Crystal's Blog

Teaching Reflection 4

2011-02-06T13:52:00.001-05:00

I ended up doing my presentation on the Characteristics of Heroes. I based it on a thesis I did three years ago. I knew that I only had seven minutes to do the presentation, so I was not able to put everything in there. However, when I thought about it, this one was easier to do in the time I had. The other idea, cutting the Iliad based on Plato, would have taken too much time and I think it will be better for an instruction session rather than a presentation.

I did a lot of preparation for this presentation. I really had to be realistic about the time and in the end I think that the simpler version I ended up with because of the time was better than if I would have done something a little more complex. I also took the time and opportunity to use new presentation software. At first, I was not going to use visuals at all, but I found that I really wanted to use visuals (pictures) to help the class understand what and whom I was talking about. I used Prezi for the first time. I really took the time to structure the presentation in a way that would have very little words and just enough visuals.

I also tried to make the presentation have humor. I used simple anecdotes about the Greek heroes as examples to connect the characteristic to something they might remember. I used pictures that were funny or were familiar, like Brad Pitt as Achilles. I also put a punch line at the end. I used Harry Potter as a quick ending example of the characteristics for a recap and to make the presentation funny. I also stated a point that Harry Potter is not a Hero in order to make the audience think, as well as make the presentation memorable. It definitely was my opinion, but I knew most did not agree with it, so I added it to spice things up.

I repeatedly practiced the presentation, timing myself and using the Prezi. I think the presentation flowed well because of the Prezi, as well as my preparation and the cutting out of the information that the audience did not need. I spent a lot of time talking and thinking about the presentation. I believe I did well and met the goals I set out for myself:
1) Practice
2) Good flow of Presentation- both with the software and the information presented
3) Engage Audience
4) Add Humor (Try Humor)
5) Do not rely on the Slides
6) Use Prezi for the first time
7) Make visual and interesting
8) Hit Timing
9) Provide recaps and repeat self

However, there are things, upon reflection, that I would like to improve. I also know I will be getting feedback later, so I can also look at those things I can improve.
1) I thought I could improve the transitions. I think they might not have moved as well as I would have hoped.
2) I think I could have slowed down and calmed down a little more
3) Be confident in my practice. I knew I had it and I did not have to look at the slides at all. But I did a little.

My reflection on the second part of the class is that active learning and lecture-based learning have their uses and their places. I especially like a combination of the two. I know that I have had many classes that have combined them. I have found them to be some of the best classes I have had. However, I know that I am more of an active learner, but I know that others are not. I learned that there are many ways that you can use active learning, from the simple to the not so simple.

I will have to do more thinking about what I want to include as an activity, but I think I am going to take parts of the Iliad and have the groups talk about them and the Plato cuts together, then to report on what would be cut and what that would do to the poem. I want them to think about what people say about education and if that is really the way to go.

Finally, I had a Reference Assistant meeting today. I found that Carrie is really great at presenting and lecturing. She took the active approach. It was fun and really made me think about how I can give instruction at the reference desk. I want to model myself after her. I really want to add humor and find ways to engage the audience in the learning. I have found that students will meet you if you try and get them engaged even a little. I also found:
1) Make lists are useful for remembering and recall
2) Be enthusiastic
3) Have a plan and be ready
All of these we have already talked about in the class. Now I am really taking a notice and I hope I can actively include them in my upcoming session.

Burgan, M. (2006). In defense of lecturing. Change Magazine, 38(6), 5.

Grassian, E. S., & Kaplowitz, J. R. (2009). Information literacy instruction: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Newal-Schuman. Chapter 6 [read p.94-108].

Keyser, M.W. (2000). Active learning and cooperative learning: understanding the difference and using both styles effectively. Research Strategies 17(1), 35-44.

Ridgeway, T. (1989). Integrating active learning techniques into the one-hour bibliographic instruction lecture. Coping with information illiteracy: bibliographic instruction for the information age: papers presented at the Seventeenth National LOEX Library Instruction Conference, Ann Arbor, MI.

Rosenbaum, H. (2000). Teaching electronic commerce: Problem-based learning in a virtual economy. Journal of Informatics Education and Research 2(2), 45-58.

Teaching Reflection 3

2011-02-06T13:13:00.000-05:00

The readings for this week were all about presentation skills. One of my favorites was the PowerPoint on using PowerPoint for presentations. I also enjoyed the videos from class on great presenters like Steve Jobs and why, as well as the ten tips for presenting. All gave advise that I have heard and have experienced before. The change was taking an active role and really thinking about using the advise for my upcoming presentation. Here are the things that stood out:

1) Practice, Practice, Practice. I have practiced presentations in the past and have found them to go well. However, I don’t usually make it a habit. I am going to take the two presentation/instruction session this semester to actively make a habit out of practicing. That also goes for my other class and the presentations I have to make in them. I am also going to practice with the visual aids, like PowerPoint, not just practice the material. I want to make sure that I do not rely on the Slides. I want to make the presentation without looking at the Slides at all. I will not write down everything I am going to say, but I will know what I am going to say.

2) Humor. I know that I have wanted to practice using humor in my presentations/instruction sessions. I definitely want to try that during class and see how it goes.

3) The presentation process. Outline for audience, use visuals, make it simple, leave them wanting. I unusually put in thought about my presentations. However, I am going to try and put more thought into the presentations. I am going to give it a flow like Steve Jobs. I also want to try an incorporate the surprises or the visuals that will keep the audience engaged (like how he came out with a manila envelope to present the Mac Book Air and how thin it was). Repeating or having a theme is also important and I want to make sure I stay on topic. I also need to work on my transitions (that goes with the flow of the presentation).

I am still working on what I am going to talk about in my presentation and what I am going to teach in my session. However, I have narrowed it down to Characteristics of Heroes and how to cut the Iliad based on Plato’s republic chapter’s 2 and 3.

Grassian, E. S., & Kaplowitz, J. R. (2009). Information literacy instruction: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Newal-Schuman. Chapter 12.

Knowledge documentation and job aids.

Techniques (2006, November/December). Leadership matters, 10-11.

Lifehacker. Five ways to not suck at Power Point.

Teaching Reflection 2

2011-02-06T12:53:00.001-05:00

The three readings for this week’s class all reinforced the fact that teaching or creating a teaching session is a design process. The things that you have to think about are the users, their needs, the tasks that you need to get through to fit those needs and the users, and to have goals and objectives for the outcome. The instruction session has to have a context. The context will let you know, as a teacher or presenter, how much information and where that session should go as far as what level of skills are you going to give to the users.

For example, if I was just going to do a presentation (which I will in a few weeks), then I do not need to get the audience to reach the highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. I want them to reach the level of understanding (second level) not the highest level where they would be able to do a project or create something based on my presentation. Presentations are generally shorter than a class session. There is not enough time to get the audience to that level unless it is one in s series of presentations or the people in the room are experts that already understand what you are presenting. However, in these cases you will either get to the point where the audience will be able to create something or the experts are just there for the information in order to question or incorporate in their research. These are different contexts and expectations.

Treating an instruction session or a presentation like a design process put me in a place where I was familiar. I am use to and know the design process well through my classes and work. The hardest part was the learning objectives. Learning objectives are a little different than objectives in general, when we are talking about designing something tangible. I found that the use of verbs was important. I had to make sure that I also was more specific on what the objectives were. When creating objectives, you really have to think about the needs and task analysis. The objectives have to be broken down just like a task analysis, into its simplest parts. Once I understand that and take down objectives, I have to look at them and be realistic with the context. The time I have and the users (learners) could limit, change, or expand on my objectives. For example, if I was teaching a class at the graduate level for Political Science and I knew most of the students came in with a B.A. in Political Science, then one of my objectives would not include teaching them to understand the basic concepts and theories of Political Science.

The final thing I learned was that you have to have an outline. Once you have an idea of what you might teach, what the user’s prior knowledge might be, and the context in which you are going to teach, then you can create an outline. I know that the outline will change as I start planning and designing the instruction session, but I will have a start and I will know what I will have to work on in order to teach what I am planning to teach. I will know if the time and what I want to teach is realistic. I will also start to think about how I am going to teach the session: paper v electronic, interactive v lecture, etc.

My reflections for this week are on that fact that I need to approach a teaching session or presentation like a design process. I need to think about learning objectives in specific and smaller units. Finally, I need to have an outline after my initial analysis, that will most likely change as I go, but will give me a place to start and to plan.

BCIT Learning and Teaching Centre. Writing learning outcomes.

Morrison, G. R., Ross, M. S., & Kemp, J. E. (2004). Designing effective instruction. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons. Chapters 4, & 5.

Luongo, N. Bloom's taxonomy.

S573: Teaching Reflection 1

2011-01-16T12:23:00.000-05:00

We are asked in my S573: Education of Information Users to reflect upon our teaching styles, likes, dislikes, etc. I thought it would be helpful to reflect on these things here on my blog. I can then use it later to make my teaching statement and to reflect upon the events of this semester. Here are my thoughts from the first class:

We read a short article for class by Buskist (2002) called Ten Common Mistakes TAs (and Veterans) Make. After looking at the ten common mistakes, we were asked to think about our favorite teachers in the past and what made them great teachers (kind of a opposite of this list). I have to say that when I think of my favorite teachers, I think of people who are enthusiastic about the topic, can incorporate humor and storytelling to help you remember the material, challenge you to do better or learn more about the topic, will let the students lead the discussion but still bring the class back to what the teacher wants them to learn for that day (organized).

I would want to be this teacher. However, so of it takes a while to learn and others are hard. I would not know where to begin to bring humor into the class. I would probably have to know the subject very well first. So thinking right now about nothing in particular does not help. We are challenged in this class to teach a couple of classes and to see the class as a way to try out anything. I think I will try to add humor where I can to help the class remember what they are learning. I also want to make sure that I give off confidence and enthusiasm.

I have been throwing around ideas of what I will teach. I am not sure yet. I have been thinking about delicious of diigo, swing, and Jing. I would say that I have more enthusiasm for these things. I also have goodreads. I think the first one should be something technology oriented. I do not know about the other one yet. I also need to think about the activity and how I want to organize the class for the big teaching project. I have to think about what I want to try. I know a few and maybe these next weeks will help me think about it.

As a side note, my class reminded me, and maybe I will do something with this, about the Net Gen and Don Tapscott (I have the youtube videos in my blog from my internship). Don has a lot to say about how the generation is learning and using technology these days. Maybe I can do a class on that and experiment with his ideas and test the accuracy with an activity.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 59-60 (Entry 59 and 60)

2010-08-08T12:36:00.000-04:00

I have reviewed the goals and projects with Julia. After we have talked and I knew where she wanted the projects to go here are my notes for the past couple of days.
The road thus far...

Review of Goals:
1)Give my time and experience to the Library in order to help during a time of financial and staffing hardship.

I have it from Julia that I have helped her to get to where she wanted to be at this time of year. She did not and has not had anyone that was able to work through the projects that I have done this summer. They have been on her desk and my work with them has made it possible to move with the changes that are coming to the campus this year.

I have also been able to help or take on tasks that she needed done, but did not have the time to do. I have used my experience in my course work and jobs to help Julia with instruction for the Fall. I have also been able to help with finding problems and brainstorming fixes (strategies) for these projects. I have gotten them to the point where someone or a team can come in and implement the changes or could design the change. I will go into more detail as I talk about the projects below.

Goal 1: Met!

2)Improve on professional experience.

I have had to work closely with Julia, Charlotte, and a few other people on the projects that I have been working on this summer. I have been able to improve on my team work skills and work with people that I know and people that I have never worked with before. I have been able to communicate my ideas and discuss other ideas with all of them.

I have been able to juggle and manage about five projects (with many other components) throughout the summer. I know that I could do that because of juggling school work and some other project in other jobs. But doing it this summer, with hardly any supervision, made it different. I was able to make my own deadlines and work out times when I would work on them. I was able to set up meetings to give my ideas and what I had been working on. I was able to take responsibility for getting them to the point that Julia needed them to get to. I also learned how to let go of projects and when I should let them go. I think I have a better grasp on dealing with projects and where I can get them to on my own now.

I have been able to take my skills and experience, and use them to help out a particular department of the library. While doing so, I have learned more about instruction, a department that did not know as much about until now. Especially while talking to Julia and doing the readings. I know I can take that experience of learning and how to learn and use it in any department of the library where I end up working in the future (even if I do not have a plan of where).

I have added to my experience of working in different environments and with different people (work styles). I have enjoyed working with the fluid style that Julia has. I hope I can get to work with people like her in the future. I have gotten a better perspective on what kind of environment and people I want to work with in the future.

Goal 2: Met!

Review of Projects:

1. BANC/RPS

I have been able to take the data and put them in forms (graphs) so that others will understand them. I have analyzed the data, identified problems (gaps in student understanding) that instruction can fix, and brainstormed the strategies and technology that can be used to address them. Julia and I have identified clicker technology which will be used in instruction. I am going to implement a part of it and have it read for Aug. 19th and her meeting with the faculty.

My work with the RPS data has given Anne (the director) the knowledge and courage to get the ball rolling with taking the RPS survey out to the whole college. It will be included as a general studies pre- and post- test for the Fall. It will be required and there will be more data for the years to come. Before, it only had 6% take it and it was not being pushed by hardly anyone. Now, the importance and problems of what the students are not learning is understood by the people that can get it pushed.

The BANC tutorial revision did and did not happen. I was able to help Julia with ideas for changing questions and rethinking sections. However, a change in the ILS this summer prevented us from taking the ideas and making a deliverable redesign. Otherwise, Julia can take the information and step forward with it in the future.

Task 1: Met!

2. Library Website/Tour

Charlotte and I have been successful in coming up with a paper prototype that can be taken to the web team and made into an online version. Due to staffing and time, it may not happen until the Fall, but the design is there. We also have made a statement of purpose and flow chart to go along with the prototype and notes. Charlotte and Julia will be able to explain the vision to the web team based on this information. Charlotte and I could also write an article in the future if we get the time. We found that there is little publish on making online tours for libraries.

To make the new tour (BOLT), we were able to take the old tour, as well as the literature and other library tours, to design ours. I was able to use my course work to plan the design and work in collaboration with someone that I have never worked with before. I was also able to take a skill that is personal and use it to take pictures in a creative way for the library website and the tour.

