a class and a teacher who talked about arete = or the classical Greek definition of excellence. It's good to work to achieve personal excellence. It seems that someone else may have written the following epitaph, but I would like to adopt it as well: "Here lies Spencer Jardine who inspired students to engage in the exciting and noble cause of learning."
"Deep, man, deep."
One message that seemed to repeat itself during the conference was that teachers need to do what they most want to do as teachers. Too often teachers do not think about what they want to do most, which means they do not do what they most want to do. How's that as a recipe for dissatisfaction?
Do it. Do it right. Do it right now!
The keywords above in the boldface type are my favorites--the ones I want to describe me as a teacher.
Thinking about these keywords that describe good teachers may help those of us who do teach to think about what we want to be and compare that with what we are in the classroom. Sometimes if feels that I am a dull and boring teacher. I need to think of ways to spice up my teaching. Recently, in a conversation with a friend, I heard someone talk about her involvement in a musical. She has performed in this production for a month or more, and there have been nights when it's hard to get excited. Her director encourages her and her colleagues to think of one thing they will do differently during the course of the production. While she may not have mentioned this I imagined they could do a slightly different move or flourish, pick out a child in the audience to sing to or wink at, emphasize a few words differently, etc. She did say that this has helped her perform better. As teachers we ought to consider small things we could do differently, so we can avoid ruts in our teaching.
One presenter at the Boot Camp invited us to write a teaching epitaph [it feels so appropriate to talking about epitaphs right now as Halloween is only two days away]. Here's one that I wrote: "Here lies Spencer Jardine, a competent and loving teacher who inspired students to achieve their great potential--excellence that spilled over into their lives and blessed countless number of individuals." When I was an undergraduate I really liked a class and a teacher who talked about arete = or the classical Greek definition of excellence. It's good to work to achieve personal excellence. It seems that someone else may have written the following epitaph, but I would like to adopt it as well: "Here lies Spencer Jardine who inspired students to engage in the exciting and noble cause of learning."
"Deep, man, deep."
One message that seemed to repeat itself during the conference was that teachers need to do what they most want to do as teachers. Too often teachers do not think about what they want to do most, which means they do not do what they most want to do. How's that as a recipe for dissatisfaction?
Do it. Do it right. Do it right now!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Resizing Photos
Last year I presented a workshop on Picasa and Flickr photo-sharing websites. Several individuals expressed interest in knowing how to resize their photos. A few months back a colleague of mine brought the following website to my attention: ResizR. It allows anyone to upload any digital image they have with a "Browse" button; then they may specify how many pixels large they want it to be. The website resizes it right then and there, so the user can right-click on the image and save it to their own computer or memory device. This has been a handy tool for me.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Active-Learning Ideas
Active-Learning Ideas
Listening Teams
Divide the class into four: the Agreers, the Naysayers, the Questioners, and the Example Givers. After lecturing or presenting a demonstration, allow students to discuss in their groups. Agreers will think of two items to agree on about the lecture, while the Nay-sayers consider two items they might disagree with. Questioners make two questions to ask the instructor. They can ask for clarification or any question related to the material, including “So what?” and “Why is this important for us?” Last, the Example Givers provide two examples of how the information presented will be useful. They should work to answer the question: “How can we apply the information given to a given scenario?” Each group reports back to the class. (Silberman, Mel. Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. pp. 72.)
Groups Applying the CRAAP Test
Find enough abstracts for the various groups in the class; make sure they have all the article citation information along with the abstract. Generally, I like groups to have three or four persons working together. Tell the students what kind of research question you have in mind. Write it on the board or display it somewhere so they can see it. They need to determine in their groups if they think the article in question is Current, Relevant, Authoritative, and Accurate. The P stands for Purpose. Student must understand the purpose of the author and the article. After three or four minutes groups report back to the rest of the class. Sometimes it helps to find an article first and develop a question that it answers, so at least one abstract passes the CRAAP Test. It may also be instructive to have an article from a popular source, so you can discuss authoritative issues and so forth. (Evaluating Information—Applying the CRAAP Test.)
Visual Quiz
This is a poor man’s clicker-response system. Create a quiz with a PowerPoint Presentation. Hand out cards with A, B, C, D, and E; large, bold, and colored letters may work best. Divide the class into groups of two or three, and have them work to answer the quiz in their groups. Each group holds up the answer to the question. Ask them not to look at other groups before answering. If multiple groups do not answer the question correctly give some additional instruction. This is a great way to get immediate feedback. Those who think well on their feet may be able to create questions and possible answers in the classroom, but, generally speaking, it may be best to consider beforehand what you consider to be most important and make questions that ask for comprehension of those key points.
