Dreaming Big

Yesterday at the admin offices, things were really bustling - it was one of those days where I met a ton of people, all of whom were very interested in the direction we are headed with our LRCs.  It was very positive and inspiring.

I had the opportunity to reflect on this issue of traffic in the LRCs with a few folks whose mission is to facilitate engagement and foster a culture of completion among students and faculty.  I talked about how the block scheduling seems to be interfering with our opportunity to build relationships with the students at our campuses, because when students are done with classes, they are ready to leave - there is no reason or desire for them to hang around.  The LRCs are getting much fewer visitors as a result. At my former campus, I was increasingly concerned about this, as were many of my fellow librarians in the north.  The conversations I had yesterday really got me thinking, and dreaming, about a space in each LRC that students would want to come to in order to study, work in groups - a place to immerse in learning and contemplation.

This isn't a new conversation, as we've been talking and dreaming about this among ourselves for years, haven't we?  But yesterday, I saw some light bulbs going on in the eyes of some folks who could become vested in such a space themselves - which makes them powerful advocates for us.

One of the most important things to do now is to start collecting data to support this - and I would love to get direct feedback from students.  So, I have a mission for each of you!

Typically in the past, we would collect feedback statements from those we work with that showed the value of our services.  I'd like to continue to do that, but focus on more specific themes each month.  This month, for example, in your conversations with students (and maybe even faculty and staff), I'd like you to start asking, "What type of space do you envision as the perfect study space? What things would you like the LRC to have that might draw you there to study or work in groups? What is your vision for a perfect LRC?" I imagine you will get responses that range from furniture and equipment, to rules (like the antiquated food/drink policy we currently have in place), and maybe a few things we haven't thought of.  What sort of space would our students like to have for their campus LRC?  We've all dreamed about what we would love to have, but what would they love to have?

As you get comments, please compile them and put them in your monthly report.  This feedback may just help us get closer to that dream space we'd all like to have for our users.

Infographics Made Easy - With Piktochart

I have been wanting to create infographics for a very long time, and have been waiting for the inevitable tool to be introduced that would enable a user to create them easily.  It's here! I can hardly contain my excitement.

Piktochart is a great tool that gives you templates to choose from, and a side panel of text tools, graphics, chart generators, and more with which to customize your infographic.  It's extremely flexible, allowing you to change fonts, colors, and more!  I've often thought that teaching students to create infographics as an alternative to a research paper, presentation, or annotated bibliography would be tons of fun - it's a very creative way to share data.

The danger?  Spending way too much time playing with the tool. I've spent more time on this than I should have today, and my to-do list is suffering as a result!  Still, I think sometimes creativity is worth putting in a couple extra hours over the weekend.


I wish it displayed a bit larger; you'll be forced to hold down your control key and scroll in to enlarge it.  This is something I'll have to work on.  But not today - MUST move on!

Happy Friday.

The War against Plagiarism

One of the things I’m tasked with right off the bat is to evaluate the success of Turnitin at our college.  I’m looking at several things to get a broad picture of the success of this tool – how many submissions have we had? What story does that data tell?  Which instructors are our most active users, and what do they have to say about it? How is it being used? How can we kick up usage – or do we want to?

Our dean was able to save this resource from the chopping block by negotiating a better cost for us, so this will be a pivotal year that determines whether we continue on with it, or abandon it.

My analysis of the data told me several things.

• ·         We had 2492 submissions collegewide.  That’s about one submission for every two students. 
• ·         The campuses that use the service the most are Online (by a landslide), followed by Anderson, Fort Wayne, and Northwest.
• ·         77 percent of all final submissions had zero to 24 percent unoriginal content (the “green” zone).  14 percent came in at 25 to 49 percent unoriginal content, and less than 10 percent showed 50 to 100 percent unoriginal content.

So here’s my reflection of this data.

77 percent of students’ submissions were in the green zone.  This group either doesn’t have a problem with plagiarism, OR it means that the final submission, which overwrites the original submission, was successful – that the students learned from the first originality report and improved their paper.  This latter scenario means that Turnitin succeeded in its intended purpose.  However, there's no way for me to know how many submissions were, in fact, resubmissions. 

23 percent of student submissions were in the range of unacceptable.  This could mean that Turnitin wasn't used as recommended to improve student writing, or students simply chose not to resubmit after revising.

I don't think we are getting an accurate portrait of the problem of plagiarism in our realm with these statistics; I'm not even sure I can gauge the success of Turnitin based on these numbers alone.  I'm in the process of gathering faculty feedback. 

I’m hoping for an opportunity to spread the word that plagiarism needs an updated approach at the curriculum level.  We live in a different world, and the concept of intellectual property is nearly lost on students, not just at our school but everywhere.   I’m a big believer in the use of Turnitin in the classroom, if it is used properly – and my goal is to blast faculty with the benefits and ways to utilize it successfully with students.  What are your ideas?

If we are unsuccessful and we lose Turnitin – what then?  There are several free tools out there, but there are limitations: 1) most of the free tools check only against web content, not against databases or student paper repositories.  2) They are designed to flag unoriginal content, but lack the tools that provide those teachable moments students need to improve their writing.  3) They’re clunky to use, and one of the advantages to a tool like this would be to empower students to check their own papers and have discussions in the classroom about their findings. 

What are your experiences with plagiarism at your campus? And are you an advocate of Turnitin?  Why or why not?  I’d love to hear your thoughts as I prepare my battle plan.

Greetings!

I must admit, I’ve tried blogging many, many times before – and failed. Not because I didn’t have enough to say, but more because I wasn’t disciplined enough to make time for it in the midst of a busy work life and an utterly chaotic home life.  In order for me to fully commit to something, I need a purpose.  And I think I have finally found one.

As one-half of the newly formed associate dean team, I am super excited to come to work every day. Client services are definitely my favorite part of being a librarian – engaging students and faculty, being creative and innovative in the classroom, and learning from colleagues.  But there are some fears there too.  What if I don't get in the classroom? What if I lose touch with students?  What if librarians see me differently?  How will I stay connected with librarians? With faculty? What if that collaborative “spark” dissipates?  These were the thoughts running through my mind as I made my way downtown on Monday morning to start my new position.

It’s Friday now, and after completion of a nearly full week on the job, I have to say that most of my fears have been put to rest.  I realize that it’s up to me to create new ways to keep the momentum going – to keep my finger on the pulse of the daily grind in the LRCs.  I can totally do that.

Those of you who have worked closely with me know that I don’t come up with ideas and other geniusness all by myself – it’s always a spark that is generated or fueled by the creative brains on our team. I’ve worked most closely with the North group, of course, and now I’m really excited to broaden my network and work with more of you – find out what your passions are, and in what areas you want to help lead us.  I want to keep open lines of communication, and let you all in on what I’m working on and thinking about daily, so that you can weigh in and share your own ideas.  This, my friends, is a defined purpose to blog.

This blog will be a way that I can share thoughts, questions, ideas, resources, and other informal things with the librarian team at our college, and you are free to comment publicly or privately on whatever I may be rambling about – in fact, I welcome it!  And now that I’ve committed to it, promised you posts (whether you want them or not), I shall not abandon this, my 16th, blogging attempt.

Hopefully.

No, really.