On National Teacher Day, meet the 2024-25 Kenan Fellows
The librarian as lecturer : experiences on the other side of the fence. Authors: Josh Clark, Hugh Murphy
1. The Librarian as Lecturer:
Experiences on the other side of the fence
LILAC 2010
Josh Clark
Hugh Murphy
UCD Library, University College Dublin
UCD Library Leabharlann UCD
3. what did we teach?
IS20090 Web 2.0 and Social Media: An
Introduction
(Originally known as “etoys”)
introduced in academic year
2008-2009
repeated for 2009-2010
7. UCD Library as Innovator
• UCD Library experimentation with Web
2.0 tools to enhance library services
• Many library staff involved in various
projects over the years
• Staff knowledge of and familiarity with
the tools
• Acknowledged by SILS
8.
9. genesis of the course
• History of collaboration
• Cataloguing & classification courses
already taught by librarian
• Second Life collaboration
• Head of School approached Library to
design & teach a Web 2.0 module
10. genesis of the course
• New course created specifically with
Library staff in mind
• Designed for 2nd & 3rd year UG students
• Initial course offered, Autumn 2008
• Recommenced with modifications,
Autumn 2009
11. nature of the course
• An “elective” (implications!)
• Disparate student demographic
• Continual assessment and exam
• Designed to be interactive & hands-on
(Web 2ish / non traditional)
13. nature of the course
• “practice what we preach” - used Ning
instead of traditional VLE
• Broad array of topics, broad staff
involvement
• Solely administered by Library staff –
“team approach”
15. assessment summary
• Assignments given at each class session
• Students completed assignments as blog
postings
• Varying levels of interaction in each class
(attendance & participation graded)
16. Horses for (SILS) courses…
More traditional Less traditional
• one to many • some to some
• lecturer as teacher • lecturer as facilitator?
• tends towards • tends toward
didactic immersive
• has specific ICT
• can be taught
requirements
almost anywhere
• students from any
• all students of discipline, any level
Information Science,
etc
17. …or same old song?
• Still trying to convey information!
• Still assessed via some sort of
examination
• Arguably paradigm is not completely
different
18. does it inform information literacy
teaching?
• Different approach
• Gain greater knowledge of how
students use Web 2.0 to conduct their
research
• One enhances the other
19. does it inform information literacy
teaching?
• Different approach
Info
rma
tio sympathy for academics b 2.0
• Gain n
lite r
acy We
t ools
• Skill sets overlap
• One enhances the other
21. librarians do it better?
• Contribution is
mutually beneficial
• Librarians bring
certain skills to the
table
• Librarians develop
certain skills
• practice makes perfect
22. Evaluation, or lessons learned
A serious challenge…!
– developing new skills
– administrative duties
– answering (constant) student queries
– marking
– exams
– course needs 360° support
Gain sympathy for academics
23. challenges: learning space
• Location not ideal for collaborative &
practical learning
• Technical issues! (IT)
• Highlighted the need for innovative
learning spaces on campus
25. other challenges
Assignments & Grading
– Q: Work has to reflect Web
2.0 philosophy?
A: Sometimes!
– Varying levels of marking
experience
– 8 lecturers: consistency a
challenge
26. risks
• Administrative role: time-intensive and
daunting
• Full-blown lecturer role not
“traditionally” a librarian’s remit?
27. rewards
• Further recognition by School(s)
• Boosts Library profile
• Enhances IL skills – greater
understanding of student needs & ways of
gathering/interacting with information
• Pay?!
28. student feedback – the Good
“I found a lot of very interesting
information in [the course readings] and I
was often reading with my mouth wide open in amazement. I would not
have read the information about these topics myself, so I
was
happy to find such current information about
the contemporary web and also social issues in
an university module... I
will remember
this module as one of the brightest
experiences from all my academic
life here at UCD. Thank you very
much.”
29. student feedback – the Good
“I would like to thank you and other
lecturers for giving me a chance to
learn about Web 2.0. It was not something I
would be able to learn back in Korea and it surely
made a memorable experience in
my exchange year here at UCD.”
30. conclusion
• A learning experience!
• LOTS of work & time
• A departure from IL teaching – more
important to student?
• Librarian perspective on Web 2.0 tools – a
beneficial aspect of the course
31. …and thanks also to the other members of the librarian lecturing team!
Caleb Derven – Systems Librarian
Ros Pan – Head of Electronic Strategy & Innovation
THANKS!
James Molloy – Assistant Librarian, Reader Services
Cathal MacCauley – former Head of Reader Services
Diarmuid Stokes – Liaison Librarian, Vet Medicine,
etc.
Shane McLoughlin – SILS PhD candidate
Hinweis der Redaktion
Overview.
Genesis of the course
Genesis of the course!
UCD Library as Web 2.0 innovator!
