ED 650: Is Interactivity Worth the Cost?

Is Interactivity Worth the Cost of Flashy Technology? ED 650 Current Issue Paper 4 One of my major long-term goals as an instructional design librarian is to lead an ongoing project to develop tutorials for library users on a variety of topics (such as searching the library catalog, searching particular databases, placing holds or interlibrary loan requests, etc.). Over the past 15 years or so, library tutorials have taken many forms from screenshots with text to screencasts to interactive tutorials. Continue reading ED 650: Is Interactivity Worth the Cost?

ED 650: Overcoming Barriers to Tech Adoption

Overcoming Barriers to Instructional Technology Adoption: ED 650 Current Issue Paper 3 Library faculty have a wide range of technology skills and comfort levels. It can be challenging to work effectively with faculty who fall on the less-skilled and less-comfortable end of the spectrum when the projects involve technology. They use technology exactly as much as they have to to get by and do not seek to adopt new technologies, regardless of its potential positive impact on student learning. Both Continue reading ED 650: Overcoming Barriers to Tech Adoption

ED 650: OER and Libraries

Open Educational Resources and Libraries: ED 650 Current Issue Paper 2 Though open educational resources (OER) are anything but new, their rate of adoption in higher education in the United States has only just reached a tipping point, according to Dr. Cable Green (2015), a leading force in the OER movement. They have reached a point where they will no longer be at the periphery, with an instructor here or there adopting them, but will become central to conversations of Continue reading ED 650: OER and Libraries