Quick/Pop Quiz
Find out what students have learned from your presentation or lecture. Ask them to take out a piece of paper and write down answers to the questions you will be asking. Discuss the answers together as a class. Give the quiz at the beginning, middle, or end of a class. Students tend to learn more the sooner the feedback is returned to them.
Demonstrations aka Demos
No, not the kind of student protests that were popular in the ‘60s, but showing how to use databases. Don’t be afraid to demo the databases. As with any activity, it is important to ask yourself some basic questions: What’s most important for students to know? Can they learn it better with a handout, hands-on time, or some other way? What do you want them to take away from the demonstration? How much should you leave for them to discover on their own? What do you know that will save them time and help them be more strategic in their research.
Worksheets
Worksheets allow students to proceed at their own pace and can be effective active-learning tools. They can walk students through database interfaces and catalogs while instructing them on how to construct effective searching techniques. Try to avoid creating worksheets that serve solely as busy work, but remember that some students prefer hands-on practice over listening to a lecture or demonstration. Most students learn more by doing than by listening. Freshmen and lower-division students in their general-education courses seem to respond more to worksheets better than upper-division students. Students can keep worksheets as a reference guide to help them when they have research questions in the future.
Citation Assignment
This worksheet may be best for upper-division students or for students who already know what they want to research. The worksheet allows students to write down all the bibliographic information for five articles or books they believe will be useful in helping them to answer their research question. The instructions read like this: “identify three to five potential sources that might be useful for your paper and write down all the citation information you can find.” Students apply the CRAAP Test to one of the sources they have selected and write their analysis on the bottom half of the page. This gives them practice understanding all the elements of a citation. You may want to provide some contact information to the Reference Desk, your Ask-A-Librarian service, or your email address in case they have questions later.
Lecture
Research shows that there are good lecturers and poor lecturers. Robert Leamnson argues: “In spite of the many witticisms to the contrary (‘the sage on the stage’ and the like), a major function of teaching is, and will remain so in the future, talking to students. Everything else (except the diploma, of course) they can get without paying tuition” (Thinking About Teaching and Learning 67). Nonetheless, many believe that the punctuated lecture is best. Lecture for 15-20 minutes then give a quiz, think-pair-share, or another activity. It’s best to get feedback to see if they understand; be willing to adjust your content of the class, so students will learn what you feel to be most important for them. Most individuals learn best when they interact with concepts in a variety of ways: listening, reading, writing, speaking, role playing, etc.
Think-Pair-Share
If you have a class that will not respond to you, have them discuss a question or problem with another classmate before having the groups report back to the class. This has helped out in many cases for me. It is great for all classes, but especially for literature classes. I have found it to be beneficial in the Library when we have led discussion on plagiarism. Students take out a piece of paper and write down their answers to a questions, then they turn to a neighbor to discuss the answer. Students will often listen more to a fellow peer than to an instructor. Consider the dynamics of the class first; a quiet morning class may benefit from this activity more than a boisterous afternoon class. Besides, it may be difficult to get the groups to stop talking and gather their attention enough to discuss as a whole class.
Analogies & Stories
Admittedly, this technique may require more active cerebral power on the instructor’s part, but an analogy or relevant story can make the material more accessible for students. The more basic the better. Try analogies that a large audience will understand. If it relates to their own personal experience it will make more sense to them. By and large, a majority of people appreciate stories, so tell stories that illustrate a point about researching and using the appropriate library tools.
Object Lessons
I have not really done this, except to ask students to stand up if they are wearing blue jeans, then for those who are wearing blue jeans and a sweater remain standing. This demonstrates a Boolean search statement. Explain that the more search terms entered in a query with the AND operator connecting them returns fewer results. The OR operator returns more results; connect synonyms or related terms with the OR operator and separate them from unrelated terms with parentheses. Having to stand up really gets their attention. Showing Venn diagrams also seems to be an effective way in explain Boolean operators.
Identify the Term
Give the definition of an important term and ask students to name that concept. Much of learning requires language acquisition, which emphasizes the importance of speaking, hearing, reading, and writing. Robert Leamnson devotes an entire chapter to language in his book Thinking About Teaching and Learning: Developing Habits of Learning with First Year College and University Students.
