ALA Conference 2010

ALA 2010 was held in Washington DC and during a hot weekend (I think it hit 99degrees one day) and of course, meetings were typically back to back, in one hotel and another one 2 miles away! But I love to walk and that is to be expected for ALA: lots of walking, lots of networking and lots of sessions from which to choose. This ALA for me was mainly committee meetings and networking events (and free meals and drinks when I could get them!)

I wrapped up my co-chairing of the ACRL Distance Learning Section's Bibliography Committee after 2 years of work with a fabulous committee, creating the 5th bibliography on Library Services for Distance Learning. Thanks to some of you UNCG Librarians who wrote some annotations for this bibliography!

I also met the wonderful ACRL University Libraries Section Executive Board, where I will now be co-chairing a committee Technology In University Libraries. I asked for this to be a virtual only committee - so none of us has to worry about money to travel to ALA next year and we can explore first hand virtual technologies. One of our committee goals will be to help the ULS carry on conversations and follow up after ALA annual meetings - including ways to collaborate, plan events, and meet - all virtually!

The exhibit hall had a vast amount to take in. I especially liked the Green Pavilion of exhibitors. The poster sessions were also interesting, particularly Games People Play (App State), and On Demand and Just in Time: Putting Tutorials into Subject Librarians' Hands (ASU).

The various socials allowed for time to network, discuss activities, share ideas and simply visit old friends and former co-workers. I showed off our new library video "Ask us @UNCG Libraries" to many people there and got lots of positive feedback and responses like "wow, you work at a awesome library!"

TLC workshops this summer

Be sure to check out the workshop offerings this summer on campus through the TLC:

• Video 101
• Online Learning Activities
• MERLOT
• Online Assessment
• Web 2.0 Tools
• TEACH Act and Fair Use

https://freyr.uncg.edu/workshops/list_by_category.jsp?cat_id=77000233

NC-LITe Group Meeting May 18, @ UNCG

NC-LITe (North Carolina Library Instructional Technology experiences)

Interested in library instructional technology? Join us at UNCG on May 18, 2010 for an open-space style unconference for anyone interested in library instructional technology. This group initially was formed between UNCG and WFU libraries, and has expanded to include NCSU, Duke, and UNC libraries. For this first expanded group meeting at UNCG, we are inviting local Triad schools to join us as well. (and Scott Rice :)

Please fill out this form to RSVP and offer your suggestions on topics you'd like to discuss. We will gather initially in the Willow Room of the Elliot University Center (EUC). Schedule.

Thanks!
BFW & Instructional Technology team at UNCG



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Webinar, white paper : Improving Nursing Practice with Info & Technology

Hi all,

In lieu of travel, I'm tuning into as many relevant webinars as possible.

The session today was interesting b/c it reflected info gathered in our recent "Library To Go" marketing survey and included nifty tidbits that we hadn't investigated.

Improving Nursing Practice with Info & Technology (from Ovid LWW based on their marketing research, mostly internal unpublished reports)

Where do nurses access online info? 84% from home, 68% from work, tiny % at library. Pprint info had similar responses with slightly higher library use (n=1018)

Nurses and medical librarians reported that the most requested types of information are concise, evidence based, available through "Google-like" tools. FYI, Google was reported as the top information tool used by nurses. (since one of the top reason for going online was reportedly finding treatment info, this factoid is scary as H-E-double-hockey-sticks).

Nursing has been slower than other professions in moving to predominantly online information sources. Nursing2010 and AJN surveys reported 79% of nurses preferred print for reading full-text, in depth articles, though they preferred online for searching.

Top professional nursing websites:

• NursingCenter.com
• Medscape.com
• PubMed/MEDLINE
• Allnurses.com
• Nurse.com
• NursingWorld.com
• WebRN.com
• NurseZone.com

Nurses reported that staying up to date with nursing news was the primary professional reason for going online. They like to have information "pushed" to them, with electronic newsletters very popular.

31% of nurses reported using social media for professional purposes, with goals of learning about the profession, asking nursing-related questions, learning about upcoming conferences, etc. Top sources included listservs and YouTube (for educational and training purposes), though Facebook, Twitter, and other sites are gaining prominence. (n=700)

38% reported daily use of handheld, mobile devices such as smart phones. Most important professional reasons = finding general treatment info (61%), patient education info (48%), reading journal article abstracts (25%), viewing multimedia and podcasts (19%), etc.

The Ovid white paper stated that the use of mobile devices is growing quickly. The webinar emphasized the need for nursing administration to support the technology (adopt it to improve professional practices and deal with concerns about hipaa/privacy and frivolous/personal use of these devices).

Nursing topics most commonly researched using mobile devices: drug information, disease information, therapeutic recommendations, and differential diagnosis

Mostly commonly used handheld apps deliver synoptic rather than in depth info: ePocrates (drug db), Medscape daily news, etc.

