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Julie Hannaford, OISE LibraryCristina Sewerin, Engineering &
Computer Science LibraryUniversity of Toronto
Allows for easy content development ◦ Each level has its own pre-determined template
Content can be tailored to particular assignments and courses
First step toward creating learning objects that are responsive and more robust
Modules are collaborative ◦ Librarians can work in partnership with faculty to
develop content for courses/assignments
Good library instruction “is best received when it is course-related, and specifically assignment-related” – Dewald, 1999
Effective e-learning content needs to be integrated into course components – Kumar & Kush, 2006
Key features of effective online learning: flexible, active, constructive, collaborative, contextual – Bridgland & Blanchard, 2001
Need for teaching concepts, not just “mechanics” – Dewald, 1999
PRIMO: Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online Database: http://www.ala.org/apps/primo/public/search.cfm
ANTS: Animated Tutorial Sharing Project: http://ants.wetpaint.com/
TILT: Texas Information Literacy Tutorial: http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/ ◦ No longer available effective August 14, 2009
Go for the Gold, James Madison University: http://www.lib.jmu.edu/gold/default.aspx
Colorado State Universities: http://lib.colostate.edu/tutorials/ ◦ See Boolean Searching example
For the content developer, we recognized the need for:◦ Easily adaptable and modifiable learning objects
Need to support a range of subject/course specific content
◦ Need for low cost and no need for programming when building and adapting content
◦ Need for system that would be scalable
For the learner/student, we found that existing online tutorials were often:
◦ Static, generic, or focused on a single subject area
◦ Did not offer a flexible learning environment Did not offer varying levels of complexity
◦ Did not offer a responsive learning environment Students could not choose the level they wanted to
start at, move to or skip
Identify and address critical stages in the process of research and writing/foundational skills related to information literacy – where do students most need support?
Support need for flexibility/promote learner autonomy: learners have varying levels of experience, therefore modules need to accommodate this range
Facilitate transferability to course assignment tasks: modules need to directly support students in their course-related efforts
Ensure disciplinary relevance: support the wide range of disciplines with their varying sets of rules, values and traditions◦ PICO versus the 5Ws
Create pedagogically sound modules with appropriate feedback mechanisms
Avoid redundancy
grant award: Information Technology Courseware Development Fund (ITCDF), University of Toronto
collaborative: tri-campus library initiative
Hardware: Apache Tomcat – JSP Java PHP – version 5+ MySQL database Flash PluginSoftware: PHP or JSP Flash application Flash video
mySQL relational combined with PHP programming
each module has own set of dedicated tables
keeps data separate
allows for easy retrieval when using SQL statements
Author Mode content is developed exercises created records selected for use in a course
End User Mode records that were
selected by the author are displayed for anyone using the modules
After logging in and selecting their course, authors may create, edit and save data to the db
This is where the bulk of the work is done
Authors select records to be used in a course
can select any record developed by other authors in other courses
This is a powerful feature in the RE:search modules - authors don’t necessarily have to create content
They can simply select whatever records they need for their course
Records that were selected by the author are displayed
e.g.,authors have created a total of 29 records for this module and level
…this author has created and/or selected 4 records to be used for this particular course
AUTHOR selects a record to be used in a course
END USER selectsa courseand module
data is written to the course content table, which acts like an index page
record is retrievedfrom the correspondingtables and displayed to end user
application looks incourse contenttable to findwhich records to use
Users speak their thoughts as they perform a task
focus on how effectively a user performs the required tasks
verbalizations useful: ◦ understand mistakes ◦ Identify possible causes ◦ Identify possible improvements
five student subjects from range of disciplinestested end user view only
students used words such as “plain, straightforward, neat, and organized” “would not expect a library website to be very attractive!”
appreciated task specific feedback, disliked ‘generic’ feedback
appreciated modulated or amusing feedback
drag & drop functionality: “cool, fun”
appreciated interactivity, ability to ‘play’
comment positively on the use of external websites: practical, ‘more real’ : one subject said that it opened her mind to valid online resources
Students responded positively to the feedback display that allowed them to directly compare their response with the ideal response
“really really loved this level [in one of the modules] “it tells you what to look for”
“useful if the student were highly motivated to learn about research skills, otherwise it is unlikely [they] would complete it with close attention”
one student found it an inefficient tool with too many unnecessary steps. If he had to complete this he would be stressed out and frustrated
“a good and useful tool: even as a 4th year student, there is still info that is helpful and engaging”
Limited # of courses - fall 2009, winter 2010:OISE (education faculty)Engineering at St. George campusScarborough campusMississauga campus
Assessment using focus groups
Meet accessibility requirements and re-testUTORid authenticationTraining for UofT librariansSCORM compliancy
we welcome sharing and co-development opportunities with other institutions contact project leader Sheril Hook, sheril.hook@utoronto.,ca, if you want to work with us
we do have special areas we'd like to see developed, though: accessibility, SCORM compliancy
Project Manager: Sheril Hook
Storyboarders & Content Developers:◦ Sarah Fedko◦ Julie Hannaford◦ Sheril Hook◦ Cristina Sewerin◦ Jeff Newman
Pedagogical Reviewer: Dr. Debbie Donsky
Instructional Multimedia Designer Michael Murphy-Boyer
Graphic Designer: Amanda Wagner Usability Coordination: Cristina Sewerin
Usability Assistant: Monica Rettig