Poster Abstract

1. From Nelson to frogs: creative solutions through student
collaboration
Jayne Moss, Plymouth University, jmoss@plymouth.ac.uk
Amanda Russell, Plymouth University, amanda.russell@plymouth.ac.uk
The search for new ways to communicate and engage with our students is a constant
challenge. A solution we have explored at Plymouth University is to use students’
talents and skills to create new resources that speak the same language and are jargon
free and use approaches that are more likely to engage their peers.
This paper considers two very different projects that have been developed by the
subject librarian team.
1. Collaborating with students to produce short information films for induction
sessions with new students.
Final year Media Arts students working on their Collaborative Practice Module are
pitched ideas from a range of external sources. Each year the subject librarians present
a concept or area for development to the students. Interested students are selected by
interview and given a brief which they follow to our deadlines. This process
resembles the working environment with us acting as the major stakeholders.
2. Employing students to create an online tutorial platform and populate it with
reusable learning objects
An initial scoping survey determined students' perceptions of librarian-produced
content resulting in the project team seeking a student-led design approach. The
students evaluated potential platforms and open source tools, created content,
organised training sessions and produced support material to ensure subject librarians
could continue to develop the site in future.
Delegates will hear about the processes the project teams went through and the
challenges of employing students to work on projects. Overall, we had positive
experiences of collaborating with students on the ventures discussed in this paper and
we have plans for future collaborations. We will highlight the benefits and lessons
learnt from working with students and we are keen to discuss with delegates other
examples of student-librarian projects.