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Medical Reference Services Quarterly Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wmrs20
Integrating Health Sciences Library Resources Into Course Management Systems a
Amy E. Blevins & Megan B. Inman
b
a
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences , University of Iowa , Iowa City , Iowa , USA b
William E. Laupus Health Science Library , East Carolina University , Greenville , North Carolina , USA Published online: 14 Oct 2014.
Click for updates To cite this article: Amy E. Blevins & Megan B. Inman (2014) Integrating Health Sciences Library Resources Into Course Management Systems, Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 33:4, 357-366, DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2014.957071 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2014.957071
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &
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Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 33(4):357–366, 2014 Published with license by Taylor & Francis ISSN: 0276-3869 print=1540-9597 online DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2014.957071
Integrating Health Sciences Library Resources Into Course Management Systems
Downloaded by ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] at 14:37 09 March 2015
AMY E. BLEVINS Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
MEGAN B. INMAN William E. Laupus Health Science Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
As distance education and blended learning grows, so does the need for health sciences librarians to become involved with course management systems. This article will provide some information on how to become involved with course management systems and will also provide information on a few of the more popular systems available. KEYWORDS Course management systems, distance education, embedded librarians
INTRODUCTION According to a 2013 report by Allen and Seaman, 69.1% of chief academic leaders ‘‘say that online learning is critical to their long-term strategy.’’ Many students are becoming involved with online learning, with more than 6.7 million taking at least one online course.1 In order to best manage online courses, many institutions chose to utilize a course management system (CMS) to retain their class content in an online environment. Course management systems provide a secure place where faculty can create interactive course websites that have the capacity of hosting their lectures, grades, assignments, and other content.2 Many of the available CMSs # Amy E. Blevins and Megan B. Inman Received: February 27, 2014; Revised: June 5, 2014; Accepted: June 20, 2014. Address correspondence to Amy E. Blevins, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, 600 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52240. E-mail: [email protected] Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/wmrs. 357
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offer the same types of course-building features for users, but none offer library content in their initial design templates. As distance education programs continue to expand and blended learning becomes more prevalent, librarians are finding more opportunities to work with course=learning management systems and fill the void that has been created by the missing library content. Snavely and Smith state that providing library content in a course management system assists students with accessing suitable resources at their point of need.2 Instead of students having to locate a library’s website and search through content, librarians can place course-appropriate resources into a CMS where the students are already spending time for their courses. Librarians have the option to become involved with their institution’s CMS through a number of different ways: they can help with inserting course reserves or useful course content such as trusted informational websites, they can embed themselves into a course, or they can enrich the connection with library students by implementing interactive library content into the CMS. While there are many articles about nonhealth sciences librarians working with course management systems, Sullo noted a lack of articles discussing health sciences librarians’ work in online courses.3 A year later, Lyons and Warlick located 21 articles discussing health sciences CMS involvement. In addition, they collected data from 40 health sciences librarians who were actively involved in a CMS via a survey.4 The majority of the respondents reported working with nursing departments (60%), followed by medicine (30%). This may be because nursing programs have a long history of providing distance education options,5 while there is less information available regarding the history of distance education for medical programs. Current trends point to an increase in flipped=blended learning for all academic programs, so there will likely be a need for further involvement in CMSs. Rather than serving as a review article or case study, the current article will present several strategies for becoming involved with a CMS as well as information on several of the more popular systems in the United States.
LEARNING ABOUT COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS If a librarian has never taken an online course or has not worked with a CMS before, it may be advantageous to attend a training session. Many institutions will offer training sessions on their CMS several times throughout the year. These typically come from a center for teaching excellence (e.g., The Office for Faculty Excellence at East Carolina University ), but could also be offered by the information technology (IT) department on campus. Attending this type of session can provide librarians with more information on what is being used at their particular institution.
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In most systems, students have the ability to participate in online classes by reviewing instructor-provided content, view grades, submit assignments, interact with classmates, and take assessments all in one location. Furthermore, course instructors have access to a multitude of tools, including gradebooks, online quizzing systems, and course calendars. Many times, librarians can ask their CMS managers to set up a sandbox site where the different features of the course management system can be tested before working in a live class.
