Information literacy tutorials extend to composition classes and large courses.

We are in the process of developing modules to add to the Research 101 site, covering popular information resources used heavily by undergraduates and other library users. These include tutorials on identifying primary and secondary sources, searching Academic Search Premier, searching the UF Libraries Catalog, and searching Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. With these tutorials, we are seeking to augment the in-person training we have historically done with composition classes, to prepare composition instructors to teach these concepts themselves in the classroom through use of the tutorials. As in Research 101, instructors will be able to view the concluding assessments to determine how students are mastering the content. We also are extending our outreach and instruction program to populations that we have not been able to work with due to staffing issues and geography. We hope to reach large courses with sections of 300 or more students with these tutorials. Faculty teaching distance learning courses may easily incorporate the tutorials within their WebCT Vista based syllabi, instructors teaching sections of the first year orientation classes may assign the tutorials, and new students or faculty may take the tutorials themselves, to improve their research skills. These tutorials are also designed to be to be taken independently, so instructors may assign a module on, say, the library catalog, without having to assign the entirety of Research 101. Once the tutorials are completed, the development team plans to blitz faculty and graduate teaching assistants with marketing, to encourage them to incorporate them into their courses.

Goals:

• Create a core suite of five complementary online tutorials (modules) to guide students through the research skills and concepts necessary to complete first and second year term papers and assignments.

• Develop curriculum guides for use by University Writing Program instructors, to assist them in administering the tutorials and in assessing student success.

Assessment:

We are still in process of developing the tutorials, but are receiving feedback from the coordinators of the University Writing Program on the usability and content of Research 101, which is complete.

Research grant produces infolit tutorials for undergrad and distance students.

Research 101 is a University of Florida Center for Instructional Technology and Training grant funded project to create interactive web-based information literacy tutorials for undergraduate and distance learning students. Currently, the Research 101 module is available for student and faculty use. Research 101 includes five tutorials that introduce basic library research skills that are essential to every college student, regardless of interests or degree areas. In the tutorials, students learn a variety of useful skills including finding information, learning search techniques, and strategies for evaluating the quality and usability of sources. The Research 101 tutorials include flash activities that allow students to interact with the content, flash based quizzes for students to check understanding, and a virtual tour of Library West. Research 101 is also embedded within WebCT Vista; instructors may easily add the WebCT quizzes to their grade books, if using the tutorials in their courses. The coordinators of the University Writing Program, which offer composition and argumentative writing courses for undergraduates, are committed to including Research 101 in their curricula, as are the coordinators of the UF Distance Learning program.
http://www.at.ufl.edu/newsletter/tbd/2008/jan-feb/info_literacy.html
http://mihq.org/smathers/research101_intro.html

Goals:

See above

Assessment:

NA