It's Academic

All LSTA money committed for the grant year!

April 6, 2012

A sign of the times? This is the earliest I can remember the CRD committing all the LSTA money for the grant year, ending September 30. Of course, the grant was decreased from $25,000 to $22,000 in 2010/2011, so that is a contributing factor, too.

At any rate, if your group has been considering submitting a request for LSTA money to the CRD this year, it still may do so. The Board is accepting requests for the reason that occasionally some money requested by a group is not spent and then becomes available again. In this event, the Board will review requests in the order they were received.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

-Linda Neyer, 2012 CRD Chair

2012 Horizon Report and Implications for Libraries

March 27, 2012

by Erin B.

Every year since 2002, the New Media Consortium (NMC) works together with the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative to release reports on the emerging technologies and their context in higher education, primary and secondary education, and museum education. NMC is an international community of experts in educational technology, and the advisory board included key writers, thinkers, technologists and futurists from education, business, and industry, and were chosen to represent a broad spectrum of the higher education sector. The report has 3 sections, the first dealing with what is going on in higher education right now, the second lists out specific challenges that higher education is facing because of these technologies. However, the bulk of the report consists of the technologies to watch. Six are identified, but they are broken out into Near-Term Horizon (within the next 12 months), Mid-Term Horizon (2-3 years out) and Far-term horizon (4-5 years out).

Near-term: Mobile apps and tablet computing

Most higher educational institutions are commissioning their own mobile apps, and classes are being offered on building these apps, from designing, developmentation of, and marketing of them. Tablet computing is also on the rise, from iPads and Galaxy Tabs to Nooks and Kindles. Their touchscreens, large displays, and portability make tablets ideal devices for one-on-one learning and even fieldwork. Many universities are already conducting in-depth studies with tablet programs to measure their outcomes.

Mid-term: Game-based learning and Learning Analytics

We have already seen examples of Game-based learning. Many of our colleagues across the state have been working to integrate games into information literacy learning. One notable example is Goblin Threat, a game centered on the theme of plagiarism, from Lycoming College. The report mentions several such games across this country and internationally. Learning analytics is about analyzing the wealth of student information in a way that would allow for schools to make informed “adjustments” to a student’s learning experience, but in a way that is more robust and nuanced than what we currently do. The report states that “the goal of learning analytics is to enable teachers and schools to tailor educational opportunities to each student’s level of need and ability in close-to-real time.”

Far-term: Gesture based computing and the “Internet of Things”

Gesture-based computing consists of the way we touch and interact with our technology. Our mousepads and phone/tablet screens have the ability to track our touch, pressure, and number of fingers used. The report mentions several ways this technology is taken further, by using only subtle hand movements and arm gestures, sometimes even facial gestures, can be used in control devices. Voice recognition is to be a part of this as well. The Internet of Things is part of the evolution of smart objects, which the line between the physical object and digital information is blurred. This is still more of a concept, not a reality as yet.

We urge you to read the full report, as it provides further reading on each of the technologies to watch, and let us know what you think.

Take a brief survey and have a chance to win an iPad3!

March 21, 2012

by jennluksa92

The College and Research Division (CRD) of the Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) is surveying both members and non-members to learn how we can make CRD membership more valuable through increased opportunities for involvement. We would appreciate your taking 10-15 minutes to answer the survey questions and give us your feedback.

In appreciation for your time and effort, the CRD Board is offering a prize. Anyone completing the survey may enter his/her name in a drawing* at the end of the survey to win a new Apple iPad3!

Click here to begin the survey:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EWB8AG6HS

The survey ends Saturday, March 31, 2012.

*Only one entry per person, and current CRD Board members are not eligible to win.

Please contact Jenn Luksa, if you have any questions.

Jennifer V. Luksa, Membership Liaison, PaLA-CRD
Head of Collection Resource Management
Bevevino Library
Misericordia University
Dallas, PA 18612
jsluzele@misericordia.edu

Writing a Research Article

March 14, 2012

by vlynn1

Have you ever thought about doing research in a particular area of librarianship? It seems a bit daunting, a bit overwhelming. There are so many variables to consider. What do I want to research? Is there any published literature on this topic? Do I want to collaborate with colleagues? How will I design the study? How will I analyze the study data? Where will I publish the results?

