WAPL - Continuing Education in Your Pajamas-New Technologies Bring New Opportunities

John DeBacher started with a great visual image for the title of the program. I saw him in the hall in advance to capture this photo...he actually wore this to the introduce the program.

The first presenter was Anna Palmer from the library school at UW-Madison. There are still three courses which require physical presence on campus. The electives can be done online. Courses are available before or after starting the program. If you register as a "special student" the cost is half the regular price.

The school offers continuing education courses including courses for the Library Director Certification Program. CED credits are cheaper and are graded on a pass/fail basis. They use the same software for CE and online courses. They use Desire to Learn (D2L) which is branded with Learn Wisconsin.

Anna demonstrated with a course called "Core Elements of Children's Services." [I have a close friend who has taught using D2L, and I have seen both the student and instructor side.] It is asynchronous teaching with assignments and deadlines. It is web based and very intuitive. There is technology support for both students and instructors. There is a phone help desk from 6 am to 1 am. It does require 56K connection, Windows 98 or better.

The University offers "Education to Go" classes are skill specific. Cost is $85, and there are about 75 courses offered. All are 6 weeks long and the start once a month. They are offered through an outside vendor. They do have interactive elements and some of the structure is similar to the D2L structure. It does have a final exam which is required to receive credits for the course.

Bob Bocher talked about the tools which DPI provides. Bob did not appear in pajamas (since he wears none). The product the state uses is from Sonic Fpundry called MediaSite. The tool synchronizes the view with the sound. It is real time, and it is archival. The site has about 15 presentations included on the site. It requires a specialized PC and camera to produce programs. The PC includes the software. It takes some time to train staff to do the technology issues to schedule and connect, plus uploading PowerPoint. It is helpful to have two people: one to present and one to run the hardware.

Bob showed a demonstration of an erate training program. The state has a license, and hosts them on their own site. For many other customers the vendor hosts the program. The program is not as flexible. There is no chat or other interactivity.

John DeBacher showed WebJunction. He particularly plugged the Rural Sustainability aspect of the project. It does require speakers/headphones and a microphone is good. (South Central found inexpensive ones for about $5.) John then logged into an archived presentation. He also whistled the theme from Jeopardy while it loaded. He then showed the courses section of the website. The state counts these opportunities as continuing education for certification purposes.

Jean Anderson from South Central Library System talked about OPAL. They have a site license for 50 people, but can ask Tom Peters for more space, and there is an auditorium which can host large crowds. She showed it on the large screen, including some input from staff back in Madison at the SCLS office.

WAAL 2008: Reinventing the Library Class Session

Eliot Finkelstein, Carrie Nelson, Trisha Prosise (UW-Madison's College Library)

Background

• "One-shots" - single 50-minute sessions - many, many of us teach these
• Library instruction "module" is integrated by mandate into certain required courses at UW-Madison
• 2006: 4,300 students get online tutorial followed by 50-minute session
• Librarians were repeating content in tutorial and in-person sessions - taking up time
• Got to a point that script was a Frankenstein's monster, after multiple re-writes
• Started with desired outcomes, rather than jumping into the "fun part"
• Literature search - Deb Gilchrist (assessment expert)
• Bloom's taxonomy - set 7 learning outcomes

Demonstration

• 3 volunteers from audience were taught in the old way (told how to complete all the steps, then did it), then 3 volunteers that had been waiting in the hallway were taught in the new way (why this might be important to you, you won't be able to do it correctly the first time, but I'll step in to talk you through it)
• Scenario: How to order food at the "WLA Food Counter" - needed to provide structured, ordered commands from controlled vocabulary
• Second group of "students" felt more prepared, confident; even though one wound up with peanut butter smeared on the table in front of her, with no plate :) - because she knew what not to do next time
• Teachers gave context: on the job
• Allowed learners to try before completely taught method
• One learner modelled, then learners discussed together
• Set at ease: told them "this is going to be complicated," "this isn't easy"

Re-invention

• With old method, engagement was less than we wanted
• Questions and comments from students indicated a disconnect in learning

Constructivist learning

• Susan Cooperstein and Elizabeth Kocevar-Weidinger
• We may think that hands-on computer work after a demonstration is "active", but that's not pedagogists' definition of active learning: activity leading to concepts (not vice versa)
• Students more comfortable with learning among peers
• Real-world problem to solve (from students' point of view)
• Learning from mistakes
• Teacher as coach or facilitator of learning by chunks, rather than Our Leader

Transformative learning

• Kelly McGonigal
• Have to realize that there's something you don't know - motivation
• Safe to fail
• Scaffolding - teaching/learning in chunks

Changes made

• Real world: "If you were an intern in Washington, D.C. this summer, your boss would ask you to do this"
• Failure is built in - showed them a reasonable search, with 0 results - am I in the right database? are my search terms good? - recovered together
• Disorientation: search field for database names, not for research terms - we bring them there, then talk them through it
• Safe failure: Pods of computers - see everyone else having same thing happen
• Balance between support and challenge - chunking, clues, flexibility with finger on the pulse of the room so you can change the plan if gets too challenging

Success!

• Great student engagement
• They're realizing that they do not know how to do something they thought they did
• They want to know how to do this - Problem-solving, Working together
• Lots of activities
• Online worksheet - not talking at them the whole time

Assessment

• Online worksheet kept in a database - research topic, journal database, search terms
• Pulled 600 sheets - created a basic rubric
• 1/4 hadn't chosen best database, 1/5 chose poor search terms
• High percentage of instructors believe that library module improved student learning
• Reviewed comments that indicated need to make changes
• Librarians felt very engaged with new script
• 80% students chose "librarian demonstrations" as the part of module that helped them most - they were really watching us, because they'd already done exercise

Questions/Comments

• What if students don't do tutorial? Required, with embedded quizzes they need to turn in to instructor.
• How would you do an exercise like this with different classes? 2nd script for separate class - chose hardest topic that I thought wouldn't work - went well. Work with instructor on assignment - ask "is it OK if the search fails the 1st time?"
• Do you run out of time? Not any more than in past.
• What do you cut out? Students working on their own topic at the end. We want them to come with a topic, but they might not start research on it during session.
• Outcomes? How to find a book and article, how to get help, and positive attitude about the library.
• Electronic worksheet? Web form - we get them there at beginning of class. Outline of some of class session. Narrative background of scenario. Paste in answers. Talk to the person next to you and find out... Students are okay with multi-tasking on computer. Students get copy of completed worksheet emailed to them (and us).
• Non-traditional students? Mainly traditional undergrads, comfort with technology. In ELL class, did use paper worksheet.
• Increased library use by these students? College Library is widely used by this user group, so getting them in the door isn't the issue. Anecdotally, getting better questions at the information desk. Recently, a student had already been in a database and found an article, but knew she needed better search terms and came to librarian - this is progress! Before, "I have a paper..."
• Academic freedom of faculty? Some students can test out, so not required for all. Abbie Loomis, our campus instruction coordinator, was instrumental in getting library module mandated.
• Used for more advanced classes? Not us yet. Sarah McDaniel, current campus instruction coordinator, has done similar project at other campus.