Julia and I have been looking at the layout and policies for the (library) website redesign from the web team. We have been looking into how the website should look. I have been able to bring my course work into the discussion in order to explain the process and the techniques for continuing the design with the layout in mind. I plan to have a working plan and process ready for Julia at the end of my internship so that she can lead the meetings for the redesign of the library website in the Fall.

Task 2: Almost Complete!

3. Cloud Computing

I was able to take on this task with Julia. We trouble-shooted and discussed what the users of the library computers needed to be able to do with them. This came on the heals of an upgrade to the library computers. Some new computers were placed in the library for testing. More are coming and we wanted to make sure the image was right for our users. The new computers and their image will be used in the library as a test for when they replace other computers around the campus.

I was able to take my technical background and my course work for this task. I was able to articulate and discuss what the users might want and translate what can be done with the technology. I was also able to sit in on the meeting discussing the changes that needed to be made to the image. I was able to help translate what the library wanted and what could be done with the technology.

Task 3: Met!

4. AIKCU Conference

Due to staffing shortage, I was able to take Julia's place at the AIKCU conference. I was able to build on my professional experience by going to another professional conference where I learned about how libraries and IT people are working together to help students at their colleges. It was great to take some of the ideas, like some web 2.0 widgets, and bring them back to Julia. I was also able to have a great discussion with her about the communication and where she sees the interaction among IT people, librarians, and faculty going (has been).

Task 4: Met!

Internship @ Berea College: Day 58 (Entry 58)

2010-08-06T16:23:00.002-04:00

I am coming up on my presentation for my internship. Here are some thoughts about the road so far.

As I come to a close on my internship (another two week to go), I have had to deal with frustration. I have not experienced stress during my internship. It has been like a vacation for me. However, I do have to prepare myself for my presentation and for the close of my time here in Berea.

I have had to experience letting go of projects in many different ways throughout my college and work career. I have had projects at work where they started, where stopped because of a decision from higher ups, picked up again because of higher ups, and then stopped again. I have had to deal with big, important projects at work where I have a deadline and they need to get done, complete.

In my course work and in my jobs, I have also had to deal with what I am feeling now. I have projects that only get to a certain stopping point. I do not have the time, skills, or go ahead to take the project any further. For example, in systems analysis and design, I had a project where my team had to take a problem in a company and find solutions that they could implement. It was a lot of work and we handed the solutions to them. However, we do not have a hand in implementing or even knowing if they will take our advice.

I have a holistic view of projects. I like to see the whole picture. However, I cannot always complete the whole project. I have had to learn with my course work and though my jobs about letting projects go for many reasons: the plug has been pulled, we are only going to a certain point, someone else has the skills to finish ans I am needed elsewhere. This internship has given me a continuing experience with this.

All the projects that I have been managing for these past months are now to the point where a person with the skill or the person who has the job to implement the ideas is suppose to take them. At first, when I was thinking of my progress with my projects for this internship, I felt I had not finished them. Now, I know that I have not "finished" them, but got them to the point that Julia expected and I needed to get them to so that Julia, Charlotte, or someone else could run with.

I have learned that I may be alone while working on a specific part of a project, but most projects are part of a whole team and others will most likely get their hands on it because I will never have all the skills to take a project from start to finish. I love that I have the skill and can be a big part of all the projects I have worked on this summer. I do not relish having to give them up. But I trust these people to take them and do something with them.

The biggest professional lesson I have learned from this internship has been to let go. I am not expected to have all the answers. I am not expected to have all the skill. I am not expected to take a project from start to finish. And that is okay. I can be a big part of a project. I can be involved. I can keep giving advice and letting people know my thoughts. I am capable of getting a project where it needs to be for someone to step in and take it over. I am capable of letting people know my thoughts and process so they can take it over and know where I have been.

All these years of working with projects have gotten me to this point. I will continue to work on letting projects go, but I will always try to do as much as I can. I just have to change my perspective so that I know I have done all that I can.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 56-57 (Entry 56-57)

2010-08-05T14:28:00.000-04:00

I finished the abstracts for the virtual tour section of my professional readings. Here is the tread for these readings:

User-centered design and purpose are the two main points and important factors in making virtual tours.

Making a virtual tour in a user-centered design fashion keeps the users in mind. All questions about the look, the navigation, the technology, and how to map the virtual tour to fit the concepts of "map" and "tour" come back to the user. The purpose also comes back to the user. In addition, questions about what to include for content and what directions to take for the design come back to the purpose.

Both work together to help create the design of a virtual tour. For example, one tour was made for international students (Downing, Arthur, and Leo Robert Klein. (2001). A multilingual virtual tour for international student: The web-based library at Baruch College opens doors. College & Research Libraries News, 62(5), 500-502.). The purpose was to make a tour that would help orient international students with the library, as well as attract future international students.

Once the user and purpose are clear, the design process can begin. We had to make decisions and come back to our users many times in the process of designing the virtual tour. Making sure that we knew who the users were and what the purpose was made it easier to focus on what needed to happen with the design.

The purpose of the tour is to act as a navigation tool, as well as an instructional tool for the library. Students are the primary users. Deciding to include a pop up link for the stacks section of the map fit well with our purpose. We wanted to make sure the students could navigate to the book they wanted or would be able to learn/browse call number sections. Therefore, several decisions were made: (1) include the Dewey breakdown in the description and a link the the Dewey pdf, (2) separate each stack into the general sections (like 200s for religion), (3) include a pop up for each section that will allow people to keep their place on the stacks page, as well as get a closer view of that section with the call numbers for each row in the section so the person would know which row their book was in or what rows a specific call number was needed for browsing.

The purpose and user-centered design are the foundation for the design. Both can be edited throughout the process after more discussion. However, it is a part of the design process that take a while and needs to be done right or it will hurt the design in the long run. They are the two pieces of information that inform the design. You cannot start coding without knowing what the design is suppose to do and look like. Everyone needs to be on the same page in order for the design to work together, and these two points will make sure everyone is talking and thinking mostly the same thing when it comes to the design.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 55 (Entry 55)

2010-08-05T13:46:00.003-04:00

The meeting with Julia to go over a couple of projects went well. Here are some notes.

VOLT (now BOLT):
We might not be able to meet with the web team before I leave to give the presentation for this. However, we have the prototype, various notes, and a statement of purpose. Charlotte and Julia can work with these in order to get the ideas across. We know, from looking at the prototype and layout for the new college website, that our design will fit well into the layout.

The pictures are almost done. I still have a few to finish. However, Julia and Charlotte liked what I did. I can still take others as we go when deciding what should be used and where for BOLT and the library website. We still need the art descriptions in order to get the text for them. However, the wording for the rest of BOLT is finished.

RPS:

I am still working on a report for the RPS and BANC data. For now I have pulled my notes. I am trying to make it so there is a summary, with the important points for the faculty meeting on the 19th. But I am also going to have a break down for each question and the notes, graphs, and numbers so that Julia and anyone else can go through them at a later date. Hopefully, it will be enough for breadcrumbs besides how to make the graphs.

Voyager 7 (the new Catalog):

Charlotte and I had the same ideas for what we liked and did not like about Voyager 7 and the example for changes. Here they are:

Spell Check needed
Have the help (search tips) at the bottom as well
remove the unnecessary tabs and wording
redo the header and name in order to personalize and mark as the college's
make the drop down boxes into list boxes for the basic search

We had a long discussion on having the search tips at the bottom. We think that having it in both places will allow students to look before searching and learn something new, while keeping the help button at the top right because that is where everyone will go for help in general.

Having list boxes in the advanced search area will not work because there are too many of them and it will make the page longer and harder to get through. However, having it in the basic search makes it easier for new students and people using the catalog to see other search options (limits). It can teach them or make it easier to find what they are looking for, depending on the mind and experience of the user.

The rest have to do with making the interface clean, understandable, and usable.

Meeting on the 19th:

The meeting on the 19th will be to present the RPS data to the faculty. They need to understand what the students are coming in knowing and what the librarians are going to teach them. We hope to use clicker technology to get their opinions and compare them to the data we got. Hopefully, it ill help the faculty get what the students are thinking and what we want them to learn.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 51-54 (Entry 51-54)

2010-07-29T20:54:00.001-04:00

I took a look at Voyager 7, the new OPAC for Berea and what another library has done with customizing there Voyager 7 OPAC. The differences I liked were:

The lists instead of drop down menus
the help button move
adding there own name and header

Otherwise, I have been hard at work getting ready for my meeting with Julia and Charlotte tomorrow.

I am pleased that the policy and look for the new Berea web pages will work well with what we have planned for the VOLT. (I had and idea that we should call it BOLT because we want the symbol to be a cloud with a bolt of lightening coming out. It would work because the name would be Berea Online Library Tour instead of Virtual Online Library Tour.) The departmental pages will work well and the design that we have can be changes. We have made that clear that it is not static and we will again when we meet with the web team about it.

I have picked out the questions from RPS and made a slide show for that. I will just need to know what Julia wants on there for the presentation on August 19th for the faculty. I need to give both of them the breadcrumbs at some point because I will be leaving and they will be continuing the study.

I have been taking many pictures, getting my artist in me going. It is a loved hobby and they will have many great pictures to keep and use for the library website and the tour. I am also setting up the angles and such for future pictures and ones that we all have discussed wanting, but will need to be posed by student workers. It is great to be dong something else to help out. I can also use the skill and maybe the pictures in the future. I want the tour to be a great one, not one that is just put together like some other libraries. I look forward to showing them the pictures.

Charlotte and I have also worked out the bullet list for the descriptions. We only need the information for the art and exhibits to finish. We do not have the information, so we did not know how to do that. Hopefully, Julia had something we can work off of and not from scratch.

We also have the old files for the library maps and have discussed programs, but not gone into depth with changes and what we want to do with them, if anything.

I only have a few weeks left and I feel like I still have much to do. I have done a great deal and will not be looking forward to leaving the projects behind. All I can do is hand them off and explain what I have been doing to the greatest of my ability. I still have a few articles to read and abstract. Otherwise, I am good with that and this, my journal. I still need to get my oral presentation ready. But that will come. I know I will get through my goals. I am glad that everything is running smooth despite my feeling of a time crunch. I look forward to the meeting tomorrow.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 50 (Entry 50)

2010-07-29T20:27:00.001-04:00

Charlotte and I met with Julia and gave our presentation on using the paper and prototype we had. She enjoyed it and gave us improvements, as well as follow ups.

Index should have a Dewey Decimal pop up link
Art work and Exhibit space should be added to the map
Picture Gallerias

We talked about how the art work and exhibit space would work. If it should be a scroll or dot selection. We decided that is would be better as a scroll over and the art would be designated with some kind of symbol. We wanted to have pictures for each that would come in with a description with a link to even more information for more pictures and more detailed description.

This got up to thinking about having a picture gallery for those that wanted and because the library has so many pictures. We also want the picture space for each scroll over to have pictures representing what the area is for. For example, the 200s (Religion) should have a picture that represents it. We made a list of what we would like to see. I am in charge of taking pictures and we will look at them, take more, and discuss them in the future.

We will be meeting with the web team and showing them the presentation. We need to be able to show them how is works, what we see, and what is happening when we preform an action. We want to make sure we can do what we vision and can change if we need to, as well as be able to get statistics out of it later.

The other next step will be to get the description sections ready. We decided to go with a power point style for another library and do bullet points. Charlotte and I will work on this later in the week.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 43-49 (Entry 43-49)

2010-07-29T20:14:00.002-04:00

I have been working with Charlotte. She just started at Berea and will be at the Library for a 12 month job as instructional specialist. She is a former Berea grad and married to a man that I use to work with at my student job for Berea. We have talked before but we have not had to interact much. The past few days, we have been working on the virtual library tour (VOLT). We have looked at the old Berea tour on the web, articles of how other people are approaching library tours, and tours/interactive maps from other libraries. Our favorite interactive map is the one for the IU Law Library: http://www.law.indiana.edu/lawlibrary/about/map.shtml.

We like the scroll over feature that shows a picture and description on the right-hand side of the screen without disturbing anything or making a pop up that will hinder easy navigation. However, we also found for the top floor, where the main stacks are located, need to have links to a pop up in order to allow a closer look and easier navigation through the library. We also wanted to make a page that would allow the user to go and select what they wanted to find. I said that is should be like a transparency. You have a page where all the floors are viable, with only certain aspects that will help a person with navigation, and where you could select network ports and have dots pop up over the maps to show you where they are. Some of this came from the old Berea Virtual Library tour. Others came from tagging and the common computer software and online activity that has selection tools to narrow down a price of what a person wants to select for a folder view on a computer.

We had to take the old versions of the library map and work on getting those where we wanted them first. We thought of symbols and the bare minimum of information that we wanted to get on there. The biggest change is that things are moved around in a library. We wanted the badly drawn maps to be accurate. We did not know how the future map would be made though.

We then made up a story board and a low-fi paper prototype to show to Julia (and the web team when it was approved). Making the prototype was my idea and it was great to see it in action, especially with someone that has not been in my classes and did not understand where I was going with the process until we were half way through. It was a lot of fun. We used glue, paper, and such. It felt like art class. I know will get across our ideas in a visual manner and will help in our discussions with the web team on how and what will be used to put it together, as well as if it can be done.

Here is the scroll List:
Top Floor:

Dewey sections (000,100,...900)
General Fiction
Group Rooms and Carrels

Main Floor:

Media (DVDs, CDs, etc.), players, and AV room
Group rooms and Carrels
Reference, Indexes, and Atlases
Circulation
Reference Desk
Public Computers/Xpress
Recent Periodicals/Newspapers

Bottom Floor:

Children's Collection
Special Collections
Microforms
Bound Periodicals
Group Rooms and Carrels

Here is the Selection/Colored Dot section:

Computers, Network Ports, and Power
Printers, Scanners, and Copiers
Single Project Desk, Group Project Desk, Chairs

Internship @ Berea College: Day 37-42 (Entry 37-42)

2010-07-13T15:57:00.005-04:00

Wow. I have had a lot going on and I need to catch up. Here is what I have been doing.

