Matt has voiced views I have heard many times (indeed I said some very
similar things a couple of years ago)
It is great that these valid points are discussed and that those making use
of IS training packages are aware of the pitfalls and the solutions others
have developed.
So in reply to the disadvantages Matt identifies:-
1) they deflect students from direct interaction with Library staff;
It is possible to be creative in delivering web based IS training materials
and they don't have to supplant face to face teaching anyway- they can be
used to support the Informations Skills sessions run by the library staff.
As mentioned in some responses already they are a great support to distance
learners or to those students who spend time away from the institution on
work placements (e.g. nurses).
2)they give an illusion of service provision but in fact are rarely used;
This is where the collaboration between academic teaching staff and the
library comes to the fore. If these computer based IS materials are integral
with the delivery of teaching then they will be used.
The use of VLEs is providing an opportunity for us librarians - if we get in
there- to collaborate and embed the IS stuff in completely new ways.
And the new ways are not necessarily those proposed by
librarians....academic staff may start to have a stake in these IS
materials.
If they are being used then word gets around and take-up increases.
3) they consume resources and time which might better be used in
non-computer mediated environments - teaching;
IF THEY HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED IN SUCH A WAY THAT RE-PURPOSING IS QUICK AND
EASY then the time and resources spent in their production may be worth it.
4) they are for the most part iterative and difficult to contextualise in
any meaningful way to a specific subject, course or group of students
As suggested above if the IS materials are constructed in such a way that
re-editing and customising is quick and easy then individual
institutions/librarians will be able to create their own contextualised
resources.
(see the work being undertaken by the INHALE Project
http://inhale.hud.ac.uk)
5) they play to our strengths - we can create them, list them and organise
them - but exaggerate our weaknesses, a reluctance to force the issue of
Librarians as teachers of information skills in the curriculum however that
might be formulated.
Creating the climate for a constructive dialogue to occur is not an issue of
force rather one of discussing common ground. If we have something to offer
then it might be accepted- it might not. My experience is that it isn't
necessarily the formal route that is successful but the informal chat that
sets in motion a dialogue that develops a relationship that facilitates a
way to getting something going...
Jenny Brook
Project Director
The INHALE Project
University of Huddersfield
http://inhale.hud.ac.uk
From: Matt Holland [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 21 February 2002 19:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Computer-mediated packages as a displacement activity
Dear Colleagues,
It occurs to me that the focus on computer-mediated training i.e. web
tutorials for information skills is a displacement activity. Despite the
advantages here are some of the disadvantages: 1) they deflect students
from direct interaction with Library staff; 2) they give an illusion of
service provision but in fact are rarely used; 3) they consume resources
and time which might better be used in non-computer mediated environments -
teaching; 4) they are for the most part iterative and difficult to
contextualise in any meaningful way to a specific subject, course or group
of students 5) they play to our strengths - we can create them, list them
and organise them - but exaggerate our weaknesses, a reluctance to force
the issue of Librarians as teachers of information skills in the curriculum
however that might be formulated. Thoughts ...
Matt
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