Teachmeet Abstract

1. Just-in-time tutorials for engineering students
Bonnie Osif, Pennsylvania State University, bao2@psu.edu
There are a number of challenges facing librarians in the delivery of information
literacy skills. Resources and interfaces are proliferating and changing at a startling
rate. The need to deliver information literacy classes increases but the number of
librarians to deliver the instruction is stable or possibly decreasing, and
interdisciplinary subjects increase the complexity of teaching. Distance education is
booming. Tenopir's studies show an additional challenge relating to information skills
and engineering students. In addition, students have become more digital, turning to
their mobile devices and tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google and
Wikipedia as their information resources of choice.
Just-in-time is a popular subject in engineering. It has increased efficiency and
decreased costs. This manufacturing philosophy easily can be applied to address the
need for increased, focused, evaluative information literacy skills and a means of
instruction delivery that is focused and subject specific - short, online tutorials.
Many students are taking at least some of their classes through distance/online
education and in some programs the majority of students are registering as distance
education students. There is an obvious need to provide information literacy skills
electronically. Online tutorials meet the needs of these students as a means of
delivering 'just in time' information literacy skills. In addition to being available
when the students need to apply the skills, they could be reviewed as often as needed,
used in conjunction with the appropriate assignments, and are easily customizable for
different subject specializations.
Online tutorials were created that are short, focused by subject, and purpose.
Supplemented by various supporting guides, relevant assignments, and personal help
available in various ways, they provide a flexible, efficient means to meet the varied
and changing needs of today's students. These easily can be customized and
packaged for specific audiences with new software that is readily available.