RPS data (The Best Answer Questions: 17-31) (Ones in bold were deemed important twice: during the initial scan and one looking for freshman being higher and nobody getting)

Important:

Q17: Boolean Operators
Q20: Academic Journal and Popular Magazines
Q23: Primary v. Secondary sources
Q26: What is a Citation
Q27: When is a Citation needed
Q28h: Times, Newsweek, etc.
Q30: Why response to Q29 (how eval resources)
Q31: Determine when to use a source

Somewhat Important:

Q18: Truncation
Q19: Comprehensive list of books
Q22a: Journal Article Citation
Q23b: Portion from a book citation
Q24: Comprehensive list of Journal Articles
Q28d: Political Blog
Q29: Appropriate Sources

Least Important:

Q21: Volume and Issue Number
Q22b: Entire Book citation
Q25: Peer-reviewed
Q28a (available online), b (translated), c (peer-reviewed), e (recent), f (lengthy list of references)

Reading:

Staley and Malenfant wrote an article called "Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians:Higher Education in 2025." The article provides 26 possible scenarios about the library and the future of education in 2025. Librarians and educators were questioned and they gave their opinions on each. The scenarios were then given a ranking based on their impact and probability. Nine scenarios were said to have high impact and probability for the future. These for were the highest and would perceived to be the quickest to happen:

INCREASING THREAT OF CYBERWAR, CYBERCRIME, AND CYBERTERRORIS
MEET THE NEW FRESHMAN CLASS
RIGHT HERE WITH ME
SCHOLARSHIP STULTIFIES

The change in the ethical and social questions that come with technology, the change in how classes are run and collaboration, hand held devices, and publishing and research traditions will change are what these authors and the librarians expect of the future.

It is an interesting set of scenarios to look through. Technology will definitely play a role in the future and I think traditions will have to change and be let go. However, I do not know how much the education system will change as a result. Technology might be prevalent, but I have to remember (from a poor background) that many people still cannot afford most new technologies. I think it will be slowing in coming. Especially in the recession and schools having to cut budgets. Publishing and ethics will be the places where the changes will occur first. Already, many researchers and librarians are talking about the changes and questions surrounding things like e-books. It will get more and more important the more people was e-books. I will keep these in mind when looking toward the future.

4 teaching assessment techniques for assessing prior knowledge, recall, and understanding:

1. Background Knowledge Probe

Create a short questionnaire to give to students and see what they know about an upcoming subject. Change the assignments and/or the lesson to go with the prior knowledge of the class.
Analysis takes a while.
Might cause a quick or major change to syllabus

It was interesting to read about the example where the teacher gave a questionnaire on the students reading/seeing Shakespeare. She changed the readings and movies for the lesson because of the feedback.

2. Focused Listing

Give a topic to the class and have them/group list a few thinks that connect to that topic. Great to see if the students get the concepts for a lesson just taught and give the gaps in the students recall.
give time limits
prepare your own list
topic should not be too broad or too narrow

3. Misconception/Preconception Check

Find out what the students might think they know about a topic that is wrong and can hinder or block learning. Best to do before a topic.Best for social and behavior sciences disciplines. Questionnaire.
hard when the topic is sensitive or controversial. the students might feel threatened
Might need to wait for trust in the student/teacher relationship
Analysis can take a while

4. Empty Outlines

Have students fill in an outline after a lesson. It tests recall and what the students got during a lesson.
Be prepared for various outlines
Do not try to do the whole lesson (too much). try for 1/2 or 1/3 of it.

It will be interesting to see if these can be put into use for the instruction redesign. I can see tools being made to prepare these and it can be done in the instruction itself.

Virtual Library Tour/Interactive Map:

network jacks/ power
group rooms with picture
classrooms with picture
reference area
circulation desk
reference desk
computer areas
carrels/study areas?
children's collection
periodicals
fiction
Media: cd's, dvd's, etc.
Exits
stairs
bathrooms
call numbers (color code instead of arrows or numbers beside the shelves)
color coding
symbols
Art work?
pop-ups with YouTube videos (High Fidelity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQvOnDlql5g )

Other thoughts:

While going through my abstract for the readings I have been doing for this internship I had some thoughts. The tools or redesign for the instruction at Berea needs to consider a few thinks. I will keep them in mind while we brainstorm and think about it. Time is important. We do not want the students to get bored or to take too much time figuring out/using a tool. Relevancy is important. We want to use tools that the students know or will know because they have used and know other similar tools. We also want tools that we know so that we are not holding up the time. Also, having an example to create our own tool from is helpful. I have plenty of examples when the time comes, from the reading.

Brainstorming will be a big part of this process. We need to know what the problem is so we have a context for the tool. We need to know where the need is coming from. We cannot just use a technology or tool because it is new and cool. It needs to have a purpose behind it. I am sure we will come up with cost/benefits while we are doing the brainstorming. It will be a big part of not only getting the important information literacy issues that are being misunderstood or forgotten, but it will also help with the cost/benefit analysis for different tools and what will be used (not used) in the end.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 31-36 (Entry 31-36)

2010-07-06T10:11:00.003-04:00

Here is the updates and progress of my internship so far.

Progress:

I have completed the initial assessment of the BANC and RPS data. We wanted to make sure the questions and data were valid and could be used to generalize what Berea college students think and understand about information literacy even with the small response size the survey experienced. The RPS data included national data from other small colleges in the United State. I compared the data in multiple ways and found that the Berea and National data matched, making the questions and responses valid for generalization for Berea students. (Task 1)

The next step, and what I am currently working on, is to see which questions are the important ones and what the criteria will be (like what are they getting that they should be, what are the questions where not one gets it, etc). The next step is to compare notes with Julia and make a final selection for which questions are important. The next step after that will be to decide what tools or ways can we use to get the information to the students and if other information should be down played. (Task 2 and 3)

The assessment of the data had made me research and discuss teaching and instruction with Julia. She has provided me with articles and books that have been helpful. They should also provide me with information to help in the analysis and design phase for tools and ways to improve instruction. (Task 1, 2, 3)

I have done a little work on task 4. I have been discussing and thinking about how to do a virtual library tour for the website. The next step will be to decide what in the library should be included and an initial design. I have not had a chance to look at the redesign of the whole website.

I went to the AIKCU conference and had some interesting things to think about and discuss form it (Task 5). In addition, I have been helping to test and compare he cloud computing in the library for the hardware/software upgrades later this summer. It was short, but provided me with information about how to look at users of the library and what they expect, as well as what kinds of technology is being used for that purpose. (Task 6)

Goals:

Personally, my goals are to help the Berea College Library through hard economic times by giving my time and effort to help them in any way I can. My goal is to help them save money and help bring the Hutchins Library into the future. In addition, my goal is to get as much overall experience I can. I want to get team work, managerial, and library experience out of this internship. The smaller goals set for the internship will provide me a way to accomplish this. I will be using assessments to revive and include changes to the face-to-face instruction, tutorials, and learning objects. I will be finding gaps in the student’s information literacy and reducing the redundancy. I will be reading and discussing teaching/instruction with my supervisor. The final goal is to help bring the Hutchins Library into the future using technology and providing the means to upgrade certain places where the upgrading of technology for the campus demands changes.

Task List:

1. Assessments of data from BANC (Hutchins Library Online Catalog) quiz and Research Practices Survey

2. Asses, design, and implement(?) a new BANC tutorial, as well as other, smaller tutorials for instruction. Especially when it comes to the question design.

3. Asses and research Learning Technologies that can be used for Moddle (Berea Class Portal) and Instruction

4. Help in the redesign and information architecture of the Hutchins website. This includes a new library virtual tour and taking the subject guides (and latter the website) to word press.

5. Go to the AIKCU conference in Julia’s place and bring back ideas and notes

6. Help assess the library’s cloud computing

Internship @ Berea College: Day 27-30 (Entry 27-30)

2010-06-25T14:37:00.001-04:00

I have been doing a lot of reading this week. Here are some more ideas and thoughts on them.

Tancer, Bill. (2008). Click: What millions of people are doing online and why it matters. New York: Hyperion.

This book is great for the techy in me. Anne showed it to me the day after the AIKCU conference. The is about using the terms, phrases, and words put into search engines to determine what is going on in the world and society and how to take that data and use it in some way (marketing, informing results in the future, trends, etc.). The book forces you to think beyond the data and look at the context to see what the possibilities are for how people think and how that information can help up to do something. I am doing that with the data I am working with. I am going to look at the context, answer questions, debate questions, and try to figure out what the students are thinking and what we can do to teach them what we think is important for them to know. As a side note, I think examining what is being put into search boxes for databases and library catalogs is a great idea, as long as the context is looked at and the minds of the students can be seen in them.

McAdoo, Monty. (2010). Building bridges: Connecting faculty, students, and the college library. Chicago: ALA.

This book has some great ideas to remember when trying to build bridges. It reminds me of the book: Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass. The main or bottom of the pyramid is trust. Trust or the lack of trust is the foundation of a team, of cooperation. Without it, the team does not function. McAdoo's book is the same. The librarians have to put forth the effort to go to meetings and talk to the professors. Trust has to be established before the bridges can be built and everyone can work together for the betterment of the students.

Angelo and Cross's book, " Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers," was given to me by Julia. She told me that all librarians have the book and it is in every office in the building. I took a look and loved it. The book is great. It has checklists, steps, and many techniques in it. The book has a lot of information to offer on how to make assignments, what a teacher should be looking to do, and breaks it down. It also has the techniques broken down. I will have to go through them and tell Julia about them so we can both learn about them all. Maybe it will spark something. If not, it will be a great learning tool I can take with me anywhere.

The rest of time this week has been taken up by cloud computing in the library and RPS data.

I have been helping Julia test the cloud computing for the upgrades this summer. We need to make sure the images are right and get the bugs out. We will be talking with Adam about that next week. It is fun to be on the tech side again. I can be a boundary spanner for them both. I was able to explain and some up with some things when Julia and I were going through it. It has been fun, especially when we had our Lethal Weapon moment (Martin Riggs: On three, what do ya say? Roger Murtaugh: Okay. Martin Riggs: One... two... Roger Murtaugh: Wait, wait, wait! Martin Riggs: What? Roger Murtaugh: Do we do it on three? Or one, two, three, then do it?) (Me: Wait. Do we go 1, 2, 3 then click or 1,2, and click on 3?)

I have been trying to figure out how to attack the RPS data now. I have been going through the best answer questions first since they are the application component and are the most important right now. I am going through one at a time and seeing where I can put them on the importance scale. Julia and I will be comparing notes on this later. I have only just begun. I will need to keep track of my thoughts here so I can let Julia know what my thought process was.

The other big thing this week had been me playing with delicious. I have only heard research about the social tagging, but I have never tried it. Julia mentioned that I should. I have to say that I was quite surprised. I love it. It has changed the way I think about bookmarking. Not only is it great for taking your bookmarks with you anywhere, but it is a new form of thinking when it comes to the organization. I do not have to deal with folders. I deal with my own tags (I do not do the social tagging part) and notes. The notes are great and the tags help me understand what the site is better than the folders ever did. Delicious is now my world. ;)

Internship @Berea College: Day 26 (Entry 26)

2010-06-21T11:02:00.001-04:00

Finding out what kinds of tools and different things can be used in library instruction to get the students attention and make the lesson interactive is a hard decision to make. Julia and I will be discussing the pros and cons of may different tools and such over the next weeks, especially once we know from the RPS data what needs to be hit in instruction (before, during, and after).

An article by Nedra Peterson, "It Came From Hollywood," discusses using film clips in library instruction to show the search process and start a discussion about the search process. She gives three short examples from The School of Rock, High Fidelity, and The Ring. The clips do not have to be accurate. For example, the newspapers from The Ring have moved online. The point is to start the discussion with material that is interesting and has a lot of information to glean from it. These clips are short, but have a lot of information to take from the search process. Using clips is a great use of prior knowledge and convenience (getting a lot of information across in a short time).

Lilie Lou's article, "Web2.0 integration into Information Literacy Instruction," states that web2.0 is being used to teach information evaluation, information organization, and copyright. She that librarians choose to use web2.0 technologies because it meets these three motivations:convenience, personal enthusiasm, and relevance. Many librarians are integrating web2.0 into their instruction. I do not know what form it will take at Berea, but we are also looking at integrating web2.0 into library instruction. I think the most important motivation should be relevance. The tool should resonate with the students. The students will remember the lesson better if they know what the tool is or that the tool reflect and connects to what is being taught. The tool has to have a context. Convenience and personal enthusiasm should be on the list as well. These will make sure the librarian is using their instruction time effectively, as well as knows the tool enough to make the connections for the students and make the instruction interesting.

Technology is a great thing and we all want to be great teachers. We want to be relevant and understand how our students learn. However, we also need to be flexible and try different strategies. Just focusing on technology will not fix the problems or teach the students the information literacy standards that they are not getting. Once Julia and I know what the students are not getting that we want them to get, we can take the context and use it to inform what types of tools can be used and what steps can be taken to improve the instruction. What we will keep in mind will be technology, but we will also be talking about the pros and cons of technology as well as other ways to get the information across. Technology should not be the "thing that is missing and we need to add is everywhere." It should be something that will make getting the information across fit the three motivations above: convenience (to save time in the instruction), personal enthusiasm (the need to understand, use, remember, and be comfortable with the tool), and relevance (the students know the tool, the tool teaches the information in a memorable way).

Internship @ Berea College: Day 23, 24, and 25 (Entry 23, 24, and 25)

2010-06-18T12:47:00.005-04:00

I have been reading articles, listening to podcasts, and went to the AIKCU (Association for Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities) conference. Here are some ideas that stand out about teaching, learning, and where the future will go.

The articles say that in order to get the students engaged, you have to figure out how to change your assignments in ways that will include technology, but will not take away from the teaching. The idea is to take the technology that the students are using and put them into the assignments. For example, Byrne states that most students know about blogs and wikis. Bring them into the assignment. He states that he did an assignment for the students to make a blog on Africa. He also mentions that he has a "Google Jockey." The Google Jockey would take the questions, the vocabulary, the discussion for the day and Google everything about it, bring it to class, and present it to the class.

I went to the AIKCU conference yesterday at Center College. The first session was about a workshop for faculty members. At the workshop, professor came in and talked about their non-traditional assignments. The teachers talked about going "beyond the research paper." Building websites, videos, etc. to get the students engaged. However, the technology needs to enhance the content. If learning the technology takes more time than it is worth and does not back up the intent behind the assignment.

The other important points from session one was that the faculty do not know all the library services available. The faculty need to use librarians and technology people to look at the assignments so that the they know the services and if the time to learn the technology will be worth it. Also, sometimes the assignments will make sense to the teachers, but the assignments will be like Spanish to the students. A student might be told they cannot use the internet, but they do not understand that the "internet" does not mean "database."

