North by Northwest : Information literacy at Yukon College and Lakehead University

Abstract

In Northern communities, isolation is a fact of life and common southern "realities" like high-speed internet, libraries (both public and academic) within driving distance and f2f instruction are not the norm. Due to these factors, online instruction is a core component in northern academic institutions and as such requires a little bit more preparation. As well, another key factor to consider is the diverse student population: First Nations, mature, part-time, first generation university students, and professionals upgrading their credentials. The diverse academic backgrounds of these students makes designing the standard library tutorial a challenge; one size does not fit all in the north. At the same time, this might be the only way that students interact with a librarian so the online environment becomes significant to these students' academic studies (and hopefully success). So how does an academic library with such a variety of students a) reach these students? b) design online tutorials targeting a variety of learning styles? and c) assess whether any of this is working? This session will show you how to take a generic one hour information literacy class and turn it into an online session that will meet the needs of a diverse student population. The presenters will discuss effective pedagogical approaches to online instruction, how to teach specific e-resources and finally how to ensure that the students are actually finding the Library's e-resources and using them effectively and efficiently. This presentation won't focus as much on software, although we will be discussing what we use, it's more about how to use the software to teach InfoLit online effectively. We will conclude with a discussion on how to beta-test your new online approach to Information Literacy Instruction before launching it live for the students. So, come to this session and see how two northern (Ontario and Yukon) librarians are devising new and alternative methods of reaching out to students via a variety of methods and assessing their efforts. How, in fact, we have to examine "every angle" such as mode of delivery, type of student, pedagogical theory, etc. to ensure that we are serving our diverse populations well and contributing to the retention and success of these students.

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