While library instruction can be a vital part of starting a post-secondary education, it’s no secret that is isn’t the most fascinating subjects that students can ever imagine. We often need to be creative about how we deliver that instruction. How do we make it shiny so that it is interesting but the lessons still stick? This month, we look at three more methods that we can use to inject our information literacy instruction with a little bit of panache: incorporating multimedia, the effectiveness of games, and another take on digital badging.
Creating a Colorful Classroom: Incorporating Multimedia and Graphics into Library Instruction
Elizabeth M. Johns, Internet Reference Services Quarterly 19.3-4 – 2014
In an attempt to get across the amount of information we need to in our teaching opportunities, we can sometimes rely too heavily on text-based slides, handouts, and lectures. In this article, Johns suggests that using graphics and multimedia in the classroom can get our messages across in a quicker, more interesting, and more engaging way. Several kinds of multimedia are suggested as potential areas to start with a more creative approach to information literacy presentations. Memes, infographics, flow charts, word clouds, and hover maps are suggested as additions to a number of different applications. As long as these elements are well planned, they can be a useful addition to the arsenal of tools we can use to capture students’ interest and attention in information literacy instruction.
Far from a Trivial Pursuit: Assessing the Effectiveness of Games in Information Literacy Instruction
Eamon Tewell & Katelyn Angell, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 10.1 – 2015
Tewell and Angell divided a large group of students set to receive library instruction into two groups. All took pre- and post-tests during the information literacy instruction that were meant to test the efficacy of the workshop. They were all then given two traditional information literacy lectures, one on keyword formation and one on citations. The experimental groups were then encouraged to play games associated with these tasks; one that asks them to choose results associated with particular keywords and another that allows students to assemble citations through a tic-tac-toe style game. Analysis of the pre- and post- tests revealed that students who played the games did perform better than the students who did not. Giving students time to learn information literacy skills through this informal method is certainly something that can be a welcome addition to our workshops.
Creating an Information Literacy Badges Program in Blackboard: A Formative Program Evaluation
Johanna Tunon, Laura Lucio Ramirez, Brian Ryckman, Loy Campbell, & Courtney Mlinar, Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning 9.1-2 – 2015
For the final article, we return to the idea of digital badges for a study of distance education students from Nova Southeastern University. This was part of an effort to better track and authenticate students’ use of their online information literacy tutorials. The pilot program was offered for their BrainSMART class offered through the Blackboard LMS, which has some built in digital badging features. Unfortunately, due to some technical issues and miscommunication with the instructors, the initial class was only completed by 8 students. Overall, the librarians were disappointed with the service provided by Blackboard. It did not live up to expectations in terms of the data or credentials it was able to establish. However, the idea behind the badging endured and the instruction librarians will experiment further to work with digital badging tools.