Some ideas that were expressed and I have seen in other articles is the idea of how to get people/students into the library. Carnivals and vendor like booths were the library can be collaborative, different, and fun to the students will bring them in. Once the students are there, keep it fun and teach them about resources. Make it a game on teaching them information literacy.

Session 4 was about the future of technology and higher education. Don Tapscott was introduced in a video. Here are three that I have listened to and are very good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kj_1iS89SU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NebH50yjUYE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qujFJuj1S6I

The second video has the clip from the presentation. The ideas were that students coming into the school think differently and are using technology in ways that the schools are not prepared for. Tapscott states that the structure for earning is based on the lecture and that is not how the students are learning. The students are more collaborative and smarter in searching out and filtering information. The point is how can the technologists and librarians use this information to change the way we give and look at technology for the students. Partnerships are important for this process because all will have to work together with the administration and teachers to change the way the higher education model works. The older generations need to learn technology and bridge the gap between the expectation and abilities of the older generation and the students coming into the school.

The other idea is that the traditional models we have will have to be rethought. From a podcast here: http://librarybeat.org/longshots/play/230
This library is using Netflix as a model for the library. They are having people sign up and pay to heck out books with no due dates and fines.

The questions that I have for myself after the past three days are:

How do you come up with ideas that make instruction interactive?
Where can trend and new models change and work in the library, like the Netflix?
How do you shape instruction to be interactive to the students?
What tools should be used?
How can the assignments be shaped to include technology?

These ideas and questions may not have influence on the instruction and assessment that I am working on. However, I think it will help Julia. I think having the discussion with her can help me see where she is coming from and maybe get at some of these questions. I have always been an intuitive teacher and have recently been through a workshop and see ways to put together lessons and how to teach them during this internship. I think looking, reading, and thinking about these things will help me with future instruction (I expect I will be doing instruction of some kind no matter what job I have in the future) and how to make instruction for students in the NetGen.

I am in the NetGen myself, but I have only experienced the traditional model of teaching. At least, the one where you write papers and take exams. I have experienced the collaborative and discussion model of learning. Berea and IUB have both been like that. However, I have not experienced that much of a change, especially when it comes to the assignments. The exceptions would be my IS classes and GSTR 410 at Berea. At Berea, I was given the option to open up what I could do with the assignment in terms of "beyond a research paper." All my IS classes have group projects that involve some kind of real life situation, collaboration, and more of a technical assignment with not many limits as to what you use to get the project done.

However, I have not been able to experience the creation of assignments like these or much experience with a classroom that thinks and has assignments outside the norm. I do not think that the message from session 4 is quite as bleak as they all make it out to be. The schools are adapting and the teachers know that the students are different and learn differently when they come in. Most of them are changing and adapting.

I have had a paradigm shift this week. I have gone from someone that thought they would never teach, unless it had a specific context or one-on-one. I have always been one of those people that would teach someone something if I had enough confidence in what I knew and my ability to teach others. I did not think that I would ever teach at the professional level, outside dancing. By reading, listening, and thinking back on my experiences and learned about myself, I have changed my way of thinking. I now am on the track of having the confidence to teach anything. I have the skills and tools to take the context and shape a lesson around how to get from one point to another. I am not as nervous about teaching library instruction and I hope that I can continue to build that confidence. I have been able to see that not everyone knows what they are doing. That it takes practice and I can build and prepare myself to teach almost anything. I hope I can take that with me into the future and use it in the Library, in dancing, and wherever else I might be able to teach. I think the thing that shared me the most was the thought that I would not be able to prepare a lesson. However, I have learned that there are no right or wrong ways, but experience and reshaping just like "most writing is editing."

Here are some slides from the AIKCU conference on web2.0 tools:
http://www.slideshare.net/Vince123/whats-new-in-web-20-nh

Internship @ Berea College: Day 21 and 22 (Entry 21 and 22)

2010-06-15T10:07:00.004-04:00

RPS Assessment:

Approach to Evaluating Resources

Question 28: Scholarly v Non-scholarly

Available Online (Best Answer: Cannot Be Determined):

All students picked Cannot be Determined

Translated (Best Answer: Cannot Be Determined):

All students picked Cannot be Determined

In a peer-reviewed Journal (Best Answer: Scholarly):

All students picked Scholarly.
Seniors are higher.
NF are higher then BF.

Post in Political Blog (Best Answer: Non-Scholarly):

All students picked Non-scholarly.
Seniors higher than freshman.

Recent Publication (Best Answer: Cannot Be Determined):

All students picked Cannot Be Determined.

Lengthy List of References (Best Answer: Scholarly):

All Berea students and National Freshman picked Scholarly.
National Seniors were split between Cannot be Determined and Scholarly.

Published by a UP (Best Answer: Scholarly):

All students picked Scholarly.
All freshman were higher than seniors.

Article in NYT, etc. (Best Answer: Non-Scholarly):

All freshman are split between Scholarly and Non-Scholarly.
All seniors picked Non-Scholarly.

Question 29: What is the Least Appropriate Source (Best Answer: Wilson, B. A. (2006). Women in the Civil War. Retrieved July)

BF are split between the best answer and Heidler, D. S., & Heidler, J. T. (Eds.). (2000). Encyclopedia.
All other students picked the best answer.

Question 30: Basis for Source Selection (Best Answer: Whether the source is likely to be scholarly)

BF are split between the best answer and all of the above.
All other students picked the best answer.

Question 31: Determine to Use Source (Best Answer: Whether the source is scholarly):

BF picked all of the above.
All other students are split between the best answer and all of the above.

Demographic:

Majority are Female.
Majority are White/Caucasian.
All were either Freshman or Seniors.

Reflection:
Is the small sample of Berea students valid for the assessment (will it tell us anything)?

We have found that despite the small sample size, the national data compares generally across the board with Berea. We can say that the national results can be generalized for Berea and the Berea results can be generalized for the national students. There are some places here and there that are different. We will be taking a look at those. However, we know that the RPS data is valid and can be generalized for our case on what the students are learning and thinking for information literacy.

Now that we know the results are valid and can be used even with our small sample, we can ask some more questions.

What is important?
Are we teaching what is important?
Is what is important in the assignments?
Is what is important being graded?

We can also start setting up some initial criteria to look for:

Where the F are higher than the S
Where everybody gets it
Where nobody gets it

Now we can start the next step in the process.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 20 (Entry 20)

2010-06-11T16:00:00.001-04:00

Interesting RPS insights:

Most students said they agreed a course in research skills would be helpful. However, students sign and complain about coming back to the library for instruction. The information is conflicting. What were the students thinking when they answered the question? Do they realize that those skills are being taught in the instruction classes? Do they realize that you cannot learn those skills in one session?

Freshman think that the section on the beliefs about research should have a correct answer. Especially, when they think that their is a truth to be gotten in research somewhere and somehow.

The students agree that some people are naturally better at research. What about the research process? Do they not know there is a process? Should that be explained and explicit to them? Is this part of their anxiety?

I talked with Anne, the library director, today. It was interesting to talk to her and see what she is doing. She has been working on the budget. The budget is getting cut and she is trying to find places where the library can cut collections in a way that makes sense and agrees with the way Berea students are using them. She is working through mounds of data to track what will be spent in future and where the budget will be. It is interesting because I like working with numbers and I did enjoy collection management. I really like management in general. Working this internship and seeing what others have to deal with, I see more and more what I want to do. I want to do things that is management like. Help people make decisions and work through information and problems in a way that will help people make decisions or myself make decisions.

I am very similar to Julia and Anne, in there way of thinking and working through problems. We all take from many parts of our knowledge and background, as well as new knowledge from readings and talking with other people. It is very collaborative. Sometimes you need to talk thinks through with other people to get the picture or other ideas.

I also realized, besides being an outside looking at this data for them, that I am unbiased in general. I might have an idea sometimes, but I like having the data inform me. I like being surprised or seeing thing that are different. Life is not fun if you know the answer all the time. There is always something that can be found and changed to improve things. I am never surprised or shocked. Sometimes I have to be brought out of myself to look at the data with a critical librarian eye when I talk with Julia because I do not make judgments about the data until I start talking about what I am seeing.

I am close to being done with the first question to question look. I have about 6 questions left in the RPS. I am stuck at two ends: the big picture and the little pieces. I cannot wait to get to the middle section when trying to pick out the questions that are interesting, that we want to know the answers to, and start to get a picture of what is going on. This will lead to the questions about how we can teach them things they do not know, what should professors know, what do the interesting results tell us, and how it can all inform the decisions about what to make and change about instruction.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 19 (Entry 19)

2010-06-11T10:42:00.004-04:00

RSP assessment (Breadcrumb: When looking for gaps and splits, It must be more than 10% difference before I look at and mention it. When a group agrees, then I look for a 20% difference.)

Question 15: Enjoyment of Research

Berea Freshman and National students picked Some
Berea Seniors were split among: Quite a bite, Some, and Very Little

Question 16: Beliefs about Research

Skillful researchers know the best way

All students Agree

Course in Research Skill would be Helpful

All students Agree
Freshman responded with Agree more than Seniors

When two researchers disagree, one must be right

All students Disagree
BF responded with Disagree more than the others

Successful researchers understand things quickly

All students Disagree

Careful researcher can get to the truth

Berea students Agree (Seniors less than Freshman)
National Freshman Agree.
National Seniors are split between Agree and Disagree.

If researcher cannot understand quickly, they should keep trying

All students Agree
BF higher than BS and National students

Good research yields clear results

BF and National Freshman Agree
BS are split between Strongly Agree and Agree
NS are split between Agree and Disagree

Some people are naturally better at research

All student agree

The next set of questions (17-27) deal with the students familiarity with research terms and strategies (application).

Question 17: Boolean Operators (Best Answer: Movies OR Film)

BF split between Movies OR Film and Movies AND Film
BS picked Movies AND Film (big gap)
NF picked Movies AND Film
NS are split between Movies OR Film and Movies AND Film

Question 18: Truncation (Best Answer: * and !)

BF are split between *&! and Don't Know
BS picked Don't Know
NF picked Don't Know
NS are split between *&!

Question 19: Complied List Of Books (Best Answer: Search Using SH)

BF Examine bib. of the book
BS and National students picked Search using SH (Seniors were higher)

Question 20: Least accurate in ID an academic Journal Article (Best Answer: provides objective facts)

All students picked Provides Objective Facts
National Seniors were the highest

Question 21: ID the issue number (Best Answer: V44, #1)

All students picked V44, #1

Question 22: Recognize Source Citation

Journal Article

All Freshman picked Portion of Book
All Seniors Picked Journal Article

Entire Book

All students picked Entire Book
Seniors picked it more than Freshman

Portion of Book

BF were split between Entire Book and Portion of Book
BS were split between Journal Article and Potion of Book
NF picked Journal Article
NS picked Portion of Book

Question 23: Primary v Secondary (Best Answer: primary examine subjects first-hand)

All student picked primary examine subjects first-hand

Question 24: What yields more results (Best Answer: searching database)

All students picked searching a database
Seniors are higher

Question 25: Define Peer Reviewed (Best Answer: approved by other scholars)

All students picked Approved by other scholars
Seniors are higher

Question 26: Define a Citation (Best Answer: source information from someone else's ideas)

All students picked the Someone else's ideas

Question 27: Citation Not Needed (Best Answer: Own findings)

All students picked Own findings

Internship @ Berea College: Day 18 (Entry 18)

2010-06-10T10:32:00.002-04:00

Hufford's research on the introduction to the library class at Texas Tech University includes a pre- and post-test survey to the students. The research concluded that the students, even after the instruction, did not know how to use the library catalog and did not understand citations, call numbers, and other bibliographic information. Furthermore, they do not understand primary and secondary sources.

This information will be interesting to take and compare with the RPS data. So far, I have noticed two things. The students may be able to identify Boolean Operators, but they are not able to use them or understand how they work correctly. However, all students in both studies do not understand citations. Articles and chapters in books are harder for them. The interesting parts will come when comparing from Freshman to Seniors. What is the gap (difference) in the numbers (if there is one)? What kinds of learning objects can we make to teach these better and give them the application experience?

Another interesting question I have posed since last Friday was, In the Library and Information Science field, is there a specific information seeking process that we are suppose to be following? I know, after talking it out with Julia, that there is plenty of literature out there (I have read a lot of them) on the information seeking process. Most of it deals with coming up with steps in the process and seeing if the model is validated with a study of the students actual information seeking process. Both inform each other and the model is updated. The one that sticks out is Kuhlthau's work and model of the information seeking process (Kuhlthau, C. (1991). Inside the search process: Information seeking from the user's perspective. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42(5), 361-371.)

The questions that I raised when looking at the structure of the instruction was:
Does there need to be an organization that leads the students through the process?
Do they need to know the process explicitly?
Would a handout with the process help (especially since the handbooks they re getting, either they do not read or it is too long to understand)?
This came out of a reading that week in which the article mentioned that the librarians should teach the process when they give any kind if instruction. It seemed like it was subtle instead of explicit.
Would it be helpful for them to know the process explicitly, have and outline or would it be worse?

Internship @ Berea College: Day 17 (Entry 17)

2010-06-08T14:35:00.002-04:00

Doucett, Elizabeth. (2010). 10 tips for tracking trends. American Libraries, 41(6&7), 44-47.

The article is about where to look and how to bring together ideas for the library by using trends. Organizing and thinking about how to integrate or use a trend as an idea for something to bring people to the library is the main concern. The interesting part is the “Trends in Action” section. Trend from anywhere can be taken and an idea can be brought out of it. For example, one trend is an airline for pets. The article suggests having a pet day where people can bring their pets to the library. The steps basically come down to research, review ideas, and think through the implications of the trends and the ideas for the library that come from the trends.

The article has some interesting information for me to think about during my internship and in my future career. I can use the tips to use when considering the learning objects after the assessment is complete. Knowing the trends is great, but thinking them through is important. Thinking through the learning objects and what to use to create them will be important. In my future career, I will need to follow the trend and maybe come up with ideas that can be used to help the library by using them as inspiration.

Booth, Char. (2010). Build your own instructional literacy. American Libraries, 41(6&7), 40-43.