Jeopardy Review
Determine which categories you believe to be important, then ask questions to fit within those categories. Categories for libraries might include the following: databases, Boolean operators, catalog tips & tricks, library miscellaneous, library basics, resources, students and patrons. A PowerPoint presentation can be manipulated quite easily to support the Jeopardy format. Use a table to insert the point values, then right-click the number and hyperlink it to the appropriate slide with the question. The next slide can have the answer in the form of a question with an image hyperlinked back to the grid with the categories and point values. Mel Silberman’s book Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject includes a description of a Jeopardy Review. See page 163.
Student Blogs
For a semester-long information-literacy course, a useful activity may be to require students to create their own blog and post a certain number of assignments. These assignments could discuss their efforts to find good web sites, useful books in the catalog, relevant articles in the databases, and any number of creative assignments that ask for students to analyze, apply, synthesize, evaluate, etc. information.
Student Conversations
If we want students to be intelligent contributors to society, we can help them develop better conversation skills. In classroom settings we can engage the students in conversations about academic and information-literacy issues. Learn how to coach students in such a way that it prompts them to considers sides of an issue of which they may not be aware. Ask them to explain themselves, analyze an issue, evaluate resources, synthesize ideas, and come to conclusions. Of course, this may be best in a semester-long class, rather than a one-shot, library-instruction session. Students need to practice speaking and thinking like adults and in front of others, although they may not be inclined to do this. Always be lavish with your praise when a student does engage in a conversation with you in front of the whole class. This idea of student conversations comes from Robert Leamnson's Thinking About Teaching and Learning: Developing Habits of Learning with First Year College and University Students. He used this method in his classes.
Listening Teams
Divide the class into four: the Agreers, the Naysayers, the Questioners, and the Example Givers. After lecturing or presenting a demonstration, allow students to discuss in their groups. Agreers will think of two items to agree on about the lecture, while the Nay-sayers consider two items they might disagree with. Questioners make two questions to ask the instructor. They can ask for clarification or any question related to the material, including “So what?” and “Why is this important for us?” Last, the Example Givers provide two examples of how the information presented will be useful. They should work to answer the question: “How can we apply the information given to a given scenario?” Each group reports back to the class. (Silberman, Mel. Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. pp. 72.)
Groups Applying the CRAAP Test
Find enough abstracts for the various groups in the class; make sure they have all the article citation information along with the abstract. Generally, I like groups to have three or four persons working together. Tell the students what kind of research question you have in mind. Write it on the board or display it somewhere so they can see it. They need to determine in their groups if they think the article in question is Current, Relevant, Authoritative, and Accurate. The P stands for Purpose. Student must understand the purpose of the author and the article. After three or four minutes groups report back to the rest of the class. Sometimes it helps to find an article first and develop a question that it answers, so at least one abstract passes the CRAAP Test. It may also be instructive to have an article from a popular source, so you can discuss authoritative issues and so forth. (Evaluating Information—Applying the CRAAP Test.)
Visual Quiz
This is a poor man’s clicker-response system. Create a quiz with a PowerPoint Presentation. Hand out cards with A, B, C, D, and E; large, bold, and colored letters may work best. Divide the class into groups of two or three, and have them work to answer the quiz in their groups. Each group holds up the answer to the question. Ask them not to look at other groups before answering. If multiple groups do not answer the question correctly give some additional instruction. This is a great way to get immediate feedback. Those who think well on their feet may be able to create questions and possible answers in the classroom, but, generally speaking, it may be best to consider beforehand what you consider to be most important and make questions that ask for comprehension of those key points.
Quick/Pop Quiz
Find out what students have learned from your presentation or lecture. Ask them to take out a piece of paper and write down answers to the questions you will be asking. Discuss the answers together as a class. Give the quiz at the beginning, middle, or end of a class. Students tend to learn more the sooner the feedback is returned to them.
Demonstrations aka Demos
No, not the kind of student protests that were popular in the ‘60s, but showing how to use databases. Don’t be afraid to demo the databases. As with any activity, it is important to ask yourself some basic questions: What’s most important for students to know? Can they learn it better with a handout, hands-on time, or some other way? What do you want them to take away from the demonstration? How much should you leave for them to discover on their own? What do you know that will save them time and help them be more strategic in their research.
Worksheets
Worksheets allow students to proceed at their own pace and can be effective active-learning tools. They can walk students through database interfaces and catalogs while instructing them on how to construct effective searching techniques. Try to avoid creating worksheets that serve solely as busy work, but remember that some students prefer hands-on practice over listening to a lecture or demonstration. Most students learn more by doing than by listening. Freshmen and lower-division students in their general-education courses seem to respond more to worksheets better than upper-division students. Students can keep worksheets as a reference guide to help them when they have research questions in the future.
