Online Learning Support
Southern Connecticut State University
Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology

Mary E. Brown, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Information Science
Brown@SouthernCT.edu

CONTENTS:
Course Syllabi
Course Resources
Online Study
For Advisees
News/Weather
Reference Works

The Year 2000 [Y2K] Problem

LSC 551 Online: FAQ about course participation

Online Course Work

• Quizzes and tests (What to expect)
• Threaded discussions (How to respond)
• Course Project (beginning steps)
• Webibliography and other references to websites

Guidelines for Online Participation

Miscellany

• Search Engines (A review of four)
• The Internet (Where it came from)
• The Web (What it is)
• Internet/Web (A summary review)

I prefer open-ended (essay/short answer) questions--and iterations in testing/evaluation when needed.

I recommend that students stop reviewing/studying for exams about 24-hours prior to taking them. In the 24-hour period prior to exams or tests, I suggest students do something to relax (see a movie, read a novel, go to a sporting event, go window-shopping at a mall).

I do not look for recall of facts so much as I look for application of facts to real world or new situations. [Application, however, does need to be based on fact or theory.]

I try to word questions so that a range of responses can be accomodated--such as recall to application of facts.

I encourage students to 'take chances' in their work and to have confidence in their own instincts. I see evaluation as a learning--as well as a testing--tool.

I want to see thinking; application of learning; and well-worded, concise, graduate-level responses.

The first test is more for me to see what type of answers I receive so that I can better judge how the class perceives my questions and how I can guide the class/student toward the fuller type of response I would like to receive.

In general, the first response on a threaded discussion does not need to offer an extensive reply, only one or two points. Each additional response, ideally, will make some new summary comment or observation about prior responses and then offer one or two new points.

Threaded discussions are intended to simulate an informal discussion. The idea is to give a response that will prompt additional responses, not close the discussion. A response could consist of a question--a new way of looking at the original question.

"Each student will design, implement, and evaluate a small digital library. The project will include written documentation, including justification of approach, project timeline, policies, staff training, and promotion, evaluation, and maintenance plans. The culmination of the project will be a brief presentation. [The final course project will comprise 50% of your final grade.]" - Syllabus

STEP 1:

Select an organization for which you will create a digital library. Here, organization is to be taken quite loosely. That is, the organization could be a local library, a social group (such as a club, choral group, hobby group, or your family), or a business. When discussing the digital library project with the organization, be sure to state that this is for a course and that the work must conform to the instructorUs requirements. You can state that once the project is finished, you will be happy to provide the organization with a copy of what you developed. Do not promise or suggest that you will complete a digital library for the organization. Do emphasize that this is a student project and as such is a pilot, a draft, a trail (with hopefully not too much error!). You may work in groups, but group work must show a product appropriate for the group size. You are encouraged to seek help from and give help to fellow classmates. You should work collaboratively with classmates and not work in isolation; projects will have common needs and problems.

EXAMPLE: I want to create a digital library for the course Literature for Children.

STEP 2:

Now choose an approach (e.g. basic information, adding local resources, creating new resources for the web platform, linking to remote resources or a combination of any of these). I urge you to start small. You can always expand later. Perhaps you can prioritze approaches into stages of development.

EXAMPLE: I want to include basic information about the course, collect and organize the best existing digital resources, and I need to create new material/resources that support the curriculum.

STEP 3:

You need to construct a timeline for the various steps in the project. Begin your timeline at the end. By what date do you want to have the project finished? [The final, drop-dead date is the week of May 10th.] Allow one week for last minute finishing touches. Allow one week for final editing of documentation and checking links and wording of site. Allow one week for testing and evaluation (with user group). Allow one week for the unexpected that almost always occurs. This brings us to April 9th as the date by which you need to have your project finished and all documentation drafted. Now fill in additional deadines. You will need to revise your timeline as your project evolves.

EXAMPLE: Working backward from the final due date, I draft the following schedule.

• Draft basic information about the course: Feb. 15-18
• Identify candidate links: Feb. 22-25
• Evaluate, weed, and organize candidate links: March 1-5
• Draft and organize new material: March 8-18
• Tag files and test site: March 29-April 9
• Test and evaluate with target users: April 12-16

Webibliography and other references to websites

Any website or webpage referenced in other class vehicles, for example Threaded Discussion, should also be added to the Webibliography.

Errors can occur in keying or copying URLs. It is a good strategy to look at the URL/code for any obvious error, for example, '.eud' where '.edu' is expected.

WebSites and WebPages can move or be removed. It is a good strategy to use a search engine to try and locate the desired material.