COMMONLY USED COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Many different types of course management systems are available. Below are just a few examples of some popular systems. Later, common CMS features and how they can be utilized by librarians are discussed.
Blackboard Blackboard is a proprietary site that has more than 12,000 users’ licenses and is used in over 70 countries . Originally founded in 1997, Blackboard now has many platforms and services available for users. One of Blackboard’s products, Blackboard Learn, is a frequently used CMS.
Moodle Moodle is an open source (free) course management system with more than 68,000 registered sites; it can be found in over 235 countries . Since Moodle is an open source system, it could potentially require more IT support than a proprietary system.
Desire2learn Desire2Learn is a proprietary CMS used by more than 950 institutions in 25 countries . The company offers CMSs for K-12, higher education, and private companies.
Google Sites Google Sites is another open source CMS. This can be a useful option for librarians who do not have access to a CMS through their institution and are looking for something that is open source and fairly easy to use. More information can be found on their class template site .
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BECOMING INVOLVED WITH A CMS While the first step to becoming involved with a CMS could be to learn about the system(s) being used within the librarian’s institution, another step should include learning about the target audience. Information can be found by researching institutional statistics to determine which programs are offering online courses. The librarian should also speak with faculty members who may be carrying out hybrid (mixture of face-to-face and online) or blended learning (leverages both online and face-to-face instruction throughout the course). Once a target audience has been defined and background knowledge on the CMS has been acquired, it will be important to determine how much time can be devoted to becoming involved in a CMS. The amount of time that will be needed to work successfully with a course will be dependent on a multitude of factors and is something that needs to be addressed before establishing a program. Many articles discuss issues with time management and embedded librarian services.6,7 Marketing a new embedded CMS program is a great way to get the word out about what librarians can do for instructors with a CMS. This can be done by sending out e-mails to college=university listservs or meeting with faculty departments and explaining the benefits. Once faculty have taken an interest in integrating library services, the librarian will need to work closely with faculty to determine the appropriate level of library services. Librarians may want to include information on the different levels of service available through the CMS being used on campus and how those levels might affect the different services that can be offered.
TYPES OF INVOLVEMENT Institutional Level Institutional level involvement varies depending on organizational culture. For example, some institutions may have a long history with distance education and the use of a CMS. In these situations, the faculty may be more comfortable with including librarians in the courses. Other institutions may be new to distance education or using a CMS. In these situations, librarians could assist with the institutional implementation of a course management system. For example, one medical librarian assisted with selection of ANGEL as a CMS for the Penn State College of Medicine and was integral in providing communication, training, and technical support for the CMS.8 One way of reaching students across the university with library materials is by implementing an institution-wide library tab or widget within the CMS. The library tab is a great option if the library has a large amount of resources that it would like to have at students’ fingertips. Another option would be
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to create a widget, or small box of information, for the library system. East Carolina University’s (ECU) libraries have a widget within BlackBoard that provides information based on faculty or student status (see Figure 1). The
FIGURE 1 ECU Library widget for Blackboard.
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student widget provides information on basic services like reserving a study room, the equipment loan programs, the Ask a Librarian service, and a direct link to the mobile site. The widget also contains links to research guides and the One Search, ECU’s discovery tool resource. The faculty widget contains links to similar information as well as links to scheduling library courses, instructions on how to embed LibGuides within their BlackBoard course, and how to place items on reserve. The librarians at the University of Iowa (U of I) have created a generic library widget (see Figure 2) for ICON (the locally branded version of their Desire2Learn CMS). This widget shows up automatically on every course created with ICON, and it contains links to LibGuides (the subject guide software used at U of I), Ask a Librarian (a page with contact information for the different libraries on campus), and SmartSearch (the discovery tool used at U of I). The widget changes based on the course number that describes the department offering the course. So, a course created for the Carver College of Medicine will contain links to the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, a course created in Engineering gets a widget for the Lichtenberger Engineering Library, and so forth. This widget was put in place shortly after the CMS went live. The nursing librarian at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences has created her own custom widget, which she encourages her faculty to use. Anyone at the University can create either a private widget or one that is shared with other ICON users . One disadvantage to using widgets is that they can be closed out and hidden by the students when they view their own home page, whereas the tab is a permanent feature. In addition, instructors can delete the library widget from their course sites. Using a system-wide library tab or link option may alleviate these issues. Some universities have chosen to go a step further and are implementing dynamic pages that provide library content based on a student’s specific courses within Blackboard. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
FIGURE 2 University of Iowa icon widget.
