Information literacy instruction for satellite university students

Abstract

Library Administration at the University of Lethbridge recently decided to explore options for providing information literacy instruction to students enrolled in the introductory academic writing course at the University's two satellite locations. This was motivated both by fiscal restraints as well as a desire to explore using information technology to provide enhanced library service to satellite campus students on an ongoing basis. After conducting an extensive literature review, a scan of practices for distance learning in libraries at other institutions, and exploring a variety of technological options, it was decided that information literacy sessions would be provided at these campuses via a live Skype video call. In the Fall of 2010, this was attempted with five sections of Writing 1000. Despite some technical challenges, this pilot was determined to be largely successful. In the Spring 2011 term a similar project was undertaken with some minor modifications based on the lessons learned in the previous term. In addition, students were provided with additional information literacy instruction via online tutorials that were developed for Writing 1000 students at all three locations, including the main campus. This paper provides a broad outline of the current climate in adult information literacy for distance education students according to our research. The successes, challenges and lessons learned from our pilot project are also shared.

Improving Library Services to Satellite Campuses: A Follow-Up Study at the University of Lethbridge

“…In the time since the author offered distance classes via Skype, the webinar technology has improved a great deal. Skype was somewhat unstable, as mentioned by one of the instructors, and did not provide the intimate experience hoped for (for more information on the teaching experience with Skype, see Eva & Nicholson, 2011). As a result of this most recent survey, the author contacted the instructor who identified herself and expressed interest in having a class.…”

Instruction on the Go: Reaching Out to Students from the Academic Library

“…The librarians in this study used Skype to teach entire class sessions and also used screensharing software to deliver further aid to students. Nicholson and Eva (2011) discuss the successes and challenges of their project. This study opened opportunities for new instruction as well as introduced new avenues to offer individual research consultations to their students.…”

“…Barnhart and Stanfield offer advice to other librarians wishing to try Web conferencing software, even giving a comparison chart of free Web 2.0 tools, since software costs can get high (2011). Nicholson and Eva (2011) write about using Skype to teach distance education students in their pilot study at the University of Lethbridge. The Web 2.0 video conferencing tool was used in collaboration with five Writing 1000 classes as well as with a management course.…”

“…Providing support and instruction to students both in person and online is the ultimate teaching situation (Nicholson and Eva, 2011). For Virginia Tech's Newman Library, being able to offer one-shot library instruction in a webinar format was a very logical step in instructional methodologies.…”

Health literacy education: the impact of synchronous instruction

“…Library-related research on synchronous online instruction weighs heavily towards case studies that document the implementation of web conferencing instruction in academic libraries. These case studies often report on the benefits and drawbacks of web conferencing software options such as Skype or Adobe Connect (Carlson, 2011;Nicholson and Eva, 2011) and gather user feedback from attendees through surveys. In one such article, Barnhart and Stanfield (2011) describe implementing a web conferencing instruction pilot for graduate students using WIMBA software.…”