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Online Library Instruction in a Crisis

Email

Even sending an email that a professor can forward to students can help students feel supported through the research process! Remember, less is more. Be empathetic, offer the one or two most important resources that students will need to be successful, and tell students how they can contact you and what to expect when they do.

LibGuides and Resource Sheets

Remember, less is more. What are the top three resources and strategies students need to know in order to be successful in their assignments? Point to existing resources where possible or pull together mapped boxes from other guides into a course-specific LibGuide. You might even create a Google doc that can be shared with students and faculty.

 

Guides with reusable content

Interactive Tutorials

The process of creating a new LibWizard tutorial can be quite labor-intensive and requires extensive testing before releasing to students. Here are some tutorials that have already been created and tested. Contact Helen Cawley if you have questions about LibWizard.

 

Tutorials that are ready for adoption

Screen Capture

Informal voice-over videos can be useful as supplemental instruction materials. Keep videos short and provide alternate access to the content in a static, text-focused document to make sure the important information is accessible to all students (in terms of both disability and bandwidth).

 

Screen capture tools

Discussion Forums

Sakai includes a forums tool that allows for asynchronous discussion. A professor can add you as a guest or librarian so that you can participate in the forums. Note: Reading and responding to forum discussions can take longer than expected.

 

Sample forum formats

Ask a Librarian (informal, open Q&A). This gives students a chance to ask questions within the context of their class and share both questions and answers with classmates. Anna suggests posting an introduction as the opening prompt or forum description: who you (the librarian) are, that you’re here to help students be successful in their research projects, maybe a sample question or two that students might have, and how long/how often you will be monitoring the forum (you may want to turn on notifications for the topic so that you see new posts in your email). Encourage students to post their own questions as discussion posts and respond to their classmates with strategies that have helped them.

Research reflection (formal, assigned discussion). This type of format would require more writing and responding to others - good for peer learning and individual interaction with all students, but also time-consuming for both the librarian and students. A sample prompt might be something along the lines of, “Tell us about your topic and the search strategies you have used so far. What is one thing that is working well and one place you are running into roadblocks? Respond to at least one of your classmates with a strategy that might help them overcome their roadblocks. The librarian will jump in with additional suggestions.”

Synchronous Research Consultations

Use Google Calendar appointment slots to make it easy for students to find a time to meet with you. You can set up the appointment block as a Zoom meeting or you can add Zoom information to individual meetings once students have claimed an appointment slot.

Instruction via Zoom

Meeting synchronously can help maintain a sense of community for students but remember that not all students may be able to participate live. See An Introduction to Teaching Online with Zoom to learn the basics of using Zoom.

 

Strategies

  • Share your screen to show students how you are navigating online resources. Use annotation tools (particularly the spotlight/arrow tool) to draw students' attention to particular parts of the screen.
  • Use breakout rooms for small group discussion. Ask students to use virtual whiteboards (remember to save!!) or Google docs you've set up in advance to capture the gist of their conversations.
  • Sometimes using chat for discussions is easier than navigating the muting/unmuting of multiple participants, particularly with large classes.
  • Make use of nonverbal feedback. Ask participants to "raise their hand" to speak, particularly with large classes or when multiple people try to speak at once. Use yes/no or thumbs up/down for quick, informal polling.
  • Set up Zoom polls in advance or use the chat to share the link to polls / free-response questions created in Google Forms, Mentimeter, or other live polling sites. If using external polling, share your screen to show the results.