UCD Library experimentation with Web 2.0 tools to enhance library services
This brings us to UCD’s School of Information & Library Studies (SILS)….small School, etc. Only about 8 lecturing staff (not all full-time), and a plethora (10+) of occasional lecturers This cohort consists of Library staff and others – WE EXPLAINED WHAT WE MEANT BY “ADDED LIBRARIAN”
Collaboration with SILS – a large number of occasional lecturers employed by the School Hugh already teaching a cataloguing & classification course for a number of years SILS involvement with Library’s foray into Second Life – some lectures held in the Library’s Second Life building by the Head of School at the time She approached library with an idea for a course on Web 2.0 tools
Course designed for Second Stage students (2 nd & 3 rd years), to be counted towards a Bachelor of Social Science degree. **Could also be taken as an elective – so potentially anyone from any background could take the course. This has implications! Course designed over summer and ran in the first semester 2008-09, with a roster of 20 students (of which only half showed up most of the time!) Significantly modified and expanded for the next academic year, rebranded as a “Web 2.0” course and ran again with 45 students signed up (of which 85-90% attended every class)!
As an elective course, students could potentially come from any subject area. This means that skill levels and pre-knowledge of Web 2.0 varied widely. International students – language barrier, misunderstanding of assignements, etc. Makes for lots of student queries throughout the course! TIME-INTENSIVE Interactivity & collaboration was on the agenda. Not always panned out in reality however.
Course breakdown week by week
Explanation of Ning social networking tool, etc.
Ning is a social networking site where you can build your own. Students were sent invitations to join and all course correspondence was driven through this channel. Each student had their own profile, etc.
-Each class session had an assignment, which the students completed in their blog. Blogs were marked twice during the semester. They also had to complete a midterm essay (question provided by us), and had a final class test (exam) which consisted of a MCQ and an essay (choice between 2 questions). -Some class sessions included work to be done by students during class (e.g., wikis & online productivity tools), some were more straight lecture (theory and semantic web sessions)
Traditionally, higher education courses tend towards the lecturer filling a vessel (student) with knowledge This course tried to include some aspects of Web 2.0 – interaction, collaborative work (varied from session to session), using the new tools to manage the course, etc.
The same paradigm at the end of the day?
There is a different approach, as this is an ongoing taught class with different responsibilities – it’s not a component of a larger course – it IS the course! It will help inform IL sessions on keeping current, citing and referencing, identifying plagiarism, verifying accuracy and truth in information
Information literacy meets Web 2.0 – a new definition of the model is needed? 7 Pillars of IL via SCONUL. Which pillars were explored here? Pillars 2, 5 and 7
This slide (a still from the film “The Road” – post-apocalyptic survival!) represents the path and ordeal (sometimes!) of the science liaison librarian….It can be a tough slog, especially for a maths and physics liaison librarian trying to convince sometimes dubious Schools of the importance of IL!
Contribution mutually beneficial – SILS gains students, broadens offering of modules in this area. Librarians gain valuable teaching skills to inform future IL sessions, advertise the Library and its services Librarians develop teaching skills, gain a “lecturer’s perspective” and realise the difficulty they have in managing time, many modules etc. Can recognise and try to prevent plagiarism, instill in the students the skills to investigate and verify authority of some Web 2.0 tools…
Skills as a lecturer different to librarian giving IL sessions – in some ways yes!! Administrative duties are time consuming to say the least Fielding student queries on all aspects of the course Marking takes up time Creating exam also daunting Support from Library management crucial – e.g., when course duties creep into work time Support from SILS also crucial, of course!
Nature of class required a learning space with computers. Very difficult to find the right venue for the number of students attending (45). Computer lab setting too noisy, not really a proper classroom! Currently campus IT infrastructure too rigid and conventional for this type of course, generally speaking…
1 Library staff person chosen as an team administrator for the course (Josh) SILS module coordinator Judith Wusteman This involves fielding student queries - e.g., absences, problems with blogs, links, Ning profiles, students with special needs, etc. etc.! Also…. compiling and checking assignment grades, coordinating course final exam, *classroom issues*
The goal regarding student assessment was creating assignments that more or less reflected Web 2.0 philosophy – here we opted for a combination (blog post assignments combined with traditional essays and in-class exam) Library teaching staff had varying levels of marking experience – how to achieve a consistent standard with 8 different graders?
Library seen as a partner rather than strictly a support Stronger relationship with SILS Library profile enhanced, hopefully leading to greater IL involvement Informs future IL sessions, whether once-off sessions, or embedded in the curriculum – greater understanding of student needs On a strictly personal level perhaps, the fact that we got paid as occasional lectures doesn’t hurt, also acknowledges our worth and what we can bring to the table to enhance School programme offerings
Library seen as a partner rather than strictly a support Library profile enhanced, hopefully leading to greater IL involvement Informs future IL sessions, whether once-off sessions, or embedded in the curriculum – greater understanding of student needs On a strictly personal level perhaps, the fact that we got paid as occasional lecturers doesn’t hurt, also acknowledges our worth and what we can bring to the table to enhance School programme offerings
Student feedback – didn’t get much really
Approach to teaching this course was different from teaching IL sessions in that it was perhaps felt that this mattered more to students, for obvious reasons. Marking student assignments and exams was definitely a challenge. Overall a very good experience, if a bit stressful!