Citation Assignment
This worksheet may be best for upper-division students or for students who already know what they want to research. The worksheet allows students to write down all the bibliographic information for five articles or books they believe will be useful in helping them to answer their research question. The instructions read like this: “identify three to five potential sources that might be useful for your paper and write down all the citation information you can find.” Students apply the CRAAP Test to one of the sources they have selected and write their analysis on the bottom half of the page. This gives them practice understanding all the elements of a citation. You may want to provide some contact information to the Reference Desk, your Ask-A-Librarian service, or your email address in case they have questions later.
Lecture
Research shows that there are good lecturers and poor lecturers. Robert Leamnson argues: “In spite of the many witticisms to the contrary (‘the sage on the stage’ and the like), a major function of teaching is, and will remain so in the future, talking to students. Everything else (except the diploma, of course) they can get without paying tuition” (Thinking About Teaching and Learning 67). Nonetheless, many believe that the punctuated lecture is best. Lecture for 15-20 minutes then give a quiz, think-pair-share, or another activity. It’s best to get feedback to see if they understand; be willing to adjust your content of the class, so students will learn what you feel to be most important for them. Most individuals learn best when they interact with concepts in a variety of ways: listening, reading, writing, speaking, role playing, etc.
Think-Pair-Share
If you have a class that will not respond to you, have them discuss a question or problem with another classmate before having the groups report back to the class. This has helped out in many cases for me. It is great for all classes, but especially for literature classes. I have found it to be beneficial in the Library when we have led discussion on plagiarism. Students take out a piece of paper and write down their answers to a questions, then they turn to a neighbor to discuss the answer. Students will often listen more to a fellow peer than to an instructor. Consider the dynamics of the class first; a quiet morning class may benefit from this activity more than a boisterous afternoon class. Besides, it may be difficult to get the groups to stop talking and gather their attention enough to discuss as a whole class.
Analogies & Stories
Admittedly, this technique may require more active cerebral power on the instructor’s part, but an analogy or relevant story can make the material more accessible for students. The more basic the better. Try analogies that a large audience will understand. If it relates to their own personal experience it will make more sense to them. By and large, a majority of people appreciate stories, so tell stories that illustrate a point about researching and using the appropriate library tools.
Object Lessons
I have not really done this, except to ask students to stand up if they are wearing blue jeans, then for those who are wearing blue jeans and a sweater remain standing. This demonstrates a Boolean search statement. Explain that the more search terms entered in a query with the AND operator connecting them returns fewer results. The OR operator returns more results; connect synonyms or related terms with the OR operator and separate them from unrelated terms with parentheses. Having to stand up really gets their attention. Showing Venn diagrams also seems to be an effective way in explain Boolean operators.
Identify the Term
Give the definition of an important term and ask students to name that concept. Much of learning requires language acquisition, which emphasizes the importance of speaking, hearing, reading, and writing. Robert Leamnson devotes an entire chapter to language in his book Thinking About Teaching and Learning: Developing Habits of Learning with First Year College and University Students.
Jeopardy Review
Determine which categories you believe to be important, then ask questions to fit within those categories. Categories for libraries might include the following: databases, Boolean operators, catalog tips & tricks, library miscellaneous, library basics, resources, students and patrons. A PowerPoint presentation can be manipulated quite easily to support the Jeopardy format. Use a table to insert the point values, then right-click the number and hyperlink it to the appropriate slide with the question. The next slide can have the answer in the form of a question with an image hyperlinked back to the grid with the categories and point values. Mel Silberman’s book Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject includes a description of a Jeopardy Review. See page 163.
Student Blogs
For a semester-long information-literacy course, a useful activity may be to require students to create their own blog and post a certain number of assignments. These assignments could discuss their efforts to find good web sites, useful books in the catalog, relevant articles in the databases, and any number of creative assignments that ask for students to analyze, apply, synthesize, evaluate, etc. information.
Student Conversations
If we want students to be intelligent contributors to society, we can help them develop better conversation skills. In classroom settings we can engage the students in conversations about academic and information-literacy issues. Learn how to coach students in such a way that it prompts them to considers sides of an issue of which they may not be aware. Ask them to explain themselves, analyze an issue, evaluate resources, synthesize ideas, and come to conclusions. Of course, this may be best in a semester-long class, rather than a one-shot, library-instruction session. Students need to practice speaking and thinking like adults and in front of others, although they may not be inclined to do this. Always be lavish with your praise when a student does engage in a conversation with you in front of the whole class. This idea of student conversations comes from Robert Leamnson's Thinking About Teaching and Learning: Developing Habits of Learning with First Year College and University Students. He used this method in his classes.
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