Nurses ranked mobile app attributes (greatest to least impt): Readability of text, search ability, ease of download, cost of download, speed of download, visual appeal.

Top nursing blogs: AllNurses.com, NurseZone, and AJN’s blog, “Off the Charts”

Ovid predicts

• the rise of simultaneous writing and peer review
• multiple publishing/delivery methods (print, online, downloadable app) will become the norm
• rich media will be ubiquitous

Last but not least, Ovid plans to develop for the iPad. Huzzah!!

Cheers,
Lea

NC SirsiDynix Users Group Meets May 26

For those of you who haven't already gotten the news via the listserv, the NC SirsiDynix Users Group (NCSUG) meets May 26th at Guilford College, right here in Greensboro. Our own Tim Bucknall will deliver the keynote speech, "If the OPAC is Dead, When is the Funeral?" Later, Marcie Burton and Jennifer Mincey will present "Reports: Tips and Tricks" as one of the four breakout sessions. We will also have sessions on loading E-book MARC records, on Circulation and ILL issues, and on the latest products and programs from SirsiDynix. As NCSUG Secretary, I am involved in planning and organizing the meeting as well as managing registrations. Here is a link to the registration form with program for your convenience.

Computers in Libraries 2010

April 12-15, Hannah, Amy, Lynda and I road tripped up to the Computers In Libraries conference in DC. We presented as a panel on Instructional Technology "its a team thing" and got some rave reviews from some librarians we admire including some blog posts (go us!) Lynda and I did an interactive presentation on Productivity Tools (read a review at LibConf.com) But we also attended some great sessions. I particularly enjoyed:

• Library Engagement through Open Data Session - visualization: This session talked about data - how yes it can be boring and poorly used, but used correctly, it can be a an asset: to library benefactors - by highlighting where the library is lacking and generate additional funds; to Lib admin – justify, activities, success/trends, internal PR; to general public - marketing, clear msgs (ex: google map mashup of admissions and visitors to site) ; and to Librarians - find anomalies or data outliers and determine if on the right track. The panel discussed various data source and tools. Some worth mentioning: IMA dashboard, IBM Many Eyes, and Google Chart visualization tools. They ended with some key lessons learned: Get support from admin, Define audience, Define your story, A lot of data manipulation, Google doc as repository, Leverage your coworkers efforts, and Do and redo.
• Gen X Librarians Leading from the middle: The panel discussed Gen X and Tech, @ work and w/ leadership. Gen X is only ½ the size of the generation before and after. They explained how we grew up seeing technology quickly evolve so we can (generally speaking) more easily adapt to tech changes (vs those before us who didn't have computer as kids and those after us who expect it and have always had it) An interesting comparison: 40 years ago a $10,000 mean income – $10, 600 "kitchen computer" and today $57,000 mean income - $3,499 home computer. At work we tend to be the sandwich generation, in the classroom & w/ coworkers, helping to bridge the gaps from print to electronic, understanding both sides, and become good trainers. With leadership, we show independence, innovation, and individualism (OR - is it self centered, skeptical slackers :) Generally speaking we are good at mediating change, translating cultural norms, promoting innovation and also tend to be loyal to our workplace. Some one posed a question at the end why aren't more Gen Xers in leadership positions - do they not want to lead or is it the org just not flexible for us? ... or are the position just not available yet.
• Training in the Cloud: 30 things in 20 minutes was awesome and be sure to check it out on their google site.
• Mobile Libraries panel was interesting - they mentioned tools and idea like:
  Boopsie (customized mobile library aps); walk in mobile msg center (dok) that sends txt msg automatically to phones "Welcome to the library" along w/ some general info; offering charging stations in library; market the library w/ mobile – no print bookmarks please; group texting textPlus (like a blast email); offer contests - people like FREE; Terra (MSU); browser detection & feature detection (ex: NCSU – WURFL); mobilize your content now- start with lowest common denominator (even a simple mobile page will work w/ smart phones) - they compared lack of ada compliance (like elevators) to lacking access to mobile for those people today.
  
• Ebooks - check out Copia, a social ereading experience; in California, everyone is moving to electronic textbooks; when getting started think about relevance to your library, cost, impact for your library, implementing correctly, cataloging (talk to them/include them!), possible problems (user error – training programs needed!)
• Help us out here! Adapting library programming to other audiences: remember in training, you have to deal with the range from curiosity and fear; ask the public services staff, do you know what the patrons are asking for? awareness is a start; their goals are not the same as your goals; get them to feel comfortable; encourage coop and collaboration; fishing cowboys concept (think “shane”); we are coaches not teachers.
  
  
  

Lilly Conference 2010

I attended my first Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching on February 5 & 6 (while you all were enjoying a "snow" day friday). The Lilly Conference was held at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro and this year's theme was Evidence Based Learning and Teaching. I believe it benefits librarians tremendously to attend non library conferences: not just for learning about topics from another discipline's perspective, but to chat with others in different disciplines, network, and build relationships to benefit libraries and those we teach and serve.

