Episode 30: Putting FUN Back in Fundamentals

Listen to the podcast (mp3, ~60 minutes)

Rachel, Jason, and Anna talk with Theresa McDevitt [editor] and Ryan Sittler [contributor] about their recent publication, Let the games begin!: Engaging students with field-tested interactive information literacy instruction. Theresa is a Government Information/Reference Librarian at Indiana University of Pennsylvania Libraries, and Ryan is an Instructional Technology/Information Literacy Librarian at California University of Pennsylvania. We take the opportunity to discuss the making of the book, the idea behind games in the library classroom, and practical applications for using games in information literacy instructional design.

Show Notes:

• McDevitt, T. R. (2011). Let the games begin!: Engaging students with field-tested interactive information literacy instruction. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
• Kate Ash’s Education Week article, “Balancing Fun and Learning in Educational Games.” [via the The Committed Sardine Blog at the 21st Century Fluency Project].
• Sittler, R., & Cook, D. (2009). The library instruction cookbook. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.
• Cook, D., & Sittler, R. (2008). Practical pedagogy for library instructors: 17 innovative strategies to improve student learning. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.
• Faculty Survey of Student Engagement http://fsse.iub.edu/
• Goblin Threat via Lycoming College 
• Thinking Worlds 
• Planet in Peril: Plagiarism (Serious Games Challenge award winner!)

Episode 29: Balancing and Prioritizing the Instruction Load

Listen to the podcast (mp3, ~60 minutes)

Rachel, Jason, and Anna share possible strategies instructors can take to relieve instruction-related stress, especially stress revolving around instruction load and setting priorities. The Adventures in Library Instruction trio also discuss programmatic, department-wide strategies to help keep library instructors energized.

Show Notes:

• Jason's [with Sarah Steiner] Simmons College SLIS continuing education course, Instruction Librarian Boot Camp, coming in November;
• Pellergino, Catherine. "Why it matters how faculty view librarians." Spurious Tuples (Personal Blog). August 26, 2011).
• What Students Don't Know - 2-year anthropological study of Illinois libraries studying students' research habits and library interactivity;
• Library Society of the World FriendFeed discussion about managing instruction loads;
• Farkas, Meredith. “Tutorials that matter. (Technology in Practice).” American Libraries. (August 10, 2011). [re: integrating learning objects strategically in the discipline curricula] 
• The Instruction Balance, coordinated by ACRL’s Instruction Section’s Teaching Methods Committee and Education Committee, January 22, 2006, San Antonio, TX [check out the accompanying bibliography -- a bit dated, but some good resources]
• Picture of Rachel's monkey costume (sans makeup):

Librarian Wardrobe blog

Want to put faces with voices? We're on the Librarian Wardrobe blog today.

Episode 28: She Got Data

Listen to the podcast (mp3, ~58 minutes)

Lynda Kellam, Data Services and Government Information Librarian at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s University Libraries, joins Rachel, Jason, and Anna to discuss data, data literacy, and instruction.  Kellam recently published, Numeric data services and sources for the general reference librarian, which includes a chapter about incorporating statistics and numeric data sources into instruction sessions. Kellam blogs about data sources at http://uncgdataland.blogspot.com/, as well as about her library experiences at http://lyndamk.com/

Show Notes:

•  Kellam, L. M., & Peter, K. (2011). Numeric data services and sources for the general reference librarian. Oxford: Chandos Publishing. 
• A handful of data sources:
• American Community Survey
• Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
• The Association of Religion Data Archive (ARDA)
• Cultural Policy and the Arts National Archive (CPANDA)
• American National Election Studies (ANES)
• Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
  
• World Development Indicators
• Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)
• Statistical Software
• SPSS
• SAS
• Professional Organizations
• International Association for Social Science Information Services & Technology (IASSIST)
• Numeric and Geospatial Data Services in Academic Libraries Interest Group (via ACRL)
• Junk Charts

Teaching Zotero: it's not rocket surgery

Jason's Zotero book is out, and we talk about teaching Zotero and other reference manager programs.

(MP3 link: circa 1 hour)

Links and notes:

• Char Booth’s Reflective Teaching, Effective Learning: Instructional Literacy for Library Educators
• Circulating Ideas podcast by Steve Thomas
  
• Jason's book Zotero: A Guide for Librarians, Researchers and Educators (DRM-free ebook editions available from ALA Store)
• Example of a bibliography auto-generated by the Zotero API on Jason's website
• Justin Bieber
  

Episode 26: Training Sherpas

Listen to the podcast (mp3, ~60 minutes)

Rachel, Jason, and Anna discuss Lori Reed and Paul Signorelli's book, Workplace Learning & Leadership: A Handbook for Library and Nonprofit Trainers, specifically how the content and resources relate to instruction librarians.

Show Notes:

• Reed, L., & Signorelli, P. (2011). Workplace learning & leadership: A handbook for library and nonprofit trainers. Chicago: American Library Association.
• T is for Training
• State Library of North Carolina's Master Trainer Program
• New Jersey State Library's Train the Trainer Program
• InfoPeople via the California State Library
• ALA Learning Round Table
• Jason's Zotero book, Zotero: A Guide for Librarians, Teachers and Researchers, from ACRL Publications will be available at ALA Annual in New Orleans

Episode 25: Class Reunion

Our former colleague Erin Mooney from Emory University Library joins us this month. We talk about first-year student orientation, library videos, assessment, LibGuides, Immersion, merging the reference and circulation desk, and pizza parties.

• Emory Library videos
  
• Dooley (Emory's skeletal mascot) on Facebook
  
• ACRL Immersion
  
• GSU Library

MP3 (51 minutes, 46 MB)