Library's Instructional Tech Team: annual summary of activities

The library's instructional tech team was created in summer 2008. The initial meeting involved a number of library staff working in areas of technology and instruction, in which we defined instructional technology, generated goals for the team, listed current projects, brainstormed various ideas, and created high/low matrix to prioritize all these possibilities. After this meeting the team consisting of Beth Filar Williams, Lynda Kellam, Amy Harris and Hannah Winkler, began meeting every other month and have accomplished a number of items - with help of others - over the past year:

• Created and maintaining a weekly podcast blog of events, news, interviews - and now including videos created by BFW's LIS practicum student over the summer - relating to UNCG library called Irma Minerva's Audio Magazine. So far we have created 31 podcasts (or blog posts).
  
• Shift Jackson Leaks from PDF newsletter format to blog format with 51 posts as of today.
  
• Started the UNCG library's Professional Dev blog with 50 posts as of today.
  
• Training and assisting librarians w/ Blackboard portal push of resources.
• Netopschool software now installed in citi lab (thanks ERIT!) and has been used by several librarians for workshop/classes.
• Clickers have been borrowed from TLC and used now in several classes and presentations
• Worked with Terry & BethB to make sure the AskUs! icon, link and/or widget is embedded/available from a failed search in our catalog and in some of the major databases.
• Created a blog for the instructional tech team to post links, ideas and cool tools.
• Pre and post tests in Blackboard have been tested and now promoted with other librarians.
• Tutorials: tested numerous tutorial software packages, and finally due to budget cuts, decided on using the free Jing software. Created over 20 new tutorials - mainly Flash screencast type with audio. Created a best practices guide for using Jing to create library tutorials. Also created a tutorial web page to better organize and make accessible these library tutorials. Tutorials are being disseminated through course guides and blogs as well.
• Created a library Slideshare account to post presentation slides in blogs. (see Lynda for more info)
• Facebook and twitter are now being used actively by the team to promote and inform others about library resources, services, and events.
• Before budget freeze in spring, the team researched and purchased a video camera, tripod and wireless mic, for video tutorials & video podcasts.
• Creating video introductions for librarian liaisons to use throughout the website/Blackboard. (Example on Steve's Econ Page)
• Met with WFU and NCSU libraries for a multi-library instructional technology sharing day, which will be repeated each semester.
• Assisted (Danny & Richard) with content for the creation of an assignment calculator which will assist students in planning their research papers, which is now available (eventually will also be available in blackboard)
• Taught a few library instructional tech workshops such as on Zotero (w/ Lea!) and Intro to Creative Commons.
• Created form & guide for planning an online class using Elluminate software. Taught one online class (BFW & MaryK), and are now promoting this service with all disciplines. The library now has its own "room" w/ Elluminate to teaching online workshops not connected to a specific course. (see BFW for details)