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has formulated a method for identifying subject-specific courses and has designed a system that can push library resources related to that subject into the Blackboard course using a locally built web service.9 Many libraries also choose to develop resources to assist instructors with placing library resources into their courses, and to provide examples of ways the library can assist with online instruction. This can be done when library resources cannot be added at an institutional level or to increase visibility of library resources. For example, the University of Iowa has developed a subject guide with instructions for ensuring that library resources are properly linked in ICON . East Carolina University has developed a website with Distance Education Services for Faculty, which includes information on embedding liaison librarians, library instruction, electronic course reserves, and so forth . Yet another example is a page developed by Columbia College Chicago .
Individual Level Before reaching out to faculty members, it is important to have a good sense of which course management systems are being used on campus, and what levels can be assigned to course management system users. Often, course management systems will have different names for their particular access levels. At the most basic level, participants in a CMS belong to one of two groups, students and instructors. Students cannot typically alter the course management system beyond participating in discussion boards or turning in assignments. Students can view course content and their personal grades though. Instructor roles are more involved, and many course management systems will provide several levels of user involvement. The highest level instructor has full control over the entire course and can view and edit grades, content areas, calendars, discussion boards, and much more. Another level of instructor might be able to view and edit some of the content areas on the CMS, but cannot make changes to grades or view student information. For example, a list of access rights is included in the support materials for ICON , and the course builder has the option to change roles on the front page of a course to see how it looks to someone with the various roles listed (see Figure 3). In Blackboard, access can be granted as a teaching assistant or a course builder. Either option will allow the individual to work with faculty and place items in designated locations in the faculty member’s courses. One difference between the level of access of a course builder versus a teaching assistant is that the course builder cannot see grade information.
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FIGURE 3 Roles available in ICON.
Individual involvement for librarians can be as simple as creating content such as a handout, which the faculty member can then put into their course to a more involved level where the librarian is designated as a teaching assistant or course builder. A quick search through the literature will find librarians who have taught semester-long courses on topics like information literacy,10 become ‘‘embedded’’ in existing online courses,3 provided feedback=graded assignments,7 or provided content to supplement or replace library instruction sessions.11 Videos and handouts are library materials that can be integrated easily into a course management system. This type of help information can demonstrate step-by-step database instruction or contain a basic overview of library services. Resource guides, like LibGuides, can be easily inserted into a CMS as well. Another option for individual involvement is the creation of discussion boards. This can be done in many different CMS systems. Librarians can create an ‘‘ask a librarian’’ discussion board, which allows for students to pose questions to the librarian on topics like database searching or citing sources in papers. A benefit of using discussion boards is that other students can view the question as well. This might generate other related questions or alert the professor to any issues the students might be facing with an assignment. Students may expect immediate responses to their questions, so many librarians find it useful to establish ‘‘office hours’’ for the discussion board or include information on how long it might take for a student to receive a response. While options for involvement are unlimited, librarians will need to work closely with the faculty members to create the most relevant content for their particular course.
ASSESSMENT FEATURES WITHIN A CMS Many course management systems provide statistics for different content areas on the site. This makes it fairly easy to run a report and see how many students have clicked on links, help sheets, or other content in the site. The
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data provided can also include the date last visited, number of visits, total time spent on link, and average time spent on link. The way that the CMS generates the statistics is different depending on the system being used. The reports may be generated automatically (as is the case with Desire2Learn), or someone may need to turn on the statistics (which is the case with Blackboard). In the latter case, decisions will need to be made about what to track before the course begins, and librarians may need to ask the course instructor if statistics can be enabled. In addition to capturing statistics, many systems offer easy-to-create quizzes with automatic grading for short answers and multiple choice questions. These quizzes can be used to check for comprehension and=or retention of library instruction, or they can be used as a surveying tool. If planning to use the internal quizzing function for surveys, keep in mind that some institutional review boards will ask that survey responses be anonymous, and this is not always an option when using the built-in quizzing features within a CMS.
