The Ideal Qualities and Tasks of Library Leaders: Perspectives of Academic, Public, School, and Special Library Administrators

Our study examines the results of 114 interviews with academic, public, school media, and special library administrators collected over a one-year period in North Carolina. Preliminary results suggest that there is a core set of traits shared by administrators across libraries although some variation occurs depending on library environment. Implications center on the ability to inform degree preparation programs and practice by identifying primary qualities of library administration in general and specific to academic, public, school library, and special libraries

Information-Seeking Behavior and Reference Medium Preferences

The article looks at the differences in information seeking behavior among faculty, staff, and students at a university in the southeastern United States and what it means for library reference support strategies. The number of individuals using public and academic libraries for information is increasing, the article states, which means that librarians must assess their practices and services through studying user preferences. According to the study of university staff and students, most participants preferred face-to-face interaction for reference help, but technology such as email was preferred over phone calls and online chats. Other topics covered include demographic influence, gender differences, and convenience factors

Designing a Responsive e-Learning Infrastructure: Systemic Change in Higher Education [Slides]

Slides from a presentation delivered at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Annual Conference, November 5th -8th, Jacksonville, FL."A mid-sized university in the southeastern US is preparing for increased e-Learning opportunities. Following a systematic process utilizing systems thinking, the e-Learning needs of the university were analyzed using mixed methods...

School Librarians and Web Usability: Why Would I Want to Use That?

The usability of a statewide curriculum website was evaluated involving 876 participants. Site usage differed based on user group and overall site content and relevance was found to be good along with high levels of satisfaction with graphic design. Usability problems with ease-of-use, however, were identified leading to the suggestion that many potential users do not use the site because of difficulty finding the information they are looking for. Implications of the research center on the articulation of a usability evaluation framework that could be generalized for testing the usability of other websites as well as redesign considerations for the site examined for the study

To Flash Or Not To Flash? Usability And User Engagement Of HTML Vs. Flash.

Of the many challenges facing developers of museum Web sites, usability and engagement rank high. Many developers have adopted Macromedia Flash as a useful tool that allows greater interactivity and multimedia compared to HTML pages. This paper reports on a comparative evaluation of Flash and HTML versions of a single site, focusing on user information-seeking goals, behavior, and responses to each version of the site. We then compare the two versions based on holding power, time on task, user satisfaction, and qualitative interviews. Testing found notable differences between the two versions of the site, and between youth and adult tester groups. The results provide valuable insights into the relative strengths and weaknesses of Flash and HTML. While we cannot draw broad conclusions from a single case study, these data can help us begin the discussion around developing preliminary standards and basic frameworks for suggesting rationales for choosing Flash or HTML in a number of typical situations facing museum Web developers

The Impact of Computer Augmented Online Learning and Assessment

The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of an experimental online learning tool on student performance. By applying cognitive load theory to online learning, the experimental tool used was designed to minimize cognitive load during the instructional and learning process. This tool enabled students to work with programming code that was supplemented with instructor descriptions and feedback, embedded directly within the code while maintaining the original integrity of the coding environment. A sample of 24 online graduate students at a southeastern university were randomly assigned to four groups: Group 1 (Control group), Group 2 (Assessment group: the tool was used to provide feedback on student work), Group 3 (Lecture group: the tool was used to describe examples of code provided in lectures), and Group 4 (Total tool group: the tool was used to provide feedback on student work as well as describe examples of code in lectures). Student learning was measured via analysis of six online quizzes. While provision of tool-facilitated feedback alone did not appear to enhance student learning, the results indicate that students performed best when they had the opportunity to view examples of code facilitated by the tool during the learning process of new material. This implies a carefully designed online learning environment, especially while controlling for and minimizing cognitive load when presenting new information, can enhance that student learning

Systemic Change Going Public: Prelude to Scene 2

A paper presented at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Annual Conference, October 31-Nov. 2, Louisville, KYThe Educational Systemic Change Web Project began 2011 as a move to bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners aligning with the division’s strategic goals. Project aims: begin a conversation about educational systemic change with practitioners, increase the systemic change profile on the Web, and serve as a viable resource center to practitioners. In this session, participants will view the published videos and website, determine how practitioners perceived the media, and discuss the gaps

College students' perceived threat and preference for seeking help in traditional, distributed and distance learning environments

The purpose of the present study was to examine how college students' help seeking behavior varied across different instructional learning environments. Four hundred and seventy four (N = 472) students enrolled in distance, distributed, and traditional classes were queried about their help seeking preferences, help seeking tendencies, personal threat in seeking help, and academic self-efficacy. It was hypothesized that students enrolled in courses with an online computer component would report (a) higher instances of help seeking behavior, particularly from instructors; and (b) feel less threatened to seek help than students in traditional learning environments. It was also expected that student achievement would be significantly correlated with formal help seeking, academic self-efficacy, and perceived threat to seek help. Lastly, it was postulated that students would report that they prefer to use electronic means to seek help and that they find it more effective. Overall the hypotheses of this study were supported. Educational implications and recommendations are provided regarding the type of technological tools that college instructors might consider using in their courses to promote help seeking

One Educational Technology Colleague’s Journey from Dotcom Leadership to University E-Learning Systems Leadership: Merging Design Principles, Systemic Change and Leadership Thinking

This paper describes my journey from instructional technology professional and doctoral student to instructional technology leader and tenure-track faculty member. I reflect on 15 years of application, in government, industry, and higher education, of what I learned in the classroom from some of the giants of the field (Wager, Morgan, Kaufman, Dick, Keller, Harless, Reiser, Driscoll). With the continuing proliferation of technology throughout all levels of higher education, systems thinking and the instructional systems design (ISD) process is highly relevant and germane. Its application, however, must be done with care as many people do not understand it and it is applied within a complex, imperfect social and organizational cultural context that requires compromise, consensus building, patience, and a willingness to proceed slowly. The growing role of technology in organizations, and especially e-Learning in education, has increased the need for systems thinking and systemic change in order to manage rapid change

The Usability of School Library Websites: A Nationwide Study

A paper presented at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Annual Conference, October 31-Nov. 2, Louisville, KY.This study embraces the conference theme of Learning in the Age of Globalization by exploring how basic cognitive information seeking behaviors and needs differ between adults and K-12 youth on the Web. Emerging research suggests significant differences between how adults and youth seek information and in their preferences in seeking information in online digital environments (Blowers & Bryan, 2004; Large & Beheshti, 2005; Cooper, 2005; Nielsen, 2005; Buckleitner, 2008; Cai & Zhao, 2010; Considine, Horton, & Moorman, 2009). Given the growing body of knowledge about these differences, our study sought to explore several questions – What does a typical school library website look like in terms of design and content? How do they compare to research-based best practices? And, were they designed more for youth or adults and how usable were they