Guy Robertson has taught in Langara’s Library & Information Technology Program since 1993. He offers courses in Library History and Philosophy, Records Management, Reference Resources and Services, Archives Management, and Museum Studies. Guy has taught at Douglas College and UBC, and currently offers courses in Information Security and Privacy Management at the Justice Institute of BC. He is the author of several books on various aspects of librarianship and security management, and contributes regularly to professional journals, newsletters, and conferences. In this interview, EdTech advisor Diane Thompson asks Guy to describe how he redeveloped his Program’s course on Reference Resources and Services over time to improve the overall student experience and engagement. She pulled no punch cards; he wore his heart on his un-polyestered sleeve. Now read on.
** If you would like assistance in renewing or updating your course, please contact TCDC or Edtech. edtech@langara.ca OR tcdc@langara.ca
Interviewer: For our purposes today, can you tell us about the Reference course you are teaching and how it has evolved over the years?
I inherited the Reference course—a traditional offering in library studies—several years ago. At that time, the course contents included material developed decades before. In fact, I found information from the original course offering in 1966. Reviewing those contents was like investigating the different levels of ancient Troy, in which the sites of later versions of the city were built on top of earlier versions. I became a Reference archeologist, a fascinating role for anyone interested in library history, but one that did not necessarily conduce to the development of more up-to-date and practical course material and one that didn’t contribute to improve the student experience.
I saved a copy of what I think of as “the Trojan Version” of the course, since it might interest future library historians. But for my immediate purposes, I created a working copy from which I deleted a substantial amount of material that was out-of-date and irrelevant to current students’ purposes. I deleted old notes, charts, graphs, pages of statistics, lists of obsolete publications, and photographs of librarians from the early 1970s. No images containing sideburns and polyester suits; no twin sets and pearls; no flared trousers; no mimeograph machines or punch cards. Potted plants on reference desks disappeared, as did card catalogues. I was brutal. Life was good.
Interviewer: Can you talk about some specific features of Brightspace that have helped you improve the course? In what ways have these made the student experience better?
The basic structure of Brightspace helped me to re-organize my hardcopy material into an online course that students would find easier to use and enjoy. Brightspace forced me to group similar contents together so that I could present the course in a logical flow from week to week. When students enter Brightspace, there is a “Start the Course Here” module which provides them with information about the course, weekly discussion forums, assignments and where to go next.
Secondly, I was able to upload onto Brightspace different media, including videos and images relevant to the course as well as using the new Reading Lists which can be integrated directly into Brightspace content. Students have faster access to these items, and—in my course, at least—they seem more inclined to view them, and to comment on them in the Discussion Forums. Giving students different modalities to digest the contents of the course seems to also improve engagement.
Thirdly, students have faster access to their grades on different assignments by using the Brightspace Gradebook. These days, students want to know how they’ve done as soon as possible. Occasionally I must remind students that I cannot mark and grade their papers less than an hour after submission. But they appreciate the availability of their grades on Brightspace.
For me, these are the main advantages of Brightspace. They save me time and allow students to see their progress through the feedback provided and the Gradebook.
Interviewer: Have you noticed any changes in student engagement or performance since implementing these features?
Yes. In my Reference course on Brightspace, students are more inclined to submit their assignments by the deadlines. They are more careful about the grammar, especially in messages to me, but also in their assignments, which include essays, discussion posts, and portfolios. Students with different types of accommodations can be more comfortable when working on Brightspace and communicate with me and their classmates more easily. Brightspace is not a barrier to communication as much as a conduit.
Brightspace students—current and former—seem to prefer quick online meetings to face-to-face office hours. Students who live outside Vancouver appreciate the online option, especially as journeys to campus become more time-consuming, expensive, and—during rush hour—exhausting.
Don’t misunderstand me. I still value classroom lectures and exercises, on-campus activities, and face-to-face office hours. But Brightspace has increased my availability as an instructor while saving me a lot of time.
Interviewer: What challenges have you faced when integrating new material (in person and online) into your course?
In fact, I’ve encountered very few challenges (or difficulties, or snafus) when I’ve integrated new material into the Reference course. Technically, the task is not hard. Brightspace in its current iteration is easy to work with. If I have any questions, I rely on the people in Education Technology for answers. I’m not a difficult customer, but I don’t hesitate to ask for further clarification if I need it. Occasionally I drop into the EdTech office for a brief face-to-face meeting with whomever is available to help me. (And as I leave, I nick cookies from the nearby coffee station if nobody is looking. I recommend the chocolate wafers.)
The challenge for me is to avoid adding too much new material. The ease of integration that Brightspace offers can tempt instructors like me to add a little, and a little more, and then a little more … until a particular session or week’s material is too much for students to digest, especially if they are taking other courses, or have jobs, or family responsibilities. Students don’t exist strictly to take courses; instructors must follow the advice of specialists in Adult Education who recommend considering the “personal contexts” of students. Instructors must be realistic about how much course material their students can handle when faced with other essential demands.
Every term, I introduce students to aspects of time management, and make sure that they understand Parkinson’s Law, which states that work (such as writing an essay) will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion. I tell students that, while I have given them deadlines for their assignments, they should feel free to submit their work earlier if they can manage their time in such a way that early submission is possible. Brightspace courses can be programmed (through the use of Intelligent Agents) to encourage students to start their research and to work on rough drafts of assignments. The course announcement tool is handy for this purpose as well and can be personalized
Interviewer: What advice would you give other instructors who would like to update their course to improve the student experience?
I would advise instructors to put themselves in the students’ place and ask what students will see when they log into their courses at the beginning of term. Important questions for instructors include:
• Have I introduced myself clearly, and welcomed students to my course?
• Can students get a clear idea of my course contents during the first session or week or unit?
• Are my course components clearly labelled? Will students know immediately the title or descriptor of a particular item—of a set of notes, an article, a video, etc.—and who created it?
• Have I deleted or otherwise removed obsolete material from my course?
• Do I have an idea about the actual demands of online course material: how much time it will take students to absorb and comprehend?
• Is the layout of my course material attractive? Is it easy and straightforward to read or view? Could I use the Brightspace templates to improve the layout of the content?
• Do course contents include material that is amusing, diverting, or simply fun? Could cartoons or entertaining quotations in margins provide welcome relief?
• Are my Discussion Forum questions clear and interesting? Will they inspire lively commentary or allow students to reflect and encourage deeper learning?
Do I encourage students to let me know if they run into difficulties or need to discuss course contents?
• Do I encourage my students to manage their time effectively? Do I recognize students’ personal contexts, especially when they already spend much of their time online? Have I stated my expectations clearly?
Interviewer: Thank you for your time. I hope that your observations will help your colleagues to take advantage of Brightspace’s many features.
You’re welcome. And now I’ll help myself to more of those chocolate wafers. I need a break from the Oreos in my Program office.
