Online NW Courseware Connections:

Reaching & Teaching Students Through Blackboard

Maureen Kelly & Kate GronemyerOregon State University – Cascades Campus

February 10, 2006Maureen.kelly@osucascades.edu

Kate.gronemyer@osucascades.edu

About OSU Cascades . . .

Launched in 2001 in Bend

Small campus & class sizes

COCC offers lower division classes

Partners with UO and EOU to deliver upper division & graduate programs

OSU and COCC provide joint library services

What is Courseware? Web based educational software that allows grading, quizzes, discussion, document posting, e-mailBy any other name . . .

CMS (Course Management Systems)LMS (Learning Management Systems)VLE (Virtual Learning Environments)

Popular Commercial & Opensource Courseware

Blackboard/Web-CT – biggest market share; BB purchased Web-CT in Oct. 2005 (www.blackboard.com)Angel (www.angellearning.com)Desire2Learn (www.desire2learn.com)Moodle (open source - moodle.org)

Sakai (open source - www.sakai.org)

Prevalence of Use, or Why We Should

Care National Statistics: “Of the 72% of students who report using a course management system . . . More than 75% report a very positive experience with it.” (ECAR Research Study 2005)

OSU Statistics

OSUAcademic Year

Total Active

Courses

Total Unique Users

2003-2004

2603 (867)

43,504 (14.501)

2004-2005

3442 (1147)

49,333 (16,444)

Increase In 1 year +32% +13%

OSU BB Stats – Another Jump in Fall

2005Fall 2005

Total Active Courses1448

Total Unique Users17,465

Increase over last year’s average

+ 26% + 6%

Opportunities & Challenges for

LibrariesOpportunities: Going where the student isWorking collaboratively with faculty

Challenges: Working with IT (or other courseware manager)Acquiring permissions

A Two-Pronged Approach

Macro/Micro orGeneric/Personal orSystem/Course level

Suggested by Library Technology Reports, May-June 2005, 41(3) and other sources

OSU’s Macro Level Approach: Resource

Links

In 2003: Campus IT added a

library tab to Blackboard . . .

OSU BB Library Tab . . . but it linked to Blackboard

selected web sites and databases, not library sources!

The Library initiated discussions with IT, which agreed to link to OSU

library sources

And the Result . . . An average of 6 hits a day come into the library through the Blackboard domain.

Other BB Applications for Libraries: Reserves

Provide reserves with direct links to full-text articles using a persistent URL Copyright Permissions Building Block integrates CCC Licensing capabilities within BBAll OSU e-reserves are via BB. This is supported by Technology Across the Curriculum & Extended Campus

Applications for Libraries: Reference

At macro level, provide a Virtual Reference link and

At course level, have contact info for subject librarian within a course

Hold virtual reference hours via Blackboard’s chat or discussion board

Applications for Libraries: Library

BlogsFor current awareness: Use RSS

Feed to create a blog . “If you’re going to blog, blog it to their coursware” descibes using “RSS to Javascript converter” software to experiment with library blogs.

Steven Bell & John Shank

staff.philau.edu/bells/alaposterhandout.pdf

Applications for Libraries: Instruction

Add tutorials/learning objects

Create a community for internal communication and training, e.g., for student library workers

Course Integrated Instruction

How do ↓ we get a

Making the Library Courseware Connection

A number of libraries provide courseware help pages for faculty, providing detailed instructions for linking to articles and databases, incorporating library tutorials and subject guides, and connecting with the appropriate liaison librarian.

Reaching out to Faculty

Example from U of Texas at Austin http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/faculty/bla

ckboard Request a Tailored Research Guide for your class class has a research assignment, we can create a research guide tailored to that assignment. Guides include suggested resources and instructions.

Request a Library Research AssignmentIf you want your students to learn we can create an assignment for you. We can also assess the research skills of your students through pre- and post-tests delivered via Blackboard particular research skills.

Request a Librarian Add contact information for your subject librarian or ask a librarian to hold reference hours via Blackboard's chat or discussion board by adding them as a course builder to your Blackboard page.

