It's Academic

Registration is available for the three-part webcast series, “Learning Analytics: Strategies for Optimizing Student Data on Your Campus.”  

This webcast series, co-sponsored by the ACRL Value of Academic Libraries Committee, the Student Learning and Information Committee, and the ACRL Instruction Section, will explore the advantages and opportunities of learning analytics as a tool which uses student data to demonstrate library impact and to identify learning weaknesses. How can librarians initiate learning analytics initiatives on their campuses and contribute to existing collaborations? The first webcast will provide an introduction to learning analytics and an overview of important issues. The second event will focus on privacy issues and other ethical considerations as well as responsible practice, and the third webcast will include a panel of librarians who are successfully using learning analytics on their campuses.

Webcast One: Learning Analytics and the Academic Library: The State of the Art and the Art of Connecting the Library with Campus Initiatives (March 29, 2016)

Webcast Two: Privacy and the Online Classroom: Learning Analytics, Ethical Considerations, and Responsible Practice (April 14, 2016) 

Webcast Three: Moving Beyond Circulation and Gate Counts:  Practical Applications of Learning Analytics (May 11, 2016)

Complete details including webcast descriptions and learning outcomes for each webcast, and registration materials are available online. or http://www.ala.org/acrl/learninganalytics Questions can be directed to mconahan@ala.org.

On Friday, April 15th, ACLCP will be hosting its annual Spring Conference at the Red Lion Hotel – Harrisburg East (formerly the Holiday Inn). The conference, “Diversity and Inclusion in Academic Libraries”, will feature:

*Emily Drabinski* Coordinator of Library Instruction, Long Island University

*April Hathcock* NYU Scholarly Communications Librarian

and

*Derrick Jefferson* Communication Librarian, American University

Registration is now live. Please see the official Spring Conference flyer for more details: http://www2.aclcp.org/documents/program-spring2016flyer.pdf

Questions can be directed to programs@aclcp.org.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Ben Hoover & Lindsay Sakmann

ACLCP Program Co-Chairs

If you visit any social media site, you quickly realize that visuals consume or lives. I wonder if the invention of the television sparked this hunger for constant visual and information connection. I strongly believe that the invention of reality television has driven our thirst for more personal social media postings detailing our lives in textual and visual format. So, how can academic libraries make our services more visually appealing to students?

Recently, our institution subscribed to Browzine, a database that allows users to view thumbnail images of our electronic journal holdings. Will students be more inclined to use our resources if they are able to view the image of journal covers? Will they better understand the idea of a print journal in an electronic format? Despite a visual connection, if the database is not easy to use and offer a personal connection, I feel students will not find it appealing. Thus far, the database offers personalization to some degree and they are working on more ways to personalize searches, etc.

Visually Working?: I use visuals in several of my professional work tasks. For example, when creating print library guides on topics related to workshops held on campus in collaboration with the counseling center and the six o’clock series, I include visuals of the book and electronic book covers. Thus, making a simple subject bibliography more visually appealing. Second, for nearly every social media postings, I include a related image (@IUPLibraries). Even if that image is a screenshot of a resource that I am promoting. Third, I am one of the managers of the digital (visual) signs in the library. I create one-slide PowerPoint images advertising events, services, etc. Finally, as per my previous two postings via this blog, I use visuals heavily in my online course utilizing a graphic novel text and several YouTube videos and online tutorials. Additionally, I have offered an optional bonus assignment to students to create their own comic (visual) related to their research project for the course (my example below).

Is a picture worth a thousand words or a thousand likes? Did you look twice a this blog posting because of the image? What does this mean for the future of information? Is it all really visually appealing?