Summaries of sessions I attended - eventually the presentations and handouts will all be on the Lilly Conference web site:

• Service & Experiential Learning Plenary Session by marin burton and emily janke of UNCG - They led an interactive plenary session about these 2 concepts: Experiential education - a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage learners in direct experiences w/ focused reflection in order to increase knowledge and develop skills and clarify values; includes reflection, critical analysis, and synthesis; learner is actively engaged; its not a dichotomy - need to keep traditional learning/reading/reflecting as well as experiential learning. Service learning: service (in non profits, schools, agencies, business etc) w/in academic course materials with critical reflections areas. Advantage in final course grade/retention, helps w/ career exploration, chance to apply theory to real situations, increases critical thinking/problem solving/prosocial reasoning, see others perspectives; show them how to construct new knowledge (co-construct). The library is a natural place for experiential (& even service) learning but how can we do more in this growing, important area?
  
  
• Just in Time Teaching (JITT) by Scott Simkins NC A&T - Scott had the attendee fill out a survey in advance and used the responses in his session to demonstrate JITT - the idea is to gather info outside of class like a survey or post a question that might define learning gaps or engage students more effectively and use that in your teaching the next time you meet. Not only then do student know what to expect in class, they are connected better to material/readings from outside of class, and allows them a little reflection in the process. Scott handed out some great resources and examples that should be online soon.
  
  
• Who's reading What and Why (in teaching and learning) by Donna Baily of UNC - some good suggestions and discussions on the best professional literature for various aspect of teaching. Some interesting books I want to check out:
  • Why don't students like school? : a cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for your classroom by Daniel T. Willingham (library record).
  • Brain Rules by John Medina (web site).
    
  • Building online learning communities : effective strategies for the virtual classroom by Rena M. Palloff, Keith Pratt (library record)
  
  
• Howard Gardner Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Higher Education by Susan Autry of CPCC - always good to remember we all learn differently; understand how to reach more than one learning style is important and so is expanding your idea of what is "smart." Need to integrate other ideas and effective instruction to reach more students more effectively. Some interesting statistics (from meyers and jones 1993):
  
  • students only pay attend 40% of time
  • students take in 70% in first 10min and only 20% in rest of class
  • if you lecture more than 15min - student can take notes but not process info
    
  • 4 months after taking college survey course students only know 8% more than those never taking the class
  
  
• Criteria Driven Approach to Instructional Technology by Jane Harris and Bonnie Canziani of UNCG - an excellent, interactive, sharing session on tools we have retained or dropped and a useful chart to evaluate instructional technology tools. All info and forms on their googlesite.
  


• Civic Engagement: The Process of Learning by Doing - Prof Darlene Rodriguez and her PSC300 @ UNCG planned and moderated an open discussion for the campus community in Fall 09 called Democracy’s Challenge: Reclaiming the Public’s Role. what a wonderful example of civic engagement, experiential and service learning, giving students a chance to move beyond justtheory and apply knowledge first hand and reflect. Details.
  


• Virtual Executive: Digital Problem Base Learning Object by Wade Maki of UNCG and Karen Hornsby of NC A&T - They demoed a few learning objects they created using Quandry - an open source tool to create case study type mazes (a choose your own adventure style). These tools are both digital and portable; offers multiple learning styles; its interactive and students can do it more than one time; its an example of formative assessment.
  


• Evidenced Based Exploration and Discovery by Pam Carter of NC A&T -an example of engaged pedagogy, active co-learning evidence based exploration and discovery. Used the process model of curriculum design - facilitative teaching. The process of learning is central - not the content. For this class, students engaged in a Green IT project of their choosing. They created a website to educate students on campus, went around and looked at computer labs, researched and made recommendations to lower energy consumption to the campus.
  


• What Research Tells Us: Principals for Making Feedback More Hearable
  By Kate Brinko of ASU - a very engaged interactive session where the attendees discussed in small groups stories of feedback - both positive and negative. From this we determined principals for hearable feedback: credible/knowledgeable/well-intentioned source; feedback told soon after event; sandwich negative btw positives; and give accurate, performance based (not personal), descriptive, and concrete feedback - and limit how much (people can only take in so much info at one time)
  

• Feedback Session by Kim Cuny and Hema Yarragunta of UNCG Speaking Center - Discussed how feedback can be used in work environment, peer to peer, and subordinates to supervisor - basically create a more liner not hierarchical approach to feedback as they have done at the speaking center. How often as a supervisor/teacher do you ask you your students to give you feedback? In a diverse workplace today, feedback impt for all levels: helps newcomers learn the ropes in workplace, improves student performance, allows for consideration of opportunities of further development for all, maintains desired productivity which lead to students having a better chance to adjust their experiences; supervisors/teachers can learn from students as well and become better facilitators of knowledge.