As someone who loves structure and lists, here are some helpful tips to consider when designing and submitting a research article for publication:

Select a topic that interests you, a topic related to your field of librarianship (e.g. technology, instruction, reference, cataloging, leadership).
Consider collaborating with colleagues. They can bring insight and experience, especially to the novice researcher. But choose your team members carefully. Select colleagues with whom you have worked on a number of projects.
Perform a literature search. This will not only identify the published information but will also help you detect gaps in the literature.
Construct a hypothesis. Be specific.
Decide where you would like to publish the results. If you’re unsure where to publish, ask colleagues about the most appropriate peer reviewed journals. Don’t forget to review journals impact factors.
Work with a statistician. The statistician will review your hypothesis, study design, methodology, results, and conclusions. Statisticians are invaluable members of the research team.
Design your study. The study can be qualitative in nature or quantitative. Review the different kinds of study designs and data collection methodologies. If you will be collecting data from individuals then you must contact your organizations institutional review board.
Implement the study.
Analyze the data. The statistician will identify statistically significant findings from the study.
Write the article.
Review the article.
Submit the article for publication.
Revise the article per reviewers’ recommendations. If your article is rejected consider submitting it to another journal.

While the process may seem formidable its rewards are great. As my grandmother used to say, “the hardest part is getting started.”

Understanding Our Students

March 9, 2012

tags: non-traditional students, nsse, traditional students

by mlpatrick

Awareness and understanding of students’ motivations, attitudes, and engagement, as well their habits for class, research, and study are important and helpful elements in the toolkits of academic librarians. I am confident that librarians would agree on the notion that when we keep in mind the diverse facets of our students, we are better able to assist them. As we interact at the reference desk, in the library, in the classroom, on campus, and in cyberspace, the information and intuitions acquired from our personal experiences with students and from our professional training can further our effectiveness. National student surveys are yet another device at our disposal to enhance our efforts to help students.

This week, I was reviewing the NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) Annual Results 2011 survey, Fostering Student Engagement Campuswide—Annual Results 2011. The 2011 Survey results emphasize: “The central message is that providing opportunities, activities, and environments supportive of learning and student success is a concern that should permeate the campus” (p. 5). Academic libraries and librarians are an integral part of the students’ campus experience.

For academic librarians, the 2011 NSSE results provide interesting data; for example:

15 hours per week is the average study time for seniors.
88% of freshmen and 86% of seniors indicated that they took “careful” class notes but only two-thirds of all students reviewed their notes frequently.
70% of the students indicated that they asked for assistance to understand the course material (p. 10).

To access detailed and specific statistical data quickly, the website also provides the Summary Tables and the NSSE Report Builder. The current Study’s online data variables include: gender, first generation, race/ethnicity, and distance-education status. Two variable criteria that I wish would have been included are the data variables of the non-traditional-age students and the traditional-age students. I frequently work with non-traditional students and am keenly aware that there are marked differences between them and traditional-age college students.

In the NSSE narrative report, I did notice a table of related interest, “Table 10: Percentage of Students Who Participated in High-Impact Practices by Institution and Student Characteristics” (p. 22). Within the table, under “Age,” two of the row categories are “under 24 years” and “24 years and older.” Two major column groupings are “First-Year Students” and “Seniors.” Not surprisingly, in every “High-Impact Practice” area, students 24 years and older indicated a lower percentage of participation in activities such as “learning community,” “service learning,” and “internship/practicum” (p. 22). No wonder—non-traditional college students usually have so much transpiring in their lives that their time and focus are understandably constrained.

Whatever aspects, activities, or variables we choose to use, I believe that if we keep in mind information such as the data collected from NSSE and other national surveys, academic librarians will be better prepared to design our classroom/online instruction and handle reference desk inquiries. Even more importantly, knowledge and appreciation of student engagement, concerns, and behaviors can serve to better our personal interactions with students and contribute to the above-described NSSE concern that academic institutions need to provide a supportive learning environment for all students on our campuses.