Blogging: Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts

Unless you have been asleep or just born in the past three years, you will have found many library articles touting the growth and value of the weblog.1 You may also have attended one of the many technology/library conferences, such as Computers in Libraries, and even an ACL Conference and gone to a presentation on blogs. You will have heard that you must blog, and in conjunction use RSS – whatever that is – if you wish to communicate more effectively with your patrons, your staff, or anyone else.2 Hopping on the blogging bandwagon can “save” your institution, make you a better librarian or teacher. As Irene McDermott notes, “Just as it has been imperative for everyone to have a Web page, now everyone with the slightest interest in being au courant must, absolutely must, have a blog.”3 This paper will examine the hype surrounding blogging, the hope or potential benefits of blogging for your institution, as well as the hysteria or negative aspects of blogging. This will be accompanied by comments about my personal experience over the past 4 years with The In Season Christian Librarian. Writing a formal article about blogging seems odd because the style of a blog is casual and conversational and often stream of consciousness. Marshall Brain (2004) says, “There is no particular order to [blogs]. For example, if I see a good link, I can throw it in my blog. The tools that most bloggers use make it incredibly easy to add entries to a blog any time they feel like it.”4 However, given the short time blogs have been around, several doctoral level theses on blogging have appeared in Dissertation Abstracts.5 This paper does not draw on dissertations but does make reference to several formal presentations at conferences in addition to national surveys and white papers. Even after 4 years, much remains unclear and undecided about blogging

Minority Adolescents at Risk for Obesity: Health Behaviors and Perceptions

The purpose of this study was to examine behaviors related to nutrition and physical activity of inner-city minority adolescents, and their perception of normal weight and overweight. The research study used a descriptive, non-experimental design which had a convenience sample of thirty-seven 8th grade minority adolescents who attended a chartered urban K-8 grade school in Northern California. There were no statistically significant differences in the results, however, over 50% of the students reported not eating the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Another 68% reported participating more than 30 minutes in exercising or playing sports during physical education class. Although 42% of the students reported being the right weight, they wanted to lose weight. This demonstrates a need for healthy nutritional behavior and physical activity amongst this population. School nurses can play an important role in identifying at risk students for obesity and provide education in nutrition, structured physical activities, and obesity prevention strategies

Changes Coming: How Information Literacy and Presentation Software Intersect

Information literacy should promote changes in a person’s attitude and actions regarding an issue. Learning how to access and use resources is ineffective if changes do not occur in communicating more effectively. This paper focuses on eight changes: audience, storyboard, master views, handouts, action , control keys, bullets, and photography

A systematic review of the factors - enablers and barriers - affecting e-learning in health sciences education

Background: Recently, much attention has been given to e-learning in higher education as it provides better access to learning resources online, utilising technology – regardless of learners’ geographical locations and timescale – to enhance learning. It has now become part of the mainstream in education in the health sciences, including medical, dental, public health, nursing, and other allied health professionals. Despite growing evidence claiming that e-learning is as effective as traditional means of learning, there is very limited evidence available about what works, and when and how e-learning enhances teaching and learning. This systematic review aimed to identify and synthesise the factors – enablers and barriers – affecting e-learning in health sciences education (el-HSE) that have been reported in the medical literature. Methods: A systemic review of articles published on e-learning in health sciences education (el-HSE) was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied & Complementary Medicine, DH-DATA, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Global Health, from 1980 through 2019, using ‘Textword’ and ‘Thesaurus’ search terms. All original articles fulfilling the following criteria were included: (1) e-learning was implemented in health sciences education, and (2) the investigation of the factors – enablers and barriers – about el-HSE related to learning performance or outcomes. Following the PRISMA guidelines, both relevant published and unpublished papers were searched. Data were extracted and quality appraised using QualSyst tools, and synthesised performing thematic analysis. Results: Out of 985 records identified, a total of 162 citations were screened, of which 57 were found to be of relevance to this study. The primary evidence base comprises 24 papers, with two broad categories identified, enablers and barriers, under eight separate themes: facilitate learning; learning in practice; systematic approach to learning; integration of e-learning into curricula; poor motivation and expectation; resource-intensive; not suitable for all disciplines or contents, and lack of IT skills. Conclusions: This study has identified the factors which impact on e-learning: interaction and collaboration between learners and facilitators; considering learners’ motivation and expectations; utilising user-friendly technology; and putting learners at the centre of pedagogy. There is significant scope for better understanding of the issues related to enablers and facilitators associated with e-learning, and developing appropriate policies and initiatives to establish when, how and where they fit best, creating a broader framework for making e-learning effective