FACIT - Meeting Notes - April 29, 2009

FACIT Meeting Notes

April 29, 2009

Attending
FACIT members: Shai Ginsburg, Marcy, Christine, Michael Morton, Marc Goodacre, Sheila Dillon
Guests: Diane Harvey, Hannah Rozear, Emily Daly, Greta Boers Yvonne Belanger
CIT and A&SIST: Shawn Miller, Andrea Novicki, Randy Riddle, Amy Hendrix, Amy Campbell, Hannah Arps

Announcements

Information on the upcoming upgrade of Blackboard to version 8
Information on the CIT's May workshop series

Marc Goodacre’s experiments with podcasting

Marc discussed how he is starting to use podcasts in his courses.
He listens to a lot of non-academic podcasts personally. One is a two minute weekly program and he was impressed by how much one could say in two minutes - he decided to try doing a podcast of his own.
Experimented over two to three months and used his class as a test bed. He started making a three to four minute summary after each class for students; sometimes included additional material for them to think about and discuss outside of class.
Students like the podcasts - they say it helps them understand what he regards as key points in the course.
Takes about one hour to record a three or four minute program. Records the material in Audacity and edits it together.
Doesn't script the program, but has headings and an outline that he uses as he talks through the podcast. He feels that reading a script sounds stilted and using an outline to talk sounds more conversational and genuine.
To prepare, started from the class summary he would usually do at the start of the class (a summary of the prior class). He would write down five ideas or so, rehearse briefly to get a sense of the amount of time he would spend on each. With practice, the process has gotten increasingly easy and comfortable. He might consider having students do this in the future.
Feels that doing a podcast can help faculty member's lecture style - encourages organizing thoughts and helps them see mannerisms in speech and style.
Considered using Wimba, but it's confined to Blackboard; he wanted the podcast to be public. To release the podcast, he has used the blog in Blackboard (which allows public RSS subscription) and is trying blogspot.com.
Will keep doing podcasts in the future; has enjoyed doing it for the students. He's found that 40 out of 120 students have downloaded the podcasts (it's optional for the course).

Library Instruction and Outreach focus group

Discussion on Library instruction and outreach services led by guests Diane Harvey, Hannah Rozear, Emily Daly, Greta Boers.

How could the Library better support students writing honors theses and graduating with distinction (now up to 21% of students)?
Currently offer extended borrowing privileges (to semester-long) to undergraduate researchers and lockers for undergraduate researchers. (No FACIT members were aware of this.) How can we spread the word to faculty and students?

Put something at circulation.
Send email to DUSs.
Central list for all students graduating with distinction.

Is there a way to have any students (even before identifying as thesis students) who are in undergraduate research mentorships get these extended privileges?

Targeting the winners of the Dannenberg pre-major advising award.
Encouraging students to engage in research consultation with librarians, try to visit as many honors seminars as possible to get the word out to students.
Could also pair students writing theses with librarians, to give them a faculty advisor and a library advisor. Would probably be exciting to the students, to have this level of support and expert advice. Faculty would probably be happy to have librarians do this.
Frequent communication to departments by librarian, to get into the classes. Do this through the “regular” librarian in the department.
Posting videos of how to use library resources (how to use Web of Science, finding sources cited by other sources) for those who are self-researching. (In Biology, for example, most of the materials wouldn’t be something they would be checking out from the library.)

Greta mentioned that library has been trying to get a presence in Writing 20, other freshman seminars, to build basic knowledge of research tools. The particular tools they hear about in W20 course may not be the right ones for them later when they are in their honors thesis writing. Perhaps target the R and W designated courses in a way similar to how W20 courses are targeted?

Suggestion of librarian partnership in “first year seminar” where they are part of the course and teach these skills thoroughly, then continued involvement across each year/program, setting the explicit expectations of what bibliographic skills are needed for students.
Feel that students would be receptive to non-conventional approaches. Providing them a framework, they can build within that on their own if the resources are there.

Is it OK to ask faculty to “give up” one whole class session to librarians for the research process?

Shai feels this is necessary, and faculty should be pushed to give it up; would result in better papers in the end.
In Biology there is a course on writing distinction theses which is excellent and results in better papers, but it requires students to give up another class they want to take.