Effective use of communication and information technology: Bridging the skills gap

There is a revolutionary culture change taking place within higher education in the United Kingdom. Part of this change is the adoption of new communication and information technologies (C&IT), such as the World Wide Web (WWW), for teaching, learning and assessment. Many academics have limited experience of the WWW for teaching and learning and perceive that the use of new technologies involves transferring traditional teaching methods into an electronic format, with no regard for the underlying pedagogical implications. Our current research with teaching staff has given insight into essential skills and competencies required to empower the use of C&IT bearing in mind the importance of the underlying pedagogy. In this paper we present an analysis of research carried out with academic staff members to determine the nature of staff and student skills needs regarding the use of C&IT in teaching and learning. This analysis is followed by a case study of how these findings were incorporated into the development and implementation of a staff development programme aimed at encouraging innovative teaching at the University of Strathclyde

Courseware in academic library user education: a literature review from the GAELS Joint Electronic Library project

The use of courseware for information skills teaching in academic libraries has been growing for a number of years. The GAELS project was required to create a set of learning materials to support Joint Electronic Library activity at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities and conducted a literature review of the subject. This review discovered a range of factors common to successful library courseware implementations, such as the need for practitioners to feel a sense of ownership of the medium, a need for courseware customization to local information environments, and an emphasis on training packages for large bodies of undergraduates. However, we also noted underdeveloped aspects worthy of further attention, such as treatment of pedagogic issues in library CAL implementations and use of hypertextual learning materials for more advanced information skills training. We suggest ways of improving library teaching practice and further areas of research

Surfing or drowning? Student nurses’ Internet skills

The ability to use the Internet is an essential skill for nursing students, both to support their studies, especially as nursing students spend a lot of their time in placements away from the university campus, and to support their development of skills in using what is becoming an increasingly essential tool for professionals. A study at Bournemouth University, England, found that new student nurses had poor Internet skills and were not frequent users prior to starting the course. No link was found between the students’ ages and their Internet use or skills. A clear link was however found between ability and frequency of use, except in relationship to the students’ ability to conduct an effective search. Almost half of the respondents said that they find far too much irrelevant information when searching for information on the Internet. Given the importance of Information and Technology skills to nurses, both as lifelong learners and as competent practitioners and to nursing students throughout their pre-registration education, the inclusion of a programme to ensure that they develop these skills during their pre-registration education is essential

Surfing or drowning? Student nurses’ Internet skills

The ability to use the Internet is an essential skill for nursing students, both to support their studies, especially as nursing students spend a lot of their time in placements away from the university campus, and to support their development of skills in using what is becoming an increasingly essential tool for professionals. A study at Bournemouth University, England, found that new student nurses had poor Internet skills and were not frequent users prior to starting the course. No link was found between the students’ ages and their Internet use or skills. A clear link was however found between ability and frequency of use, except in relationship to the students’ ability to conduct an effective search. Almost half of the respondents said that they find far too much irrelevant information when searching for information on the Internet. Given the importance of Information and Technology skills to nurses, both as lifelong learners and as competent practitioners and to nursing students throughout their pre-registration education, the inclusion of a programme to ensure that they develop these skills during their pre-registration education is essential

Name It and Claim It: Cross-Campus Collaborations for Community-Based Learning

This article describes the value of cross-campus collaborations for community-based learning. We argue that community-based learning both provides unique opportunities for breaking academic silos and invites campus partnerships to make ambitious projects possible. To illustrate, we describe a course Writing for Social Justice that involved created videos for our local YWCA\u27s Racial Justice Program. We begin by discussing the shared value of collaboration across writing studies and librarianship (our disciplinary orientations). We identify four forms of cross-campus collaboration, which engaged us in working with each other, with our community partner, and with other partners across campus. From there, we visualize a timeline, turning from the why of cross-campus collaborations to the how. Finally, we underscore the need to name and claim--to value and cultivate--cross-campus collaborations for community-based learning

E/Valuating new media in language development

This paper addresses the need for a new approach to the educational evaluation of software that falls under the rubric "new media" or "multimedia" as distinct from previous generations of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) software. The authors argue that present approaches to CALL software evaluation are not appropriate for a new genre of CALL software distinguished by its shared assumptions about language learning and teaching as well as by its technical design. The paper sketches a research-based program called "E/Valuation" that aims to assist language educators to answer questions about the educational effectiveness of recent multimedia language learning software. The authors suggest that such program needs to take into account not only the nature of the new media and its potential to promote language learning in novel ways, but also current professional knowledge about language learning and teaching

Developing students' information and research skills via Blackboard

This paper summarizes work undertaken at De Montfort University (Leicester, UK) to develop students’ information and research skills using the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment. It outlines how a traditionally delivered and assessed program was reviewed and revised in order to produce a blended learning experience for students. The librarians involved undertook this project with students from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences during March/April 2005, teaching two groups in parallel--one group using Blackboard and another using the traditional teaching method. Both groups were given a diagnostic evaluation to gauge their confidence levels with both information skills and using Blackboard, and to obtain their perceptions of their experiences. Both groups underwent a formal summative assessment with one group using Blackboard and the control group having a paper-based assignment. The Blackboard sessions were very popular with students and this method of teaching has subsequently been extended to other modules within the university. Students appeared to be more motivated and appreciated the constant availability of the learning materials. This project was the first example within the university of students undertaking a formal online assessment using Blackboard, and the librarians received a Curriculum Development and Innovation Award. The work was subsequently disseminated within the university, where it was well receive