Collaborating Online to Teach Information and Multimedia Literacy

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Collaborating Online to Teach Information and
Multimedia Literacy

• Ted Jones, Ph. D., Associate Professor
• DeAnne Luck, Associate Professor
• Lori Buchanan, Professor
• Austin Peay State University

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The Challenges

• Course materials
• Technology environment
• Course software and support
• Student experience and resources

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Multimedia Literacy defined

• having the knowledge or competence needed to
  recognize and understand ideas conveyed through
  various media

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The Virtual University
Each university that links up with others to
create a virtual university will be stripped to
its essence. It will contribute only what it
regards as its core competencies.It will mix and
match what it does best with the best of other
universities
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ML Course Overview

• Students learn about the role of electronic
• media in acquiring, structuring, analyzing
• and synthesizing information via
• Information Literacy Readings/Discussions
• Group Website Design and Construction
• Individual Web Portfolio Project

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ACRL Information Literacy Standards

• All Five Standards Are Addressed
• Need
• Access
• Evaluation
• Use
• Ethics/Legality

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Using Information Legally Ethically
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Readings Discussion Threads
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Accessing Information
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Evaluating Information
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Web-based Information Discussion

• compared to print, students found web-based
  information
• More Accessible
• More Understandable
• Comparable in quality in some cases
• but

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Web-based Information Discussion

• they also stated that
• The Web held too much information
• Web accuracy was questionable
• Web-based library databases were better than the
  free web information

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Instructor Feedback
Libraries must shift from ownership of
sources to providing access to sources, because
information volume and cost are increasing while
library funding is decreasing.
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Annotations Assignment
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Presenting Multimedia in the Web Environment

• Students work in groups to create a web site
• Assignments focus on planning, not HTML
• Web usability principles (information seeking
  behaviors)
• Defining sites mission, audience, content
• Organization and navigation
• Creating content unique to the web

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Principles of web design, organization of
information, and accessibilityhttp//library.apsu
.edu/library/luckdl/multimedia.htm
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Student comments

• I like the others would have to agree with
  Nielsen's mistakes of web design- I don't think I
  would have listed all of them if you asked me to
  before I read the article but as I read I
  realized I was shaking my head in agreement with
  most of his mistakes and good deeds.

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Example student web site blueprint
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Student Surveys of the Course

• Student demographics
• Course design
• Course content
• Materials
• Grading
• Additional comments

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Student Demographics

• COMM courses before 85
• Graduate courses before 62
• First Online Course 54

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Course Design and Content

• Appropriate for online format 85
• Information literacy, web design and portfolio
  modules built well upon each other 69
• Multiple instructors made course richer
  experience 77

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Course Design and Content

• 61 believed the information literacy topics
  integrated well with prior content in other
  classes
• 77 found portfolio logical extension
• 100 agreed that course information was practical

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Course Materials and Grading

• 100 found online readings appropriate and
  preferable to purchasing textbooks
• 92 found assignments reasonable for a graduate
  level course and the grading policy fair

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Additional Student Comments

• A few students noted they found having
• three instructors confusing at times.
• However, the different experiences and
• backgrounds of the instructors broadened
• the interpretation and delivery of the
• material.

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Additional Student Comments

• Several students observed that it is very
• difficult to work online with a group
• They suggested that the group project
• be done after the final individual projects
• to ensure that everyone knows basic
• nuts and bolts beforebeing thrown
• into a group

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Additional Student Comments

• The coursework for this class led nicely
• to the final project. It made the final
• project easier to do, knowing all the
• material we have covered previously.
• However, several students made appeals
• to begin reading the Web Portfolio
• book at the beginning of the semester

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Lessons Learned

• More time required
• Different from classroom environment
• Consistent presentation format

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Instructor Observations

• Allow flexibility in course direction
• Schedule regular due dates for student work
• Choose your colleagues wisely and well

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The Virtual University

• Characteristics excellence, opportunism, no
  borders, technology, and trust.
• Skills build relationships, negotiate win-win
  deals, find the right partners with compatible
  goals and values, and provide the temporary
  organization with the right balance of freedom
  and control.