Crossing Our Own Borders

1. Crossing Our Own Borders Marian Press & Carol Calder ALA June 21, 2003

2. Who We Are • Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto • Faculty of Education • preservice & inservice teacher training • masters and doctoral level programs • a pioneer in distance education • now possible to complete online MEd.

3. History • University of Toronto Libraries pioneer in making web-based online resources available • opportunity to make graduate distance education courses information equitable • problem becomes one of information literacy

4. Approach by Faculty • in 2000, approached by Prof. Elizabeth Smyth • Smyth had attended a session on the new electronic resources available at U of T • involved in distance education for many years • an early adopter of technologies • saw their potential for her online students

5. Approach by Faculty • at same time development of online Virtual Library course underway • decided to integrate the VL into the subject-based course • all 7 modules made available • students could concentrate on modules most relevant to assignments

6. Virtual Library Course • Virtual Library: Information Retrieval in the Library and Beyond • graduate level non-credit course • began face to face in 1996 with 4 modules • now 7 modules • face to face and online

7. Virtual Library Course • Virtual Library course: • “In the seven weeks of the course, students gain an understanding and appreciation of the core computer competencies necessary for doing research in a virtual environment. The syllabus covers what information is available in electronic form at University of Toronto Libraries and how to access it; how information is constructed and stored and how to generalize this knowledge across all databases.”

8. Virtual Library Course “What information is and is not available on the Internet and how to make use of various search tools and specialized web sites to search the public Internet and the "hidden" Internet. How to evaluate information found on public Internet sites; how to cite electronic resources in research papers and dissertations and how to organize relevant electronic information for your own use is also covered.”

9. Virtual Library Course • Module 1: Introduction • basic issues of hardware and software requirements • proxy server accounts [obsolete] • discussion of Internet and protocols • optimum use of web browsers for retrieval

10. Virtual Library Course • Module 2: UTL Catalogue • detailed instructions on using UofT catalogue • Module 3: Database at UofT & Beyond • intro to UofT Libraries’ web site/electronic resources • Boolean searching • use on online databases • ERIC

11. Virtual Library Course • Module 4: More Databases • exploration of education databases • intro. to education full-text databases • intro. to electronic journals in all forms • Module 5: Citation Databases, Theses, and Electronic Journals • searching a citation database • searching for theses online • searching for electronic journals

12. Virtual Library Course • Module 6: Education Resources on the WWW • Internet search tools and how to use them • web indexing • web site evaluation • Module 7: Organizing Your Information • citing electronic resources • use of citation managers - EndNote • my.library as an organizational tool

13. Courseware • WebKnowledge Forum (WebKF) • asynchronous computer-mediated conferencing system • web version of a collaborative knowledge building applicationdeveloped at OISE/UT • very non-structured (unlike WebCT etc.) • can approximate discussion in a gradute seminar • http://www.knowledgeforum.com/

14. Collaborative Course • course instructions and discussion takes place in WebKF • course material on a linked web site • material includes: • web pages with course highlights and links • PDF versions of step-by-step instructions for working through each module • http://online.oise.utoronto.ca/webkf/tps1416s01.html

17. Collaborative Course • first course – Gender in Education • students mostly employed women with children • geographically scattered – Toronto, Texas, Saudia Arabia, etc. • some new to online learning

18. Collaborative Course • VL components introduced right at beginning of course • information literacy focus part of course description • “students will learn and and utlilize the emerging set of research skills essential for graduate studies in an electronic environment.” • “…the use of the Internet as a research source through the development of specific Internet-based and electronic research skills.”

19. Collaborative Course • subject course structure & assignments designed to truly integrated the VL • Assignment One • journal article chosen for critical review • to be chosen from online database • preferably to be an electronic journal • the search process for the article to be articulated

20. Collaborative Course • Assignment Two • detailed report on progress to final paper • outline of sources – electronic and non-electronic • discussion of search strategies used • carefully and explicitly evaluate web-based sources beyond peer-reviewed journals

21. Collaborative Course • how the content web pages look • http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/library/online/mod3pt5.html

23. Collaborative Course • Problems apparent immediately: • proxy server accounts needed • library card numbers required for this • needed up-to-date browsers • needed Adobe Acrobat reader updates • firewall problems • placement was too early in course

24. Collaborative Course • led to student frustration • required untold librarian instructors hours • eventually all able to access resources required • librarians monitored the course for the weeks when the students were working through the VL modules

25. Collaborative Course • main difficulty the volume of questions • in rest of course students read all other postings • in these weeks did not read other students’ submissions • did not learn from mistakes of others • did not help each other with problems

26. Collaborative Course • still, positive student response overwhelming • all knew these were skills they were lacking but needed • most had no idea of the extent of material available • rewarding for librarians teaching • integration of VL mentioned in most instructor ratings

27. Collaborative Course • other courses with Smyth followed • Teaching High Ability Students • History of Education in Canada • placement of VL components later in course • technical procedures are communicated before course begins

28. Faculty CollaborationOISE/UT • found need to modify VL content as subject of courses change • development time needed quite extensive • now an integral part of all Smyth’s online courses • she talks up idea to other faculty

29. Faculty CollaborationOISE/UT • have done one online with another faculty member • not integrated • only partial VL content • more or less voluntary for students • Blackboard courseware • much less successful

30. Faculty CollaborationOISE/UT • Lessons learned: • where modules placed in course critical • need to address technical issues early on • full integration of information literacy components into course and assignments essential

31. Faculty CollaborationOISE/UT • amount of time required by librarian instructors substantial • would be difficult to support full integration at graduate level for many courses • overwhelmingly supported by students

32. Faculty CollaborationOISE/UT • Informal survey of online instructors: • “I expect graduate students to find out how to get the information themselves.” • “I tell them it is all on the Internet.” • “I tell them to take your Virtual Library course.” • “I would do it but I can’t spare the course time.”

33. The Future • make more use of self-paced online instruction modules • experimenting using streaming software • still need librarian interaction • newer virtual reference software may help • watch what users doing in databases • push web pages, etc.