This is a very interesting discussion for us. I'm a librarian and we
start teaching our first year students about using Zotero (free and
easier in many ways for undergrads) from their second term. We try and
package it up as 'just a tool' that we use within the context of
teaching other skills. So it's not what is promoted, but just an
underlying theme throughout a teaching session.
The comment on teaching things too early is relevant, but only so far.
Conversations with students have made me realise that they default very
very quickly to their current 'known' managing landscape in times of
crises (75% of students' survey comments to us about what they feel
their greatest skill 'need' is usually revolves around time management)
- crisis management is very likely to be something along the lines of
dumping references into their word document as they're writing an essay,
or scribbling them on bits of paper. No real problem with that if it
works for them (after all it IS a strategy!), but as they move through
the system and there is more and more information they need to look
after they feel that they have already 'managed' so far and see the need
less and less for using a tool to help.
So, I have reverted to thinking that actually - yes, catch them early if
possible. It may help to set useful work habits for the future.
Libby Tilley
Faculty Librarian
On 16/05/2014 18:56, Helen Beetham wrote:
> In my interviews with students about which technologies have been
> 'threshold' ones for them, referencing software often comes up. An
> important realisation seems to be that referencing software doesn't just
> allow you to get referencing right, it can also allow you to start
> building up your own conceptual map of the subject area - and to share
> it. Students often wish that they had started using such systems
> regularly at an earlier point in their studies.
>
> However, I do wonder about introducing these systems too early, when
> students are just working out what it means to reference and want to get
> it 'right' with the minimum effort. There tend to be a lot of tools
> crammed into the first few weeks of study and not used regularly enough
> after that to embed the learning - and Endnote along with the more
> social referencing tools have quite a steep learning curve. Especially
> if you are not already familiar with the purposes and conventions of
> referencing. So - with very limited first hand experience of teaching
> such tools - from the perspective of student interviews I feel that this
> might be something to introduce when they are ready to take a step up in
> their academic learning. An early-stage alternative could be to get
> students sharing references using a bookmark or reference sharing
> service. In my experience this is a more familiar activity, it embeds
> the idea that sharing academic resources is not only permitted but
> encouraged, and it gets at the essence of referencing which is
> acknowledging and accurately reproducing a source. I also wonder whether
> third year and postgraduate students - talking about how they choose and
> use referencing software, and how useful it has been to them - could
> support learning advisers and library staff with this task. By PGT level
> there is a very wide range of practices and services in use.
>
> Helen
>
>
> Helen Beetham
> Consultant in Higher Education
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> twitter helenbeetham
> skype helenb33
>
> On 16 May 2014, at 15:34, "Holley, Debbie" <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
>> Just to completely agree with Jacqui - I teach a third year
>> dissertation preparation module - and show the students how to use
>> REFworks, with support from the librarian but also modelled by me in
>> class. Students complain that they weren't taught this from year one -
>> academic writing is best supported by all of us!
>>
>> Debbie
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On 16 May 2014, at 14:58, "Jacqui A Bartram" <[log in to unmask]
>> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Paul
>>>
>>> In our previous role as ICT Learning Advisers, my colleague Trish
>>> Challans and I have worked collaboratively with 2 academic areas to
>>> provide training to their first year undergraduates in using
>>> bibliographic software (both EndNote and Refworks at different
>>> times). This was embedded into core modules and took the form of
>>> timetabled 1 or 2 hr training sessions in a large computer lab. In
>>> the case of one department, students had to evidence their use of the
>>> software in at least one assignment by providing a screen shot of
>>> their library as an appendix to their first essay. To be perfectly
>>> honest though, I am not sure how many of the students ever used it
>>> beyond then. As with learning any new technology, it often seems to
>>> take longer initially and be more inconvenient to use the software
>>> than to reference manually. They would have needed to use it
>>> regularly to see its true benefits.
>>>
>>> Since our change of job role, we no longer teach directly on academic
>>> modules and I am sad to say that neither department has continued to
>>> offer this training. The assessment requirement has been dropped
>>> accordingly. It always surprises me that even though many academics
>>> recognise the need for their students to develop these skills, they
>>> are often unwilling to learn to use them themselves (in order to
>>> support the skills development within their own departments). They
>>> still see this sort of training as something that it is easier to
>>> leave to others if possible.
>>>
>>> We now offer both EndNote and RefWorks training as part of our open
>>> access workshop programme. Despite this being open to all students
>>> and staff, I would guess about 90% of attendees are postgraduate or
>>> early career researchers, with only the odd one or two being first
>>> year undergraduates.
>>>
>>> I do think this is an area that we can promote more to first years,
>>> they need to be concentrating on why they reference and when to cite
>>> rather than the technical details of where a colon goes.
>>>
>>> Kindest regards
>>>
>>> Jacqui
>>>
>>> *Jacqui Bartram
>>> *Skills Adviser, Skills Team
>>>
>>> University of Hull, HU6 7RX
>>>
>>> <image001.jpg>
>>>
>>> *From:*learning development in higher education network
>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *PAUL BREEN
>>> *Sent:* 15 May 2014 13:41
>>> *To:* [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>>> *Subject:* Use of Endnote with new undergraduate students
>>>
>>> Dear LDHEN members,
>>>
>>> I would like to know if anyone has experience of using Endnote with
>>> first year undergraduates or students on Foundation courses
>>> progressing to undergraduate studies. My college is talking about
>>> introducing this and from the perspective of teaching students basic
>>> writing and research skills, I wonder whether there is a danger with
>>> undergraduates that the perception is that because it's there they
>>> will be able to use it, and what measures you could introduce to
>>> ensure that students still get the required training through the
>>> pedagogy rather than simply the provision of the technology. I think
>>> sometimes the danger is that there's an assumption that providing
>>> technology alone will give rise to the skills that are part of the
>>> academic literacy required for higher educational studies i.e.
>>> because Endnote can enhance referencing, research and writing when
>>> used correctly, students will develop these skills by usage alone.
>>>
>>> So if anyone has any ideas how we complement the technology with the
>>> associated training in how to use it, or experience of introducing
>>> Endnote into a new undergraduate context I would be glad to hear from
>>> them.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Paul
>>>
>>
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--
Elizabeth Tilley MA, MCLIP, FHEA
Librarian
Faculty of English
University of Cambridge
9 West Road
Cambridge
CB3 9DP
Direct line: 01223 767296
http://lib.english.cam.ac.uk/
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