The article talks about the fact that librarians are not taught how to teach or instruct. The article gives a method, called USER, to approach instruction of information literacy. The article is useful because the assessment has to do with instruction and analyzing if the instruction is getting the ideas and skill across that we want as a library. In addition, the article is important to me as a librarian. I will be expected, not matter what job I do, to do some kind of instruction. I have not been taught how to teach. I have only experienced it through jobs and in some classes. I think I am a natural teacher. I have had to not only teach as a librarian, but as a technician and for classes in study groups and tutoring.

Having the USER method as an outline is helpful. It basically comes down to identifying the problem, the goals, the teaching method, and analyzing the outcome. In addition, I can connect this method to the assessment and help with the instruction. The analysis part is important, but hard to determine without data or hands on experience. We have the data and seeing what the students know or do not know can help shape the future of the instruction because it will go right back into the USER method. The USER method is a cycle and needs the analysis in order to continue.

Here is the method:

Understand: Identify Problem and Analysis Scenario

Structure: Create Targets and Involve&Expand

Engage: Develop Materials and Deliver Instruction

Reflect: Assess Impact and Revise&Reuse

I have to think about and use the whole method in order to do the assessment. I have to work with Julia to know what they are doing for instruction and what are the key thing that they want the students to walk away knowing. Having the data at a time when I can come in an help them do the analysis a few years worth of instruction is fortunate for all of us. I am able to do something I do well and in a real life situation. I can get more information and a whole picture. They, Berea librarians, can have someone analysis the data without taking away from their work. I am currently helping in the Reflect section. However, that section determines the instruction in the future by informing the other sections.

These ideas are not new. I knew I would have to do this, but it puts it into a different and organized perspective.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 16 (Entry 16)

2010-06-08T11:29:00.002-04:00

RPS assessment analysis (Breadcrumb: anytime I say higher, that means slightly higher and when it is split, then they are too close to tell):

Question 7: Info. Management Tools

All Freshman used paper folders and computer files
All Seniors used these and added E-mail

Question 8: Papers requiring a citation format

All Freshman and Seniors had Almost Always experienced this
Berea Seniors slightly more so than NS and BF

Question 9: Asking for Help or Advice

From Proffs:

BF picked sometimes and rarely
BS picked almost always, followed second by often and sometimes
NF picked sometimes, followed by often
BF were sometimes-rarely, NF were sometimes-often
NS picked often and sometimes

From Libs:

All picked sometimes and rarely.
NF and NS had a clearer majority for rarely

From Parent:

BF and BS picked almost always
BF were lower than BS (slight gap)
NF and NS picked Never

From Friends:

BF picked often and sometimes
BS picked often
NF picked the same, often and sometimes
NS picked sometimes

From Writing Labs:

All Berea students picked almost always, followed by sometimes
All national students picked Never

From help screens:

All Berea students picked almost always
All national students picked Never

Question 10: Talked with a Lib.

All Berea students picked once or twice
All national students were split between once or twice and never

Question 11: Pace

All students picked they did a little right away and most toward the end

Question 12 starts the Attitude questions. All before this were about experience.

Question 12: Research Challenges

Narrowing Topic:

All students was split among very easy, somewhat easy, and somewhat difficult
Somewhat Easy was the highest for all students

List of sources to investigate:

All Freshman were split among VE, SE, SD, with SE being the highest
All Seniors were split between VE and SE, with VE being the highest

Revise Search Strategy:

All students picked SE
BF were higher than NF

Thesis/Argument:

All Freshman picked SE
BS picked VE and SE
NS picked SE

Organizing Sources:

All Freshman picked SE
BS picked VE
NS picked SE

Writing Paper:

BF were split between VE and SE, with SE being higher
NF were SE
BS were VE
NS were SE

Documenting Sources:

All Freshman picked VE and SE, with SE being higher
All Seniors picked SE

Question 13: Challenges retrieving and IDing sources:

Lib. Cat:

All Berea students and National Seniors picked Very Easy
NF picked SE

Electronic Index:

All Freshman were split between VE and SE
All Seniors picked VE

Print Index:

All students were split among VE, SE, SD, and No experience
BF was more VE
BS was split
NF was SE
NS was split between SE and No Experience

Search Engine:

All students picked VE

Locating in Lib:

All Berea students and NS picked VE
NF picked SE

ILL:

All Freshman had No Experience
All Seniors picked VE

Question 14: Challenge Using Sources

Appropriate:

All students were split between SE and VE
BF and NS were more VE
BS were split
NF were SE

Integrating Info:

All Freshman were SE
BS were VE
NS were split between VE and SE

When to Document Sources:

All Freshman picked SE
All Seniors picked VE

How to Document Sources:

All Freshman picked SE
All Seniors picked VE

Internship @ Berea College: Day 15 (Entry 15)

2010-06-04T11:16:00.001-04:00

Martin and Park's article on the "Reference Desk Consultation Assignment" showed findings that about library anxiety and time.

Library anxiety has been around in the literature for a while. I know I have experienced it as an undergrad. Even when I had the confidence, once you know that there is so much to learn about the use and information in a library, it is hard to know if you are doing the right thing. I was more anxious about doing the steps and right things in the information seeking process. I think mine was better than most because I thought of it as a process. No one ever told me it was a process or what the steps were. I wonder if being told that and learning what the basic steps are will help students? I also know that there are many studies in the literature that have many different processes. Is there a specific one that can be recommended? What is the one used in the field? Is there a specific one?

Time is the interesting point in the article. The study shows that the students who completed the consultation part of the assignment thought the librarians saved them time, and for that reason, they would go to a librarian again. However, those student whom did not do the consultation said they did not have time or thought a consultation took too much time. How would you market the librarians as time savers in a way that would get the students to go to the reference desk? Using a consultation as part of an assignment is a great idea, but not everyone did that part of the assignment. How do you get students that overestimate their abilities and/or have library anxiety to go to the reference desk? I know in other studies and literature I have read that improving and giving great reference services bring people back. But how do you get those people that do not think they need it? I think time is key, since students will go to the desk if it saves them time. I have experienced that personally. Students, in the literature, use online sources because it saves them time. I almost think the only way is for the students to experience it first hand, at the desk.

Oakleaf and VanScoy's article on "Instructional Strategies for Digital Reference" have great ideas that can be use in all forms of library instruction. Here are the strategies:

Catch them being good: compliment and acknowledge good information seeking skills
Think aloud: tell them your thought process, include good and bad so they know how to get through when they get stuck
Show, don't tell: show them the process that you take, push urls and actively engage them
Chunk it up: break into chunks, make them aware of future steps, and reenter if they need help to the next step
Let users drive: have users show steps they have taken, initiate action for the user to preform
Be the welcome wagon: enthusiasm, tell them that others also struggle, recognize user expertise
Make introductions: tell them about other librarians, tell them about other reference venues
Share secret knowledge: define terms, "tricks of the trade," describe what librarians do

All of these strategies help reduce library anxiety, increase confidence, introduce the information seeking as a process, and encouraged interaction and memorization. The strategies remind me a lot of the principles for usability.

I have used all of these strategies as needed in chat reference. I try and use most of them at the reference desk in face-to-face interactions as well. I think these would be great for instruction at Berea. The strategies have an application feel to them, which is where Julia wants to go. I will keep them in mind for when we are doing the assessment. Maybe adding something like it or that goes back to one of these strategies will help us in deciding what to use to make the quiz, tutorial, and other learning objects.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 13 and 14 (Entry 13 and 14)

2010-06-03T11:22:00.002-04:00

It is interesting to see and feel the difference among the jobs I have had throughout my College and Grad school experience and the internship I am currently doing. I think I will find that to be the most important professional practice experience I will get out of this internship. The tasks and goals are important and will be great for when I am looking for a job, but getting to know the environmental differences and finding what environment I like to work in are the most helpful to myself when I go looking for that career after I graduate. I have deadlines, but they are not set in stone. The environment is more relaxed and open to me being a partner and equal in my experience and what I can bring to this internship. I can plan my own time with more flexibility. I like having my day filled and working, but I like being able to choose when I do something. I change from day to day in how I am feeling. It gives me the flexibility to plan my day mostly round how I am feeling. Sometimes I want a change from day to day, sometimes I want a routine from day to day. I am still not sure that I have a specific specialization and want to pursue something specific in the library world. But this is what I do know:

I want to work in an environment where I can be flexible (in time, schedule, and tasks from day to day)
where I can be a partner and an equal
where I do not have constant, looming supervision (different from discussions, debriefs, and meetings to track the progress of something)
something in a small environment (academic, public, or special)
I want to work with a team, even if I do not have a team
open to new experiences and information
little, if no politics (I may have a Political Science B.A., but none of use like politics)
a place where I feel free of stress (even if it is not stress free)

After that tangent, lets get back to the RPS assessment.

Breadcrumb:

After looking at the first 6 questions, I have decided to look at (in general) the places where there is a 20% difference (or about two horizontal bars on the charts).

Here are some of the findings from these first six questions.
Question 1: College v Public Lib

Freshman use the public library more than Seniors
Seniors use the college library once or twice a week compared with Freshman, whom are spread out between once and twice a week or month

Question 2: reason

Berea Freshman spread out their use of the library among recreation, research, and other academic purposes
Berea Seniors use the library for research
National Freshman mostly use the library for other academic purposes, not so much for recreational use
National Seniors are split between research and other academic purposes
Maybe BF use the library for recreational purposes because they also use the public library more often than NF, other reasons could include the holdings of the library, the distance of the library
Also, I think the reason for the difference between the BS and the NS is that Berea students have to do big research papers and thesis their senior year, not something most seniors experience

Question 3: Instruction

All Freshman and Seniors get instruction, there is a slight drop among the Seniors

Question 4: papers with 3+ sources

BF mostly have 3 or 4 papers
BS mostly have 3 to 5+ papers
NF mostly have 3 to 5+ papers
NS mostly have 5+ papers
The majority of the data falls in the 3 to 5+ range of papers that require 3+ sources

Question 5: print sources used

Majority of data goes with library books, encyclopedias, and academic journals as the print sources used.
BF and NF use library books, with encyclopedias and academic journals second
BS and NS use library books and academic journals, with encycolpedias second

Question 6: online sources used

Majority of online sources used are Google, journals, library catalog, and databases
All Seniors use these online sources almost equally
Seniors use them more than Freshman (except for Google)
Freshman mostly Goggle and Journals with the library catalog and databases second

Internship @ Berea College: Day 10, 11, and 12 (Entry 10, 11, and 12)

2010-06-01T15:15:00.001-04:00

Project Information Literacy at the iSchool at the University of Washington had some interesting things to say about their research findings so far. It was great to read a study that focuses on everyday life and course-related information seeking. Together, they create the whole for life long learning and information literacy. I know from personal experience and what my goals are, that both areas are important because I want to encourage life long learning as a librarian. Personally, I have always loved learning and I hope that I can encourage that kind of feeling in other people. I love to help people not only with their course work, but with everyday information problems as well.

I was not surprised by anything the research found. I was there myself not long ago and I can remember and still hold some of the research practices. Students use tried and true research practices, Google and Wikipedia for background information and stepping off points, can get frustrated during the process, and procrastinate. These are most of the findings in the report. I have experienced all of these as a student, as well as through my job as a reference librarian. It will be interesting to take these findings, as well as some of the other readings I have done, and compare them to the findings of the assessment I am doing. It is early yet. But these readings might hold some answers or practices that can help. I know the Information Literacy Standards will be helpful for something to point to in terms of where we want the students when they graduate. The project can help provide the users prospective and keep that in our minds while we process the data from the assessment. I may be the closer to these students and remember experiences, but I am also on the fence and knoe other things as well. Having these findings will keep the students at the forefront, as well as remind me that they do not know what I know after going through grad school (even if I think I would not forget that and that I try to remember the users perspectives). The project is a great bunch of user profiles.

I have also been hard at work trying to get the Research Practices Survey data in graph form so that I can take the initial, at a glance information and look at it closer to find other information from the analysis. Initial finding include:

Berea students as Freshman and Seniors are equal (if not better than) to the National Freshman and Seniors in all areas of the survey
I do not know if that is good or bad yet
All Freshman and Seniors do not know what Boolean Operators are, as well as Truncation
Freshman do not know or have not used Inter Library Loan, Seniors are the opposite
All find most parts of the research process to be somewhat difficult to very easy, but not below somewhat difficult.
Most students do not understand how to ID citations outside a Book.

I need the rubric by Anne and Julia before I can conclude more, as well as more time to go through it.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 9 (Entry 9)

2010-05-27T12:23:00.003-04:00

Breadcrumbs

BANC Quiz assessment:

Bar charts instead of pie charts because it is a comparison across years. Does not make sense and would not work.
For the total numbers, wanted the bar charts because you can compare with the split years. Cannot do that with charts that are different from each other.
Wanted and could do both percentages and numbers for the data.
For the # of correct answers, I did not have the #s for the correct answers. I could figure them out, but the percentages say more and compared with the scoring #s, would not be much difference in the charts.
Did a Z-Test for Z scores for the # of correct answers across the years. I chose a Z-Test instead of a t-test because we know the sample size and there was only one sample for each year. t-test are for when you do not know the sample size and/or have more than one sample per group. ANOVA would not make sense either, since we are not looking do cross-tabs (compare across gender, age, etc.) We are only comparing Freshman with Seniors. However, we do not have that information or would be able to retrieve it.
The Z-test was to see if there was a statistically significant difference in the numbers among the data. When looking at the numbers and the graphs, there are not a difference. However, having it confirmed with a z-test will show that there is no statistically significant difference. Meaning, that the samples we have, though small, are generally the same. Therefore, the sample we have will be able to speak for the general population of Berea College students.
Chose to focus on Question 1 and 3. When looking at the graphs, these two were the lowest and the only ones that got below 60% correct answers. Also, looked at question 4 because the results went down the second and third year of data collection.

