The Students Are the Stars:

Making a

(Subversively Instructional)

Interactive Movie

By: Ramona Islam & Leslie Porter

Let’s Watch

• Let’s see what happens when people stop being library-centered and start getting real

Question:

• Librarians, if you were making a video to promote your library, what would YOU highlight?

Librarians?

Question:

• If your students were making a video to promote the library, what do you think THEY would highlight?

Students?

Library Intro: repackaged & remixed

• Blend social experiences with technology

• Repackage the same content we delivered as a lecture

• The experience is customized by the user, like Jones Soda

Why remix?

• Change perceptions of redundancy

• Surprising

• Not intimidating

• Good first impression

• More engaging

Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before…

• How many of you teach freshmen library orientation sessions?

• Ratio of bored vs. engaged?

Image from Flickr user umjanedoa under Creative Commons licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

Put the class in the students’ hands

• Lecture = students passive

• Interaction = students active participants

• Empowered + active = more engaged

• Let the class do the work!

Image from Flickr user Ollie-G under Creative Commons licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

How it works in the classroom

• Clickers

• Results screen

Enter audience as protagonist

• “Choose your own adventure” format

• Students are the stars– in the movie– in the classroom

• Electronic voting devices empower the audience to select the path

How we did it: Making the movie

• Funding

• Assessment of existing program

• Creative collaboration

• Filming and post - production

Funding

• Funds re-routed from library open house because of schedule change

Image from Flickr user Tracy Olson under Creative Commons licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

Assessment of existing program

• Interviews with graduating seniors about their experiences with library instruction over the course of 4 years

Image from Flickr user Barbara Dieu under Creative Commons licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

Library as place

• "There's times when I'm studying in the cafe late at night."

How we integrated student feedback into the movie

• "I like the different spaces in the library, like the cushy chairs."

Meeting up online

• "In my research, I would say the library has maybe a minor role. You can do a lot of it from your room."

Laptop “rentals”

• "My favorite part about research at the library is laptop renting."

Microfilm

• "The most helpful was microfiche--it was a lot easier than using all my StagBucks to print out things."

Interlibrary Loan

• "I love the interlibrary loan service for finding books."

Friends

• "I liked when I could show my roommates how to research Sesame Street for our communications class. They were impressed."

Creative collaboration

• Where do we begin? It was a long process!

• Working with Media Center and two freshmen

• Brainstorming– Writing the script– Coming up with the concept

• A thousand failures…then,success!

It all came down to this:

Filming

• 2 days over the summer– Casting– Directing– Shooting

• Later– Screening– Post-production

Spotlight: Know Your Audience• Fairfield University is a small

comprehensive Jesuit university located in a suburb 50 miles outside of New York City. – Undergraduate students: 3941

– Full-time entering Freshmen: 842

– Sometimes known as “J. Crew U.”

–  "The DiMenna-Nyselius Library turns into Club DiMenna on Sunday evenings - it might as well be the Grape on a Tuesday night, except they let underclassmen in (including the one that you're too embarrassed to tell your friends you have a crush on)."

• Excerpt from the Fairfield Mirror, Fairfield’s student newspaper

From the article, “The Right way to pop your collar” Fairfield Mirror, 2/1/07 http://media.www.fairfieldmirror.com/media/storage/paper148/news/2007/02/01/CampusLife/The-Right.Way.To.Pop.Your.Collar-2688626.shtml?reffeature=recentlycommentedstoriestab

Your Turn as Audience

Audience Vote:• Depending upon desired outcomes, can

use of narrative enhance learning?

Assessment: Student Evaluation Form

Student Feedback

• What they found surprising:

– "The movie. I thought it was going to be stupid, but it was actually funny and pretty informative."

• Entertainment value:

– "I enjoyed the movie and liked how it was interactive and kept your focused."

– "It was very good; I would like to see the segments that the class did not view."

• The movie's impact on the students' experience of the library instruction class as a whole:

– "I was surprised to learn how much easier it is to write a paper using the library."

– "The session was more enjoyable and interactive than I thought it was going to be."

Educational value:•Student Quote: "The movie was really good and helped me realize what the library offered.”

•Several students hadn't known they could "rent free laptops.“

•Two students expressed surprise that librarians may be contacted through instant messaging.

Student responses to the question:The movie contributed to my awareness of library services and resources

Reactions•Librarians - “I think it was very successful. The students seemed to really like it, and I think it got them to pay attention in a way that they wouldn't have if it was just me talking.” - Fairfield U. Librarian

•Faculty - “I'm conflicted about the usefulness of the film--except insofar as it enticed the students to use the library and made it 'sexy.'” – Fairfield U. Professor

Faculty responses (regarding the movie) to the questions:Which aspects of the EN 11 Library Program were particularly valuable / less useful?

DO try this at home• Suggestions• Use your campus media center, film students, drama students• If you don’t have a campus media center, try to find another local

school/college/community college that does• Paying for the professionals can be cost prohibitive• Get volunteer actors from the drama/theatre program if you have

one - they can use the movie as part of their "reel." If you don't have a theater program, try local theater groups or even high school seniors.

• Production and post-production - get students who edit media to help out– Graphic design students– digital media students– Free software

Choose the Ending!

A) A walk on the Beach

B) Three’s a Crowd

C) An Unexpected Visitor

Questions?

Photo from Flickr user alexanderdrachmann Used under the Creative Commons License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Thank you!• Ramona Islam rislam@mail.fairfield.edu

• Leslie Porter lporter@auctr.edu • View the entire movie online at

http://faculty.fairfield.edu/mediacenter/library/

Photo from Flickr user Randy Son Of Robert Used under the Creative Commons Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en