CONCLUSION There are many ways to become involved with a CMS. At any level, providing students with library materials directly in their courses allows librarians to connect with the students at their point of need. At an institutional level, librarians can create widgets and links for the CMS that are available to students even if the students do not have a formal introduction to the library. One of the best ways to get started is for librarians to become familiar with their local CMS system and figure out ways to integrate library resources. Although being involved with course management systems can be time consuming, it can also be very rewarding if the proper planning takes place before the service is implemented.
REFERENCES 1. Allen, I. E., and J. Seaman. ‘‘Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States.’’ In Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group, LLC. 2013. http://sloanconsortium.org/node/384451. 2. Foley, M. ‘‘Putting the Library at Students’ Fingertips.’’ Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship 24, no. 3 (2012): 167–176. 3. Sullo, E., T. Harrod, G. Butera, and A. Gomes. ‘‘Rethinking Library Service to Distance Education Students: Analyzing the Embedded Librarian Model.’’ Medical Reference Services Quarterly 31, no. 1 (January–March 2012): 25–33. 4. Lyons, T., and S. Warlick. ‘‘Health Sciences Information Literacy in CMS Environments: Learning from Our Peers.’’ Electronic Library 31, no. 6 (2013): 770–780. doi: 10.1108=el-06–2012-0063.
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5. Armstrong, M.L., B.A. Gessner, and S.S. Cooper. ‘‘POTS, PANS, and PEARLs: The Nursing Profession’s Rich History with Distance Education for a New Century of Nursing.’’ Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing 31, no. 2 (2000): 63. 6. Konieczny, A. ‘‘Experiences as an Embedded Librarian in Online Courses.’’ Medical Reference Services Quarterly 29, no. 1 (January–March 2010): 47–57. doi: 10.1080=02763860903485084. 7. Hoffman, S. ‘‘Embedded Academic Librarian Experiences in Online Courses.’’ Library Management 32, no. 6–7 (2011): 444–456. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ 01435121111158583. 8. Lovett, D.G. ‘‘Library Involvement in the Implementation of a Course Management System.’’ Medical Referrence Services Quarterly 23, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 1–11. doi: 10.1300=J115v23n01_01. 9. Cox, R. ‘‘Delivering Targeted Library Resources into a Blackboard Framework.’’ In Library 2.0 Initiatives in Academic Libraries, edited by L. B. Cohen, 45–57. Chicago: Association for College & Research Libraries, 2008. 10. Long, J., J.J. Burke, and B. Tumbleson. ‘‘Research to Go: Taking an Information Literacy Credit Course Online.’’ Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning 6, no. 3–4 (2012): 387–397. 11. Lenholt, R., B. Costello, and J. Stryker. ‘‘Utilizing Blackboard to Provide Library Instruction: Uploading MS Word Handouts with Links to Course Specific Resources.’’ Reference Services Review 31, no. 3 (2003): 211–218. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ 00907320310486809.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS Amy E. Blevins ([email protected]) is a Clinical Education Librarian, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, 600 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52240. Megan B. Inman ([email protected]) is the Liaison to the College of Allied Health Sciences, William E. Laupus Health Sciences Library, East Carolina University, 600 Moye Boulevard, Greenville, NC 27834.
Medical Reference Services Quarterly Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wmrs20
Integrating Health Sciences Library Resources Into Course Management Systems a
Amy E. Blevins & Megan B. Inman
b
a
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences , University of Iowa , Iowa City , Iowa , USA b
William E. Laupus Health Science Library , East Carolina University , Greenville , North Carolina , USA Published online: 14 Oct 2014.