RPS Assessment:

When first looked at data, just saw numbers and could not understand them by themselves. Also hard because there are so many questions.
Wanted to break the questions up by the type of questions (experience, attitude, familiarity, approach, demographic, and comments). I also used an organization system with colors and names that would work for me and I could use to break things up.So, I broke the questions up into their own tabs.
Used the percentage information instead of the numbers because in comparison with the national data, the percentages make more sense. The numbers are too far apart and the sample sizes would not match up.
Decided on bar graphs to keep things the same with the BANC assessment. Also, for four sample comparisons, it makes more sense then a pie chart where you can only do one or a total.
Wanted charts for all four samples, the two Freshman samples, the two Senior samples, and the two Berea samples. Could not think of anything else we needed to do the comparison and see where the Berea, Freshman compared to Seniors, students fell short.
Calculated the difference between the percentages just to have a reference with the bar charts. Just in case you look at the chart and want to know the difference right away.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 7 and 8 (Entry 7 and 8)

2010-05-26T11:27:00.006-04:00

Kuhlthau's chapter in Seeking Meaning about mediators was very interesting. Encouragement is one of the main ideas from the chapter. In her research the students felt that they did not receive encouragement from the people around them that were suppose to be mentors. They need encouragement from the beginning of the research process to the end. I did not remember, until I started talking about the assessments, that encouragement is a big part of my research process. In undergrad, I went to the librarians and my professors more. In grad school, I still go to the librarians and professors, but I also use my peers more, like friends and people in my classes. According to Kuhlthau and a preliminary look at the assessment data, I am an exception. Everyone else used people they know, like friends and family, before they use professors and librarians. I think the reason could be because my friends (the people taking these classes with me in grad school) are experts in their own right. They are all librarians and could have information about something that I have not thought about before.

Encouragement reminds me of Marie Radford's work. I heard her work when I went to ASIS&T. In the literature, I have heard it both ways, 1) people do not like to talk to librarians face to face because they feel it is intimidating or they have had a bad experience, 2) people prefer face to face interactions with librarians because it is more personable. I think there is a distinction that needs to be made here. The people that are intimidated or have had a bad experience are the ones that do not use face to face services and the people that ask questions and are comfortable with librarians like the face to face services more. Either way, encouragement can be a way to help a person that is intimidated, had a bad experience, or prefers face to face interaction. As librarians, we should be able to give a good and personable experience to our customers in all forms of services (face to face, chat, e-mail, etc.). That is what Radford's research is about, giving the customer's the information they want to the best of our ability and meeting their personal needs as well.

In the assessment, I noticed that the students did not want to repeat the instruction they got in GSTR110 for GSTR210. I was trying to figure out why these students would find it boring and useless. I think I even thought that way at one point myself. Julia brought up a good point and I can see it in the difference with the instruction I had for PSC410 and Research Methods. I was working on a harder, longer paper (a thesis) that required more advanced research. I was forced to find and develop my research skills. The role of the mediator changes with more specific topics and needs, as well (Kuhlthau).

Here are some notes I threw together on the assessment. I want to keep them in mind for future work on them.

BANC Quiz:

Question 1 and 3 are the lowest scores for all three years of data. They are all below 60% for correct answers.
Question 1 asks the question in a complicated way. I would simplify it to: What three pieces of information are needed to find this book on the shelf?
Also, this is a best answer question. The rest of the quiz has answers that are looking for the right answer.
The quiz will need to be rethought in terms of application v comprehension, and best v correct answer.
Question 3 is about initial articles. There is a problem with the vocabulary.
I also think that another book could be used in the questions.
The BANC tutorial does not use an initial article book in the example following the explanation of the "initial article."
Question 4 was a question where the percent of correct answers were above 60% for all years, but the percentages went down for the last two years. The questions asks how you would find books about the life of a KY author and gives the name.
Students were confused between author and subject search. The BANC tutorial does not have searching for an author in the subject search. It just talks about the two different ways to do the search and does not use an author as an example.

BANC tutorial:
Boolean operators are explained in the tutorial. However, some kind of learning object would be helpful to explain how Boolean operators work. In the RPS assessment, the Freshman and Senior students did not understand how Boolean operators work. I know I sort of got them, but did not really understand until grad school. Pictures helped and using them in class with the topics, building on the knowledge that I had to create a more advanced way of searching, especially article searching.

RPS initial look:

students say, research is different for different majors, topics, and assignments
ILL process is hard, do not know how to use it or when to use it. Not just concerned with the process, but when should the student consider interlibrary loan in the research process.
What to do when my terms and searching are not getting me enough or what I want?
Do not know Boolean and Truncation.
Do not like having to do multiple library instructions.
Usually there is a change from Freshman to Senior with less gaps and more students picking the best answer.
The affect sections are interesting and will be interesting to continue looking at.
Freshman do not understand citations outside a book.

What are we looking for next in the RPS (best answers):

where the students get what they need to get
where they fall short
where the freshman and seniors are different and the same
where the gaps in the freshman answers are and how big are they
comparison with the national data

Future of entire assessment:

overall comparison
redesign of BANC tutorial and Quiz
learning objects for instruction

Future of Virtual Tour:

Design Paper Prototype
Camera for pictures and video

Internship @ Berea College: Day 6 (Entry 6)

2010-05-24T14:57:00.003-04:00

http://www.go2web20.net/ has a lot of learning objects and widgets. I have only gotten through the first three rows. I am doing an initial sweep for anything that might help or is promising in its application to instruction.

Here are some cool ones that I found:

Edistorm- a collaborative tool that looks kind of like an affinity diagram to me.
Quizinator- a tool that allows you to make, store, and change tests and quizes online (however, it is for paper tests and quizes, I do not think it is for making online quizes)
Inslices- a tool for bookmarking where you can save the picture and share with other people to see what they have and suggest
Stickr- a tool to place post it notes on websites
Quiqee- a tool for double clicking or selecting text and searching within a website, outside a website, in the news, etc.

The virtual tour for the library will be interesting to work on. Most of the projects that I am working on will involve come kind of affinity diagram or paper prototype. I really like working with them for design and when analysis data. It is fun and really gives a great visual picture.

The most cost effect way to do the tour is to do it with digital pictures and youtube videos. It also makes sense in a campus focused way. The web team has made an interactive map for the campus. Most institutions have interactive maps and so do other libraries, like one of IU's Law Libraries http://www.law.indiana.edu/lawlibrary/about/map.shtml . It is where the campus is and other universities in terms of technology. The college also has a youtube site. Making videos and putting them up, as well as putting them in the interactive map would be a part of the current technology that Berea has and could be easily done.

In the future, a 3D model and virtual tour of the library will be a more cost effective. The college and the word will also be able to get the software and make them easier than we can at present, especially when a tour of the library is not a campus priority. Doing a library tour that is an interactive map is keeping the library on par with the current technology and makes sense for where Berea is in terms of economics. Furthermore, an interactive map is part of future technology as well, in terms of GIS (geographical information system or using information and linking it to a location). Interactive maps are a part of that and GIS can incorporate interactive maps.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 5 (Entry 5)

2010-05-21T11:52:00.002-04:00

Numbers, books, and 3D modeling.

Yesterday, I sent loads of time going over numbers from the past three years of BANC quizzes. I have to say, so far they are interesting. I can't wait to take a closer look and to do some mock ups today in graph form. It will make it easier to see what is really going on. I also have to go over the BANC tutorial. I have gone over the questions once, but I want to take another look after I look at the data. Maybe something, an idea, will hit me. I am such a nerd and love crunching and working with numbers. You would never know since I am not a math wiz that can spit out numbers. I never really did learn my multiplication table very well when I was little. However, I know from experience throughout the years that I can understand the logic and it comes easy to me. I hope I can do some fun statistical stuff on the numbers just to see where we are. In the mean time, the averages and percentages are looking good.

I finally remembered to bring my books with me today. I have been trying to get a few textbooks from home and to work for three days. I never seem to remember. Now they are in my office and on my semi-bare self. It's a good thing I actually read them for my classes. LOL. ;)

Today, I have been preparing for a Show&Tell with Julia. I have been looking into the idea of using 3D models to create a virtual tour for the Library. Looks like it will be hard, especially when I am trying not to use flash and use something that is free. Second life is out because you have to pay money. I also want something that will take photos and render a 3D world. Kind of like the Sistine chapel in my last post. I think I have found something that will work, but I will have to go around with the flip camera and get screen shots to see if they can put it together. I also do not know if it will allow me to export it and use something to make it interactive. One thing at a time. If nothing else, I can get a cool 3D version of the Library on the website or a YouTube video out of it. Then I can put audio over it and come up with a script. The least amount of time and cost would be to do it in the Flip camera an put audio over it. I can do that and then try the other. Maybe it will be something to look at in the future. All I can say is, no wonder libraries have such horrible tours on their websites.

I still need to look at LibGuides and Web2.0 learning objects. I have plenty more to add to my plate as well. I will see what other ideas we come up with at the Show&Tell later.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 4 (Entry 4)

2010-05-20T12:32:00.005-04:00

Sandboxes, Breadcrumbs, and Show&Tell. I have to say that this is going to be fun. My work can be compared to Kindergarten. I get to do Show&Tell where I get together with Julia and we talk about web2.0 learning objects, new technology, or anything else that might be useful or important to the Library's instruction. I also get to have sandbox time, where I will be fiddling around with new technologies or working on a specific project where I can play around with something. I get to go through the breadcrumbs and show Julia what I did so that she knows what I have been doing and how she can do it when I leave. I love having this vocabulary for everything. It makes it seem more fun and slightly mysterious.

Yesterday was packed full of reading the ACRL Information Literacy Standards for Higher Education and talking with Anthony about technologies and ideas for creating a virtual tour for the library.

I can't believe that I have not read these standards before. They were interesting and I have a lot to say about them. Here are they are:
     1. Determine the extent of information needed
     2. Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
     3. Evaluate information and its sources critically
     4. Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
     5. Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
     6. Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally

I still find number 1 hard to do, personally. It is the first and most important step. I find that I really need to refine the topic and scope over and over again throughout the research process in order to have the time and resources to do a good job. I find that most people jump right into the search process without defining or identifying their information needs. I know that especially from doing reference interviews. I will have to dig and ask questions in order to help the person gather their thoughts. A lot of the times, the assignment is what drives the definitions and information needs. I think the professors can make them too specific and not allow the students to define and identify for themselves. I remember when I was a student at Berea, that most of the assignments, especially the long papers, were up to me. I could come up with the question and hypothesis, as well as define the scope. I only got a word count or a page length that I had to meet. If needed, I could ask the professor for recommended resources about my topic. However, I never really got a list of resources to use like I do for some of the assignments that come across my desk during a reference interview at IUB.

Questions to think about for #1: Why is the iterative process of reevaluation of need and definition of topic usually skipped? Should the footwork, background, initial defining, and initial scope be done before coming to a Librarian or the Library? Why does conferring and background research either never happen or happens too ate in the search process? Does assignment length make a difference?

Number 2 was also hard for me. It was not until grad school, had reference, and sat down to look at different databases, did I really start to understand and remember what databases were good for which subject. Subject guides, pathfinders, and bibliographies can be helpful, but sometimes it is hard to understand what all the databases do and what subjects they carry. Having subject guides with step by step instruction depending on the class and assignment would be helpful. You can put the encyclopedias and databases for that subject in there. Most indicators in this standard are higher level for me. I did not really learn them or use them until I was working on my thesis for Political Science in my last year as a student at Berea College. The paper was so big that I had to keep a journal and manage my sources and writing in a number of ways. Management of sources would be the only exception. I did learn to manage sources when I was writing 15 page papers or long essays for specific teachers. I thought about it before hand and even had the sections that I was going to quote blocked out. I started this in my sophomore year at Berea.

Questions for #2: Why is the search strategy never redefined and evaluated? How can you start to teach or teach some of these higher level things to lower level students?

Number 3 is one of the easiest. Some of it is learned at a higher level, but most is taken from High School and built upon. Mostly, throughout the years in higher education, I know I refined and practiced this standard more and more as I went. I was being told by my professors that I should summarize more (except in English and Lit classes) and use comparisons from differing view points. As I got to higher levels, I was refining this standard.

Questions for #3: Does the revising the query come to late in the process? Do people not do it because they fear they will have to start everything over?

Number 4 is also easier. Throughout my college experience at Berea, I was constantly refining and practicing this standard as well. I was using it especially when it came to my thesis.

Question for #4: Applying the knowledge is done, but maybe not always done well. Is there a way to help this out in instruction, such as with where to use quotes as apposed to paraphrasing?

BereaBerea. I was taught it from my first year on and really understood it in its simplest form in Research Methods for PSC. Citation styles and citing are another thing that people follow because they have to, but do not really understand it. If they did, then they would be able to cite in any style and always in the right way.

Questions for #5: Are students overloaded by citation and rules pertaining to plagiarism to really understand the lessons and ethics of them?

I talked with Anthony about creating a virtual tour for Hutchins. We tossed some ideas back and forth. I think the coolest is to make one that is interactive. Like the Sistine Chapel one: http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html. The libraries I have looked at have horrible, if not, okay virtual tours. I want one that is not just pictures. I know the easy way is to do a flip camera and some audio over it. The most complicated being a 3D world of some kind. I will be looking into them all and making out what can and cannot be done with Julia.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 2 and 3 (Entry 2 and 3)

2010-05-19T11:02:00.002-04:00

I am going to enjoy my time doing my internship. I hate the beginning part of anything (classes, jobs, etc.). It is always hard to get into a rhythm until you know what you are going to do and how your time is going to play out. I feel like I should be working harder than I am and moving at a faster pace. I think I have been in Bloomington too long. For my work there, I have to move at a faster pace. When I was a student at Berea (also in Bloomginton), I also had to move at a faster pace. It is interesting and different (I am not sure in what kind of way yet) to be working at a job where I leave the work behind each night and I feel like I can really take my time. I have many projects to work on, but I am maybe because of the place, the office, or not moving around quite as much makes it feel like I am moving at a slower pace then I have gotten use to over my student career (spanning 20 years).

I will have to keep tabs on my feeling throughout this internship. It will be interesting to see what my life will be like when I have graduated and get out into the real world. Hopefully, this internship will help with the transition. I have been so use to being in places working with people for class and jobs, that it is strange having an office. However, it does help. I am able to get time to think and read without interruptions. I like the quiet a little. It is adding to the relaxed feelings I am having, I am sure. I know with Julia and a lot of the other Librarians, as well as others I know here, I will get plenty of social/people time. I definitely do not want to work in a place where I never see anyone and do not get time to work as a team. I really do feel like part of the community at Berea. I hope I can bring that to my future career.