Bibliography• Bell, S. J. & Shank, J. D. (2004). Linking the library to courseware: A strategic alliance to improve learning outcomes. Library Issues, 25(2).• Borreson Caruso, J. & Kvavik, R. B. (2005, October). ECAR study of students and information technology, 2005: Convenience, connection, control,

and learning. Roadmap. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS0506/ecm0506.pdf• Buehler, M. A. (2004). Where is the library in course management software? Journal of Library Administration, 41(1/2), 75-84.• Carlson, S. (2003). New allies in the fight against research by googling. Chronicle of Higher Education, 49(28).• Cohen, D. (2002, May/June). Course-management software: Where’s the library? EDUCAUSE Review. Retrieved from

http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0239.pdf• Costello, B., Lenholt, R., & Stryker, J. (2004). Using Blackboard in library instruction: Addressing the learning styles of generations X and Y. The

Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30(6), 452-460.• Cox, C. (2002). Becoming part of the course: Using Blackboard to extend one-shot library instruction. College & Research Libraries News, 63(1), 11-

13.• Cubbage, C. (2003). Electronic reserves and Blackboard’s course management system. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, 13(4), 21-32.• Delaney, M. (2005). My VLE at Maynooth: E-learning and the library. SCONUL Focus, 34, 40-42.• Farmer, L. S. J. (2005). Using technology to facilitate assessment of library education. Teacher Librarian, 32(3), 12-15.• George, J. & Martin, K. (2004). Forging the library courseware link: Providing library support to students in an online classroom environment. College

& Research Libraries News, 65(10), 594-597.• Giles, K. L. (2004). Reflections on a privilege: Becoming part of the course through a collaboration on Blackboard. College & Research Libraries

News, 65(5).• Kraemer, E. W. (2003). Developing the online learning environment: the pros and cons of using WebCT for library instruction. Information

Technology and Libraries, 22(2), 87-92.• Lovett, D. G. (2004). Library involvement in the implementation of a course management system. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 23(1), 1-11.• McColl, L., Jones, J., & Kokolus, C. (2004). Tailoring oversize courseware to fit our small library. Computers in Libraries, 24(8), 16-22.• Rieger, O. Y., Horne, A. K., & Revels, I. (2004). Linking course web sites to library collections and services. The Journal of Academic Librarianship,

30(3), 205-211.• Shank, J. D. & Dewald, N. H. (2003). Establishing our presence in courseware: Adding library services to the virtual classroom. Information

Technology and Libraries, 22(1), 38-43.• Stone, V. L., Bongiorno, R., Hinegardner, P. G., & Williams, M. A. (2004). Delivery of web-based instruction using Blackboard: A collaborative

project. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 92(3), 375-377.

Course Integrated Instruction

http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/cascades/blackboard.htm Professor Natalie Dollar & Librarian Kate

Gronemyer

Using Blackboard at the micro-level: teaching information literacy with course management software

Bringing ILI to CMS: the class

• One-credit independent study co-requisite to 300-level Interpersonal Communication course

• Devoted entirely to researching and writing a literature review

• Seventeen upper-division students with varied research experience

• Taught by Dr. Natalie Dollar, a tenured professor who has taught the class several times in the past

How we used Blackboard

• Librarian’s contact information was added

How we used Blackboard

• Direct links to relevant databases and research guides (from both the library and the communications department) were added to the “external links” page

How we used Blackboard

• Four required discussion forums – Topics were introduced in class by librarian and professor– One main post (focused on individual research topic) and two

responses were required

Bringing ILI to CMS: the nuts and bolts• Professor designed the literature review

assignment, librarian designed the discussion questions

• Librarian was added as an instructor in Blackboard

• Librarian developed grading criteria but was not involved with grading

• Discussion was worth 40% of final grade

What worked

• Assignment was – quarter-long,– research intensive,– and worth a lot of points

• Professor and librarian also team taught in-class sessions and could “translate” for one another

• Students had no problems with the technology

Why Blackboard (or any CMS)• Could conduct a discussion without the

constraints of class time• Students had an equal chance to participate

(no competition for the floor)• Students could compose thoughtful entries • Record of the students’ research process

(useful for students and instructors)• Could link the specific resources they needed

from a website they already were using

Professor’s feedback

• Believes that the co-teaching and the Blackboard discussion were a good use of time (hers and the students)

• Felt the students’ papers were better quality than previous classes’ papers

• Using the discussion board feature in another class this quarter

• Wants to do it again when she teaches the class in the fall!

What I’ll do differently next time

• Participate more in the discussions• Set up a forum for students’ research

questions, problems, suggestions• Design at least one forum that is not topic-

specific• Design at least one forum that encourages

(forces?) students to begin writing earlier

Questions?

• Maureen Kelly, Head Librarian and Extended Campus librarian, OSU-Cascades

maureen.kelly@osucascades.edu• Kate Gronemyer, Reference and

Instruction librarian, OSU-Cascadeskate.gronemyer@osucascades.edu