Academic libraries and learning support in the electronic environment

Learning and teaching techniques are changing in the new electronic environment. Students are asked to gather information from different sources, most of them in electronic formats. Libraries have to adapt their buildings and services to meet their users needs continuously. Amongst the means librarians have included to support learning are electronic based information and learning resources, a better provision of IT technologies, working environments for different types of learning, digital reference services, information literacy skills and the possibility of accessing all these facilities, resources and services at any time. The conclusion indicates that librarians should continuously improve electronic information and learning resources, as well as discovering new ways to approach students

INSPIRAL: investigating portals for information resources and learning. Final project report

INSPIRAL's aims were to identify and analyse, from the perspective of the UK HE learner, the nontechnical, institutional and end-user issues with regard to linking VLEs and digital libraries, and to make recommendations for JISC strategic planning and investment. INSPIRAL's objectives -To identify key stakeholders with regard to the linkage of VLEs, MLEs and digital libraries -To identify key stakeholder forum points and dissemination routes -To identify the relevant issues, according to the stakeholders and to previous research, pertaining to the interaction (both possible and potential) between VLEs/MLEs and digital libraries -To critically analyse identified issues, based on stakeholder experience and practice; output of previous and current projects; and prior and current research -To report back to JISC and to the stakeholder communities, with results situated firmly within the context of JISC's strategic aims and objectives

Peripatetic electronic teachers in higher education

This paper explores the idea of information and communications technology providing a medium enabling higher education teachers to act as freelance agents. The notion of a ‘Peripatetic Electronic Teacher’ (PET) is introduced to encapsulate this idea. PETs would exist as multiple telepresences (pedagogical, professional, managerial and commercial) in PET‐worlds; global networked environments which support advanced multimedia features. The central defining rationale of a pedagogical presence is described in detail and some implications for the adoption of the PET‐world paradigm are discussed. The ideas described in this paper were developed by the author during a recently completed Short‐Term British Telecom Research Fellowship, based at the BT Adastral Park

Profiling and understanding student information behaviour: Methodologies and meaning

This paper draws on work conducted under the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) User Behaviour Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to identify a range of issues associated with research design that can form a platform for enquiry about knowledge creation in the arena of user behaviour. The Framework has developed a multidimensional set of tools for profiling, monitoring and evaluating user behaviour. The Framework has two main approaches: one, a broad‐based survey which generates both a qualitative and a quantitative profile of user behaviour, and the other a longitudinal qualitative study of user behaviour that (in addition to providing in‐depth insights) is the basis for the development of the EIS (Electronic Information Services) Diagnostic Toolkit. The strengths and weaknesses of the Framework approach are evaluated. In the context of profiling user behaviour, key methodological concerns relate to: representativeness, sampling and access, the selection of appropriate measures and the interpretation of those measures. Qualitative approaches are used to generate detailed insights. These include detailed narratives, case study analysis and gap analysis. The messages from this qualitative analysis do not lend themselves to simple summarization. One approach that has been employed to capture and interpret these messages is the development of the EIS Diagnostic Toolkit. This toolkit can be used to assess and monitor an institution's progress with embedding EIS into learning processes. Finally, consideration must be given to integration of insights generated through different strands within the Framework

The Collective Building of Knowledge in Collaborative Learning Environments

The intention of this chapter is to investigate how collaborative learning environments (CLEs) can be used to elicit the collective building of knowledge. This work discusses CLEs as lively cognitive systems and looks at some strategies that might contribute to the improvement of significant pedagogical practices. The study is supported by rhizome principles, whose characteristics allow us to understand the process of selecting and connecting what is relevant and meaningful for the collective building of knowledge. A brief theoretical and conceptual approach is presented and major contributions and difficulties about collaborative learning environments are discussed. New questions and future trends about the collective building of knowledge are suggested

Editors’ Introduction

When we commissioned the authors to write for our book we anticipated that these practitioners, operating at the forefront of their respective fields, would stimulate and provoke debate about academic libraries now and in the future. When we read the chapters as they were delivered we were not disappointed. We hope the reader will be struck by two seemingly disparate aspects of their content. On the one hand each chapter is highly individual, not only in style and content, but also in approach and reflection. On the other hand common themes emerge: notably the opportunity afforded by technology (especially mobile technology), the importance of training and development for library staff, and evaluation, as well as the interdependence of teaching and research and the role technology plays in bringing these even closer together. To focus these synergies and differences we decided to use word clouds to introduce each chapter. As we ran each chapter through Wordle[1] we saw themes and patterns emerging; we hope that readers of the book will find this a useful and stimulating contribution to each chapter and the book as a whole. A word cloud for the entire book has been created for the cover, demonstrating in a very graphic way the breadth and depth of the content

Space time pixels

This paper reports the design of a networked system, the aim of which is to provide an intermediate virtual space that will establish a connection and support interaction between multiple participants in two distant physical spaces. The intention of the project is to explore the potential of the digital space to generate original social relationships between people that their current (spatial or social) position can difficultly allow the establishment of innovative connections. Furthermore, to explore if digital space can sustain, in time, low-level connections like these, by balancing between the two contradicting needs of communication and anonymity. The generated intermediate digital space is a dynamic reactive environment where time and space information of two physical places is superimposed to create a complex common ground where interaction can take place. It is a system that provides awareness of activity in a distant space through an abstract mutable virtual environment, which can be perceived in several different ways – varying from a simple dynamic background image to a common public space in the junction of two private spaces or to a fully opened window to the other space – according to the participants will. The thesis is that the creation of an intermediary environment that operates as an activity abstraction filter between several users, and selectively communicates information, could give significance to the ambient data that people unconsciously transmit to others when co-existing. It can therefore generate a new layer of connections and original interactivity patterns; in contrary to a straight-forward direct real video and sound system, that although it is functionally more feasible, it preserves the existing social constraints that limit interaction into predefined patterns

Fostering a community of scholars at the University of Warwick : the Wolfson Research Exchange

This paper focuses on the University of Warwick’s Wolfson Research Exchange which opened in October 2008. It describes the varied environment that the facility offers to Warwick’s research community, and explores the service model provided. The new approaches to learning space design and the students’ expectations which informed and influenced the Research Exchange’s creation (as well as its ongoing service development) are also discussed. This case study provides an overview of the Research Exchange’s developments, successes and lessons learnt which could be applicable to other institutions exploring dedicated spaces and support for their research communities