My projects are going to be a lot of fun and will allow me to learn and use my stills in the process. I will be assessing the BANC tutorial and Quiz, as well as the surveys of the Research Practice Survey. It will be interesting to see the results and apply them to updating and redesigning the face-to-face instruction, tutorials, and quizes. I also get to research Web2.0 technology to find things to be uses as instruction tools. I get to look at and (hopefully) redesign the virtual tour and I get to add my input into the redesign if the library's website.

Julia mentioned that the June 2000, ACRL Standards for Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education will be helpful. I cannot wait to read it, see how it I fit into the standards in undergrad, how I fit into them now, and how they will compare with the results of the assessment. At least I have my first professional reading for this internship.

Internship @ Berea College: Day 1 (Entry 1)

2010-05-17T21:57:00.002-04:00

It was interesting to be back at my undergrad after all this time. I really enjoyed it. I liked seeing people I knew again, as well as being in a place that I know well.

I did not do much my first day. I ran around getting things taken care of so I could do the tasks that I will need to get done for this internship. I had to get my ID and my parking sticker. I had to set up my office and get my computer set up. I also had to get a locker. I also had to get everything organized so I would know the timeline and what I needed to do for the academic side of the internship. Tomorrow, my supervisor and I will be getting down to business and getting the schedule down as well as the tasks.

The funniest thing that happened today, was the fact that I found out my e-mail account was still up and running at the school...Two Years Later! I got the same username and when I checked my e-mail, I had mail all the way back to 2008. There were over 3000 messages in my mailbox. I cleaned it up. What was great is that my outlook account was still set up the way I had it when I was a student. I only had to make a few changes. I had a laugh and a great day.

Last day and not many people in sight

2010-01-29T17:48:00.000-05:00

Day 4 (11/11/09):

I was so tired, even I skipped out on the 8:30.

10:30am: Plenary Session: Diversity in Digital Information Environments: Opportunity or Chaos? A Pecha-Kucha Presentation.

The Plenary session was great. The Pecha-Kucha Presentation was new to the conference and I think all of them should be like it. In fact all presentations in the world should be like this. The idea is that each presenter had 6 minutes and 40 seconds to present (20 slides x 20 seconds).

Marshall presnted the ideat that there is a cloud of information and that information is always being reused and changed.

Toms presented the idea that IS does not have any core principles and we need to start there. I agree that we do need to narrow down those core principles, as well as definitions.

Druin presented the idea about the technology that is used in education and how new technology should be approached. I agree that getting creative and giving the students the means (flexibility) to be creative is the way to go, especially in the IS feild.

Marchionni presented the idea that there is too much text and too many words in the world. I agree that graphs and pictures can sometimes tell the story better.

Schwartz presented on the idea of how to understand context and sort information.

Dillon presented on teh idea that there is no Chaos and that is all deals with privacy.

1:30pm: Children, Technology and Social Values: Enabling Children's Voices in a Pluralistic World

Druin presented her research on her experience using children in the design and usability of technology. It wa very interesting and reminded me that children do need to be a part of the user testing. Also, the interesting questions she braught up (why do we not include children? what are we scared of?) really made me think.

Myers presented his research on children's virtual worlds. It is interesting that virtual worlds are primarily used and for children. He braught up the questions about what these worlds are teaching our children.

Anderson presented her work on how the phone fits in with schools. She raise interesting questions about teh use of phones, the rules and laws about phones in schools, and what should be the way to go on this issue.

Fleischmann presented his work on the idea that children need to take part in the public policy decisions. His research was on the activist way a child can change policy and that we need to make a better effort to get children involved in the process, especially if it effects them directly.

3:30pm: Globalization of Intellectual Property Rights: Implications of the TRIPS Agreement for Access to HIV/AIDS Drugs in Africa

The presentations in this panel were very interesting and all had to deal with the same issue in certain states of Africa.

Gathegi presented on its effect in Kenya. Britz in South Africa, and Agada in Nigeria. All three states were at different places in legislation and help to the people with HIV/AIDS, as well as different degrees of government support. However, the TRIPS agreement has helped these states make and distribute the drugs that are needed. But the statistics from these places are not correct and more needs to be done to help the people in these three state (all of Africa) beside the TRIP agreement, especially if the state governments do something to give preference to the drug companies rather than the people (undermineing what TRIP is trying to do, renegotiating and defining the terms).

I have to say that despit there not being as many people, the presentations at the end were great. The party at the end also had some great food and I got to dance (a plus). I hope next year the conference will have a dance floor for this part of the conference. I would like to do more dancing, especially if there is going to be a great band like tonight.

Meetings, Food, Research with Ranges, and Lots of Technology

2010-01-29T17:20:00.000-05:00

Recap for Day 3 (11/10/09):

7:00am: Chapter Assembly Planning Meeting Breakfast

It might have been early in the morning, but it was fun. Not to mention the great food that had me filled up until lunch time at noon. We had four people (including me) from the Indiana chapter of ASIS&T. We called ourselves the "Indiana Mafia" since we outnumbered everyone there. We got together and talked about goals for the next year. Our chapter wanted to have a recap meeting for people that could not make it to the meeting, a social even to get everyone together, and maybe some talks and tours of places that would interest everyone in the chapter. We had some great discussion afterwards to help the other chapters and ideas that would help ours. I gave m opinion ion how to get the students to the meetings and found out that the whole of ASIS&T is trying to get the chapters some travel grants for students. I agree that it would help. Also, we all talked about ways to collaborate more. Video conferencing using Scype seems like it would be affordable and maybe even doable. I would love to see how it goes. Also, we took away the fact that it is easier to get people involved if they are charged before the event (the have an interest) and to give them little tasks since big task are too hard to handle for any of us.

8:30am: Social Reference and Digital Reference: Online Question Answering Practices in Two Diverse Communities.

Elieen Abels presented her research on IPL. She talked about the training and question that they have gotten over the years. She also presented the new system: ILP2. Please go check it out.

Marie Radford presented her research on the quality of answers given face-to-face and through chat by Librarians. The four main things that users wanted from both were: extended hours, electronic information, interaction, and relationship building. Other interesting findings were, users were okay with waiting as long as the Librarian told them, users had already searched google and wikipedia before coming to Librarians, and users wanted to have conversations with the Librarians (beginning and ending message). Some recommendations are to encourage the use of the services (they are not marketed to the point where users know Librarians are there) and to build positive relationships with users.

Chirag Shah presented his research on the wisdom of crowds in O&A environments. The main point is that it might take a while, but the crowd is smarter then one person and they will eventually come up with an answer that will work. Each person have one part of he whole answer.

Rich Gazan presented his research on the dimensions of trust in a Q&A environment. He stated that trust had three levels: content, site, and individual users. People will start with trusting the content, then move to trusting the site, and finally end up trusting the people they know on the site. Furthermore, as the users move from one level of trust to another, they do not trust the level they left behind anymore.

Pnina Shachaf presented her research on the quality of answers through the Wiki Reference Desk. What she found was that the quality of answers were better than the Librarian Reference Desk bases on three levels of quality: reliability, responsiveness, and assurance.

Some of the dialog that followed was very interesting. The collaboration of people was deemed important and one of the panelists mentioned that it happens with Librarians as well. One of the panelists mentioned that they are working on an environment where Librarians can collaborate better and electronically. Also, problems with some of the numbers for accuracy and time in Shachaf's presentation were questioned by one of the panelists that has seen other statistics in their own work and others, stating that the methodology was wrong. I have to agree just because of my own work experience. Not to mention the fact that trying to compare a Q&A environment on the web to a FtF or through e-mail seems wrong. I think that it would be more comparable to Chat now. I would like to see the difference between the Q&A and Chat for Librarians.

10:30am: Information Organization: Tags and Frames

Peishan Tsai Bartley presented their paper Book tagging in Library Thing. Bartley set up three books on Library Thing for a sample to tag. The problems that Bartley ran accross in the study was that their were too many tags and not enough overlap among them, as well as tags that did not seem relevant to the books.
I did not know about Library Thing before this conference. I learned a lot about it from this paper.

Sue Yeon Syn and Michael Spring presented their paper, "Tags as Keywords." Their study was on the overlap in tags and keywords among 693 papers found in the ACM and Citeulike. They found that tags were better for general concepts and keywords were better for specific concepts. In conclusion, the tags were selected from the titles, the distribution was similar but the keywords were more focused, and some improvements on the use of tags (such as reduced tag noise) could imporve the specificity of tags. The paper was very interesting, especially considering the movement from web 2.0 to web 3.0.

Hyun Hee Kim and Yong Ho Kim presented their paper on The two-step model for video key-frame determination. They comparied the two step model to the current model for picking out frames from a video to get at what the video is about in a database (Digital Library) system. The paper was very interesting even if the information was over my head for most of the presentation. However, since there is a move toward digital archiving, it is a very interesting study. I like the idea of having frames for people to look at in order to see what the video is about, especially since video is visual, compared to a paragraph telling someone about the video.

12:00pm: Award Luncheon

The food was great. I really liked the fish and the desert was great. The people that spoke had some funny things to say as well.

2:00pm: Conceptual Information System Design

Dr. Feinberg presented her work on the use of genre in design. The approach was very interesting and poetic. She stated that the use of genre is community based and will create universal access.

Dr. Hamid presented his work on regimes in information. Context is the key to his research. Information has to be settled in action in order for it to acted upon. He critizied the 6 worlds view by Boltanski and Thevi (2006) and stated that they were lenses to see the world, not theories.

Dr. Niu presented his work on inadiquate documentation. The presentation was an overview of the differet ways documents have been stored, transfered, accessed, and changed throughout the technology age. The best practice needs to be based in tacit knowledge and more studies.

3:30pm: Celebrating 10 Years of SIG/USE: A Fish Bowl Dialogue on Information Behavior Research Past, Present, and Future.

The Fish Bowl was a very interesting experiment. It was the first time something like this was done. The chairs were set in a circle. The people in the middle talked and anyone could take their place to continue the dialogue. Also, people were a part of it from Second Life.

It started with an overview of where Information seeking and behavior started to the present. The dialogue was about where to go, or where we were going, in the future. The biggest question was since the feild is like others, where do we fit and where will we go to make a place for us in the future.

5:30pm: SIG ED Dinner.

We went to this great Tai resteraunt. I had the garlic shrimp with brown rice, broccoli, and coconut ice cream. I found I really loved the coconut milk, but still hat the coconut part itself. I also tried other people's dishes and loved them all. I am definity going to Tai again.

8:00pm: SIG CON

Saidly, I cannot tell you about this. It is a secret and unless you were there or go to ASIS&T, you will not understand it anyway.

So ends Day 3.

3 Rants

2009-11-11T12:22:00.002-05:00

I have three rants that I have to start out with.

1) Power Points

Most of the Power points that I have seen have been great at the conference. However, there are some that have way too much text on them for me to be able to read and understand them. I like being able to get what the people are taking about in one look.

Also, the visual representations for numbers using graphs and tables have been excellent. However, there are some that I have not been able to get. I have been sitting close to the power points, so I know being able to see them is not the issue. I guess I just do not see what they are seeing. Furthermore, I like it when people start their graphs at zero. I know that it will make the graph bigger, but it helps me understand the graph better and I will not misinterpret the significance of the numbers (or even question it).

2) Posters

Okay. So this is not quite a rant, but a complement. I love it when the Poser presenters have something to hand out to me. I have made posters in the past and know how hard it is to fit everything you want to say in one poster. However, it can sometimes be hard to read. Someone from the conference and I talked about posters and we both agree that they can do one of two things: be for reading and be for getting what it is about quick. I prefer the one that either do both, or I can get in once look. That is where the handouts come in. If the person had a handout of the poster, their abstract, or a brief bit of text on the research, then I could take it, read it, and come back with questions. Especially in an environment like the one we have been having, very crowded when you go to look at the posters.

3) Prepared Speeches

My last rant is that sometimes when the presenters are pressed for time, they try to put too much information into their remaining time. It is usually not their fault, but it can be harder to understand them when they are trying to hurry through he points and the power point slides. I was not able to keep up.

Papers, Panels, Posters. Oh My!

2009-11-10T01:03:00.001-05:00

Okay. I have to start with a small rant about Regency B. I did not like the room because it was too close to the main room and registration table. People are talking and when someone decides to come into the room, the sound makes it hard to hear the presenters and the questions. I do not know if this could have been avoided by having the registration table and the coffee in another location, but it could have helped. I have only been in other rooms that have been far away from the tables, so I have not heard anything there. Did anyone have the same problems in other rooms that were close to the Registration table.

Here is a recap of the Day (11/9/09):

8:00 am: Information Seeking and Use in Diverse Organizational Contexts

Dr. Deltor presented his research on individual and task differences in how people approach information seeking in an organization. He found that individual and task difference are significant for the way people search for information.

Dr. Choo presented his research on information cultures withing organizations. He had three questions:
1) Is there an information culture? (Yes)
2) Do organizations have distinct information cultures? (Yes)
3) Do information cultures matter? (Yes, Impact on Information Use Outcomes)
He looked at three very different organizations, using 6 different Information Behavior Values, and found that there is an impact information culture has on information use outcomes. You should see his statistics, they were impressive (and very cool).

Dr. Mackenzie presented her research in Manager Diversity. She explained the history and trend in the change of how we look (and act) as managers. The Mad Men references were great. Her main point was that there have been some research in for-profit companies, but only on the fringes. She states that future research in for-profit companies need to be done to see what Managers are doing in the new, diverse cultures of for-profit companies.

Dr. Turnbull presented his research on the diversity of technology in the organization. He talks about the communities of seeking practice that go on in the (for -profit) organization and how MIS people can help the organization by creating applications and technology to help the information seeking process, especially in an increasingly collaborative working environment. The MIS people can come up with ways to make the technology that will appeal to both employees and upper-level management.

10:00am: Poster Session 1.

I really liked the size of the Posters, but I hate where they are placed. It is too close together and hard for a lot of people to fit in the area. I could not get to all the posters I wanted to see because of the space problem. However, I did get to have some great conversations with three people representing research in Poster Session 1.

The Appraisal of FBI Records: Random Destruction of Evidence of Statistically Valid Sampling Method?
The Future of Reference and Information Services in the Virtual World.
Gender Perspective, Information Behaviors and Wikipedia.

Thank you to Craig Blaha, Craig M. MacDonald, and Sook Lim for letting me hang around and talk their ears off. I had fun learning about your research and getting to collaborate by exchanging experience and knowledge on the topics.