Click for updates To cite this article: Amy E. Blevins & Megan B. Inman (2014) Integrating Health Sciences Library Resources Into Course Management Systems, Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 33:4, 357-366, DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2014.957071 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2014.957071
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &
Downloaded by ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] at 14:37 09 March 2015
Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/termsand-conditions
Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 33(4):357–366, 2014 Published with license by Taylor & Francis ISSN: 0276-3869 print=1540-9597 online DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2014.957071
Integrating Health Sciences Library Resources Into Course Management Systems
Downloaded by ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] at 14:37 09 March 2015
AMY E. BLEVINS Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
MEGAN B. INMAN William E. Laupus Health Science Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
As distance education and blended learning grows, so does the need for health sciences librarians to become involved with course management systems. This article will provide some information on how to become involved with course management systems and will also provide information on a few of the more popular systems available. KEYWORDS Course management systems, distance education, embedded librarians
INTRODUCTION According to a 2013 report by Allen and Seaman, 69.1% of chief academic leaders ‘‘say that online learning is critical to their long-term strategy.’’ Many students are becoming involved with online learning, with more than 6.7 million taking at least one online course.1 In order to best manage online courses, many institutions chose to utilize a course management system (CMS) to retain their class content in an online environment. Course management systems provide a secure place where faculty can create interactive course websites that have the capacity of hosting their lectures, grades, assignments, and other content.2 Many of the available CMSs # Amy E. Blevins and Megan B. Inman Received: February 27, 2014; Revised: June 5, 2014; Accepted: June 20, 2014. Address correspondence to Amy E. Blevins, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, 600 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52240. E-mail: [email protected] Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/wmrs. 357
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offer the same types of course-building features for users, but none offer library content in their initial design templates. As distance education programs continue to expand and blended learning becomes more prevalent, librarians are finding more opportunities to work with course=learning management systems and fill the void that has been created by the missing library content. Snavely and Smith state that providing library content in a course management system assists students with accessing suitable resources at their point of need.2 Instead of students having to locate a library’s website and search through content, librarians can place course-appropriate resources into a CMS where the students are already spending time for their courses. Librarians have the option to become involved with their institution’s CMS through a number of different ways: they can help with inserting course reserves or useful course content such as trusted informational websites, they can embed themselves into a course, or they can enrich the connection with library students by implementing interactive library content into the CMS. While there are many articles about nonhealth sciences librarians working with course management systems, Sullo noted a lack of articles discussing health sciences librarians’ work in online courses.3 A year later, Lyons and Warlick located 21 articles discussing health sciences CMS involvement. In addition, they collected data from 40 health sciences librarians who were actively involved in a CMS via a survey.4 The majority of the respondents reported working with nursing departments (60%), followed by medicine (30%). This may be because nursing programs have a long history of providing distance education options,5 while there is less information available regarding the history of distance education for medical programs. Current trends point to an increase in flipped=blended learning for all academic programs, so there will likely be a need for further involvement in CMSs. Rather than serving as a review article or case study, the current article will present several strategies for becoming involved with a CMS as well as information on several of the more popular systems in the United States.
LEARNING ABOUT COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS If a librarian has never taken an online course or has not worked with a CMS before, it may be advantageous to attend a training session. Many institutions will offer training sessions on their CMS several times throughout the year. These typically come from a center for teaching excellence (e.g., The Office for Faculty Excellence at East Carolina University ), but could also be offered by the information technology (IT) department on campus. Attending this type of session can provide librarians with more information on what is being used at their particular institution.
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In most systems, students have the ability to participate in online classes by reviewing instructor-provided content, view grades, submit assignments, interact with classmates, and take assessments all in one location. Furthermore, course instructors have access to a multitude of tools, including gradebooks, online quizzing systems, and course calendars. Many times, librarians can ask their CMS managers to set up a sandbox site where the different features of the course management system can be tested before working in a live class.
COMMONLY USED COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Many different types of course management systems are available. Below are just a few examples of some popular systems. Later, common CMS features and how they can be utilized by librarians are discussed.
Blackboard Blackboard is a proprietary site that has more than 12,000 users’ licenses and is used in over 70 countries . Originally founded in 1997, Blackboard now has many platforms and services available for users. One of Blackboard’s products, Blackboard Learn, is a frequently used CMS.
Moodle Moodle is an open source (free) course management system with more than 68,000 registered sites; it can be found in over 235 countries . Since Moodle is an open source system, it could potentially require more IT support than a proprietary system.
Desire2learn Desire2Learn is a proprietary CMS used by more than 950 institutions in 25 countries . The company offers CMSs for K-12, higher education, and private companies.
Google Sites Google Sites is another open source CMS. This can be a useful option for librarians who do not have access to a CMS through their institution and are looking for something that is open source and fairly easy to use. More information can be found on their class template site .
