Type

Presentation

Session Description

Are your library tutorials seeing high usage or collecting dust? This session will discuss how the lessons learned from a little-used tutorial collection resulted in the creation of a successful suite of learning objects.

Type of Library

University Library

Keywords

tutorials

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May 4th, 10:00 AM May 4th, 10:50 AM

What if You Build it and They Don't Come? Lessons Learned from a Tutorial-Creation Project

Wampanoag Room

To extend the reach of many library instruction programs both on-campus and online, many librarians have been creating instructional tutorials. Whether these learning objects consist of screencasts, static webpages, or interactive modules, they can be time consuming both to create and maintain. In order for students to see the instructional benefits, and librarians to justify the time put into creating and maintaining the learning objects, it is crucial that students actually access and use the tutorials. What if librarians build tutorials, and the students do not come? How can librarians ensure that their tutorials will be accessed and used?

In this presentation, the librarian will discuss experiences developing video tutorials at the request of graduate students and faculty in a liaison area. The librarian spent a semester developing a series of video tutorials based on student-identified pain points, and notified faculty of the resulting collection of learning objects. Despite student requests and faculty excitement over the tutorials, the collection saw little use. Reasons for the low usage numbers will be discussed, along with a set of best practices to improve tutorial use and relevance for students. The librarian will also discuss how the lessons learned from this failed project were factored into a department-wide tutorial-creation project that has seen much more success.

By the end of the session, attendees will have several takeaways to apply to their own instructional efforts, including:

-How to promote and brand tutorials so they see increased usage

-How to decide on the best content to cover in tutorials

-When to consider alternate methods of instruction to reach students

 

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