the story of the bowman library research skills tutorial
DESCRIPTION
Describes the process of creating a five-module online tutorial to teach undergraduates the skills of information literacy. By librarians at Bowman Library, Menlo College in Atherton, California.TRANSCRIPT
The Story of the Research Skills Tutorial
Bowman LibraryMenlo College
Beginnings
A bit of history Library skills tutorial became General Education
requirement for 2005-2006 academic year Old TILT-based tutorial called
Big Picture Goals for Tutorial: Apply to life and job skills as well as academic – making
students know they will use these skills after college Describe the kinds of information, how each is used and
packaged, and authority of producer ; the academic publishing and research process
Explain the student’s role in research process
Goals of our tutorial: Incorporate tools and services of library web site; provide
visual recognition Explain subscription resources & their availability at public
libraries after graduation Act as a foundation for information literacy skills with mini-
modules on specific topics that could be revisited Assess student skills with varying levels of difficulty for
quizzes Be relatively easy to update later on
User-oriented Goals: Be engaging to Menlo students/not cutesy
photos include Menlo students, faculty, assignments, & places focus on business & psychology
Use timely examples that differ from module to module Be easy to use Provide definitions of library lingo Provide estimated time to complete modules Provide a place for feedback
Reviewing existing tutorials
Google Docs Survey
Reviewing existing tutorials
Surveying Bowman LibrariansSample Questions
Sample Answers
Creating content From outline
to PowerPoint
High level tutorial content
High level theme concepts
Module creation Text,
images, division of labor
Recurring content Interactive opportunities
for practicing of skills Try it! (Concept check -
not graded) Where you, the student,
fit in
Borrowed content Scholarly/popular sources
interactive segment (mod.1) CRAAP criteria for
evaluating websites (mod. 4)
Quizzes Read literature and
education sites for suggestions on quiz writing
Quiz taking becomes learning experience for student because the quiz responds back to student and offers ability to retry questions
Videos Writing scripts Finding/creating images Technology trial & error & training Tools
Powerpoint Camtasia (video & audio production) Jing (screenshots & web-friendly, fast-
loading images) Smartphone camera (instant uploads) Techsmith.com (primary video hosting)
& YouTube
Production Worked remotely with Sarah via shared files on a server to
which she had access Design and coding Collaborative feedback via e-mail
Usability testing Tested with 3 freshmen Script, observation What we changed
Less text per slide Added slide numbering, you-are-here navigation Quiz revisions
TimelineSummer 2011 -- brainstormed; looked at other
tutorialsFall 2011-Spring 2012 -- refined content; online
course in producing tutorials; design conceptsSummer 2012 -- recorded videos; more content
refinement; design; production of siteFall 2012 -- usability testing; minor refinementJanuary 2013 -- rolled out finished tutorial
Post-Production Assessment
Test results file Freshman completion rate at 89.4%
What we might do differently Length Less elaborate, shorter videos Repurposing an existing tutorial Current technology changes?
Contact info Sarah Clatterbuck (sarah at secadvertising.com) Linda K. Smith (lsmith at menlo.edu) Lisa Velarde (lvelarde at ccsf.edu)