10:30am: The Ethics of Online Communities: Challenges to Research Design and Data Collection.

I ended up talking to one of the Poster people for too long and missed Dr. Chen speaking.

Dr. Preer presented her research on the standards and practices when it comes to technologies. She stated that two main contexts impact the standards: audience and the technology. The ideas of privacy and access are the main concerns when it comes to why there needs to be standards.

Dr. Wildemuth presented her research on the Belmont Report from NCPHS. The Belmont report has three areas for standards: (1) Respect for the Persons, (2) Beneficence, (3) Justice. However, these ideas are harder to deal with them they seem in an age with new technologies where you might not have control over the information about your-self. But researchers cannot fall into the trap of not including a group because it is too hard to include them.
http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/belmont.html

Dr. Fleischmann presented his research on the "Ethical Challenges of Emerging Technologies" or (1) online communities (semi-public: Facebook), (2) virtual worlds (Second Life), (3) crowdsourcing (Mechanical Turk). How do you deal with third parties and protecting your information? Can data be used from places that are semi-public. He mentioned an interesting paper by Friedman (2007) called "Spatial Social Behavior in Second Life" where they made a bot to do the research. However, were they misrepresenting themselves?

1:30pm: HCI/Usability.

Jingjing Liu presented information on Digital Libraries, and how presentation and interaction played a roll in the use of Digital Libraries. Three DLs were used in user study: ACM, Xplore, and IEEE. The recommendations are to have a balance between interaction and presentation.

It seemed like there were too many questionnaires to me, but that might have been to keep them focused on the current DL instead of another.

Bonnie McKay presented her research based on previous research in Diary and Field studies on multi-session web tasks. She stated that her and her partner came up with three prototypes (which were really cool by the way and I want it) that had to have three specific tools. These tools (identified from previous research) were lists, reminders, and management/organization. The results were that despite the fact the first prototype was the easiest to use, the user preferred the additional features provided by the other two.

Yu-Hui Chen presented on her groups research in trying to figure out what the definitive definition of web usability should be. They took literature from the past 20 years in both the LIS and Computer Science field, found articles through citation reports, and read them to match the definitions against the 11 attributes of usability. The results were that only 5 attributes significantly showed up (75%) in the literature in both fields, while the rest showed up in less than 25% of the literature. There were not differences across time and field of what 5 attributes showed up the most and which ones did not.

3:30pm: Opportunities, Threats & Theoretical Approaches: Research in Traditional and Social Virtual Reference Quality.

Jeffery Pomerantz presented his research on IPL Ask a Librarian service and Yahoo! Answers. Both are post Q&As. The research showed what sites each used the most to give an answer to the person;s question. IPL used more .edu and .gov sites, while Y!A used more international sites to answer there questions (besides other bad sources in my opinion). For future research, he would like to see some information on the users, the questions, and quality of answers.

Rich Gazan presented his research on the quality of answers on Answerbag. The really interesting point was what to do with intentionally "bad" answers. People that answer questions in a way because the questions is a homework question and they want the person to find an answer some other way. User suggestions are: (1) don't delete "bad" answers right away, (2) get tags that can be used to rate questions in a better way, (3) get a counter for underused tags. However, there are problems because sites that do have specific tags do not use them.

Marie Radford presented her research on a model for face-to-face and chat reference services. Basically the model (which was beautiful and completely understandable) showed that these interactions were successful if the person got their information and interpersonal needs met. However, it was unsuccessful in neither were met. But there was a more sketchy area for if one or the other was not met (mixed results). It also seemed like the person asking the question was more satisfied if they did not get information but the Librarian was very nice and interactive, but it was the other way around if they got information and the Librarians did not interact (or interacted badly).

Alumni Reception and closing comments for the day (aka, the list of things I could have Twittered about).

I used the little computers in the lobby to blog while everyone was gone. It was great, but I did not like the keyboard. I was so use to a bigger one that it took a while to get use to the spacial differences. I don't think I will be buying one after all.

I found out that there are Library Predators out there. Meaning that Librarians gather one a month and answer questions on message boards like Yahoo! Answers and state that it is from Librarians. I will have to check that out.

The coffee has been really good. Someone wanted me to mention that it is strange to be served coffee from Seattle when we are in B.C. Canada. I agree, but it is still better than regular coffee in the States (not Starbucks).

I have to mention that, no, I do not know if there is a prize for most tags. I am just trying to collect as many as I can.

The Alumni reception was great. I met some fantastic people (thanks to Ralf). I got to talk about Parliamentary Procedure, eat some great food (my favorite is the salmon), and get some more flair for my name tag (among other items I took from the tables). I have to say that Maryland won my best table at the Alumni Reception. They had beach balls.

I did not go to the international reception because I am too tired and need to go to bed. Conferences are so tiring, aren't they?

Well, that is all for tonight. I will continue with Day 3 tomorrow.

Crepes, SIG Rush, and Not-So-Secret Student Party! "Tag Me!"

2009-11-09T20:45:00.001-05:00

I went to a crepe place with some people today and yesterday. I have to say that it has the best crepes I have ever tasted. The food is good and at a reasonable price. It is called the Crepe Cafe. It is on Robson. Go check it out.

SIG rush was kind of a disapointment. There were tables with not people at them and it seemed like every SIG I wanted to navigate to and get information about was empty. I also wanted to get some more tags. I have to say that one of my goals is to get as many tags (if not all they have to offer) before the end of the conference. After last night, I am definitly on my way there. I have filled up the front of my name tag the best I could and have moved onto the back. If anyone sees me and has a tag that is not on my name tag please, "Tag Me!"

I did get to talk with the current President of ASIS&T for a while. I tole him I knew where UK (University of Kentucky) was because I lived there and went to undergrad there. We had a great comverstation on how people in the US do not know there geography (international, we understand), about the ecomony in Indiana and Kentucky, as well as some other off the topic insights that made me laugh. I then had a great time talking to students around the IFP table. We filled up the area because we wanted IFP representewd but it was one of the many talbes with no one there. It was great getting to know you guys (you know who you are *wink.*

The, what I have to call, not-so-secret student party was next. It was a smaller crowd but with the same energy. I got to eat some great chocolate (the best was the pomegranate one) from SIG CON. I had "Canada Dry" for the first time in Canada (I know an insult to Canadians, but I know a Canadian brought it as a joke, so I laughed). I then proceeded to have a great conversation with two PH. D. students from Canada. We talked about the differences in the feild across boarders and other concepts, like how different B.A. disiplines cause people to look at topics differently. It was philisophical and allowed me to get back to my Poly Sci roots. I loved it.

As a side note, I noticed that the hotels do not have a 13th floor. I know in other sultures this might be confusing because the number 13th does not have the bad connotation in other cultures. Also, did anyone think about the fact that even though it is called the 14th floor, technically it is the 13th floor? Just throwing it out there.

That's all for Yesterday (Day 1). I will try to catch up on Today's in the next posts.

Stealing Pens and Navigating Rooms

2009-11-09T20:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I walked into one of the panels and found pens. I love pens. For some reason I cannot walk by pens without picking it up. However, I am using a pencil. I am not using the pens. I have the bad habit of picking up pens from places and people no matter where I am. Does anyone else have this problem?

Of course, it does not matter too much since I give away as manyu pens as I take. I guess it must be a pay-it-forward kins of think. I guess that goal for the conference is to take a pen and pass it on. I have already done that myself. Someone needed a pen on the first day and I gave them one of mine. They then got a pen from the box of ones I mentioned. They are going to pass it on to someone who needs it. So the blue, ballpoint pen that I found at work one day; made it to Vancouver, into the hands of someone from B.C., Canada, and will go out into the universe to find its way into some other person's hands. It is interesting to think about at a conference like this, where the passing of information is vital and the pen is one of the vewry first technologies to help humans pass on information.

As I was getting my pen from the box, I also noticed that I navigated the rooms in certain ways. I have paid attension and have done the same things today. Since I have HCI/Usability on the brain, I thought I would comment and send it out into the cloud (and the only two followers I have right now). I find myself getting as close to the power points as I can. I want to be able to see them because I am talking large quantities of notes. I hope I will not run out of room in the notebook I brought. I want to spell the names right and get the terms used in the papers. I chalk it up to the fact that I have glasses. I am near sited and cannot see far away. I know other people have different ways of navigating rooms. I pick where I am going to sit in classrooms for many different reasons. How are you navigating the rooms at the conference?

One side note on the rooms here. This hotel is nice, but why the yellow, bubble carpet. I had a laugh when I first saw it. It is intersting and the longer I stay here, I am liking it, but it does not seem to fit with the atmosphere and arcitecture of this place.

So Many Panels, Not Enough Time

2009-11-09T01:23:00.034-05:00

I have to say that when I looked at the itinerary for the conference, I was a little overwhelmed because there were so many panels and events I wanted to go to. Everything looks interesting to me. I do not have enough of me to go to everything I want to hear about. I have things marked, but I think I will just have to plan what I will go to on the day. Even to the last minute.

Here is a brief overview of the day.

I went to the New Member/First Time Conference Brunch first. I sat at a table with China (she is in ASIS&T with me at IUB and staying in the same room here in Vancouver). We did not know what all the SIGs were, but having the cheat sheet helped. We sat at a table that looked interesting (and empty). It was the SI (Social Informatics) table. Many people came to join us. We ate and then the fun began. They started with some introductions of important people in ASIS&T and the SIGs. Then we all had to get up and get in line from A-Z of the First name. We then had to ask, after we were paired up, 10 questions of the people in 1 minute. It was fast and I do not think I got all of the answers from the person across from me, but I met some great people. I met Courtney and Chris. These two people I have conversations throughout the day with and made me laugh.

I then went to the Plenary. Tim Bray from Sun Mircosystems was the speaker. He was a great speaker with an awesome Power point. I think he may have my vote for the best Power Point of the conference. I will have to talk about that later. He had three things he talked about: Logic, Rhetoric, and Grammer. All three where talking about web applications and how they have changed the way we communicate as human beings. He was very inspiring! I loved that he gave it over to us to invent technologies that can help shape the future of web applications and communication.

Other things I found cool about his presentation was the fact that the crocheter in me was squealing because I found out about ravalry. I also liked the questions that people asked. The part about Intellectual Freedom was great. I completely agree with hims that until the music, movies, and (dare I add) publishing industries can get there heads out of their marketing schemes and see that it needs to be updated in this internet driven era, that we cannot have a normal conversation with them about Intellectual Freedom. What will an Act like the one he mentioned do to other forms of communication like Fanfiction? I am just throwing it out there, but if you want to comment, go ahead. I know there are plenty of people out there that will want to talk about it.

Here are some things that were going on in my head, that I could have Twittered about:

1) When the lady was talking about the music and stuff in the context that communication is not getting more textual. I have to think about YouTube. I mean, it is videos that are communicating with an audience either through the people themselves or through a video that someone made by putting together clips and music. I consider that an example of a communication that is not textual, or a least not quite as textual.

2) Got to love Reference Librarians!

3) Barbara has to be a Librarian. It was the whole bias and balance of information that gave away her secret identity.

Afterward, Howard (Assistant Dean from IUB) told me that Tim invented XML and he was hoping the guy would talk on that. I wished someone had brought it up. I would have loved to have seen where that could have gone. Not to mention answering the question on where XML might be going.

At 3:30 I went to the panel: Information Access: A Global Context. I had three presenters with a wide range of topics. All I could think was how this all seemed over my head, but I got the gist of everything they were saying. I also found out that if someone does not make it to the panel, it messes up the timing for everyone. People practice and get the presentations to a specific time, then they have to come up with things to talk about to filling the extra time they have been given.

Here is a brief summary of the three papers:
Lance Hayden presented on a paper he did on market research Cisco did for information security. The main points were that the methodology for the data gathering and the way the findings were presented (with no conversation about why), gave way to the interesting topic that Cisco stumbled onto a way of looking at how people use information security in a way that has not been seen. Maybe the places and cultures have something to do with how people perceive information security. Also the point that maybe the industries should be working with academia to get the data and user information to help them, rather that using market research would get the ball rolling with finding out why people see information security different. Could it happen? The Cisco report is online and called "Data Leakage Worldwide."http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns170/ns896/ns895/white_paper_c11-499060.html

Samual Muwanguzi presented on the impact of the FM radio and cell phones in Uganda. In some instances, the use of these technologies can bring benefits to humanity. However, in Uganda, the practice helped cause bloodshed. It is a case by case basis. Sometimes it can better human life, sometimes it can destroy it. I am glad that someone brought up Rwanda in the Q&A. I was wondering about it and it was cleared up that that radio was not the newer FM kind where a dialog can be preformed. It is one way.

Steven Kraines was last. He presented on using ontologies for helping in the search and retrieval of biomedical literature. The ontologies would be in a augmented formate. Where the computer and human is working together to create tag and language that is accurate and logical. Take a look at it on the internet at http://ekoss.org/.

I will split the events into a new post.

Blogging v Twitter

2009-11-09T01:11:00.000-05:00

First day at ASIS&T and already I am going crazy. I went to orientation this morning and found out that I was suppose to be twittering!! I have been asking for months for the details about what I was suppose to be doing at the conference besides the generic "blogging" and got no answer. All I got was, "this is new this year for all of us" kind of response. I just wanted to know if the blogs were going to be done on the ASIS&T blog or we would have to do our own blogs. I wanted to know tags and passwords. I don't know how the planning fell through here. I saw the Twitter tag on the website, but got no information on the fact that the two of us "student bloggers" would be doing Twitter.

Now, I like Twitter from a Library/Info. Science perspective on Web 2. However, I do not have an account. I also am behind in the times of technology and do not have a cell phone that can get onto the web. Furthermore, my laptop battery died. I do not have the money to replace it. Mainly because I spent all my money getting to this conference. I also did not want to worry about having to drag my laptop through the airport. It is a heavy thing after all and who knows what can happen when traveling.

As I was sitting through the Planery, I was sitting next to a student that was Twittering. I was saying things during the Planery that she decided to Twitter for me since she met me not to long ago at the conference. She is volunteering too. So, I just have a notebook with a pencil. (Really techy of me.) I am going to what I want to go to and then writing about it. Then I will transfer it here when I have the time. So far, I have written a lot. I have a feeling I will be blogging about this for the next couple of weeks. Well, here I go. Off on my ASIS&T adventure. I will post about the events of the day in the next couple of posts.