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BECOMING INVOLVED WITH A CMS While the first step to becoming involved with a CMS could be to learn about the system(s) being used within the librarian’s institution, another step should include learning about the target audience. Information can be found by researching institutional statistics to determine which programs are offering online courses. The librarian should also speak with faculty members who may be carrying out hybrid (mixture of face-to-face and online) or blended learning (leverages both online and face-to-face instruction throughout the course). Once a target audience has been defined and background knowledge on the CMS has been acquired, it will be important to determine how much time can be devoted to becoming involved in a CMS. The amount of time that will be needed to work successfully with a course will be dependent on a multitude of factors and is something that needs to be addressed before establishing a program. Many articles discuss issues with time management and embedded librarian services.6,7 Marketing a new embedded CMS program is a great way to get the word out about what librarians can do for instructors with a CMS. This can be done by sending out e-mails to college=university listservs or meeting with faculty departments and explaining the benefits. Once faculty have taken an interest in integrating library services, the librarian will need to work closely with faculty to determine the appropriate level of library services. Librarians may want to include information on the different levels of service available through the CMS being used on campus and how those levels might affect the different services that can be offered.
TYPES OF INVOLVEMENT Institutional Level Institutional level involvement varies depending on organizational culture. For example, some institutions may have a long history with distance education and the use of a CMS. In these situations, the faculty may be more comfortable with including librarians in the courses. Other institutions may be new to distance education or using a CMS. In these situations, librarians could assist with the institutional implementation of a course management system. For example, one medical librarian assisted with selection of ANGEL as a CMS for the Penn State College of Medicine and was integral in providing communication, training, and technical support for the CMS.8 One way of reaching students across the university with library materials is by implementing an institution-wide library tab or widget within the CMS. The library tab is a great option if the library has a large amount of resources that it would like to have at students’ fingertips. Another option would be
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to create a widget, or small box of information, for the library system. East Carolina University’s (ECU) libraries have a widget within BlackBoard that provides information based on faculty or student status (see Figure 1). The
FIGURE 1 ECU Library widget for Blackboard.
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student widget provides information on basic services like reserving a study room, the equipment loan programs, the Ask a Librarian service, and a direct link to the mobile site. The widget also contains links to research guides and the One Search, ECU’s discovery tool resource. The faculty widget contains links to similar information as well as links to scheduling library courses, instructions on how to embed LibGuides within their BlackBoard course, and how to place items on reserve. The librarians at the University of Iowa (U of I) have created a generic library widget (see Figure 2) for ICON (the locally branded version of their Desire2Learn CMS). This widget shows up automatically on every course created with ICON, and it contains links to LibGuides (the subject guide software used at U of I), Ask a Librarian (a page with contact information for the different libraries on campus), and SmartSearch (the discovery tool used at U of I). The widget changes based on the course number that describes the department offering the course. So, a course created for the Carver College of Medicine will contain links to the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, a course created in Engineering gets a widget for the Lichtenberger Engineering Library, and so forth. This widget was put in place shortly after the CMS went live. The nursing librarian at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences has created her own custom widget, which she encourages her faculty to use. Anyone at the University can create either a private widget or one that is shared with other ICON users . One disadvantage to using widgets is that they can be closed out and hidden by the students when they view their own home page, whereas the tab is a permanent feature. In addition, instructors can delete the library widget from their course sites. Using a system-wide library tab or link option may alleviate these issues. Some universities have chosen to go a step further and are implementing dynamic pages that provide library content based on a student’s specific courses within Blackboard. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
FIGURE 2 University of Iowa icon widget.
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has formulated a method for identifying subject-specific courses and has designed a system that can push library resources related to that subject into the Blackboard course using a locally built web service.9 Many libraries also choose to develop resources to assist instructors with placing library resources into their courses, and to provide examples of ways the library can assist with online instruction. This can be done when library resources cannot be added at an institutional level or to increase visibility of library resources. For example, the University of Iowa has developed a subject guide with instructions for ensuring that library resources are properly linked in ICON . East Carolina University has developed a website with Distance Education Services for Faculty, which includes information on embedding liaison librarians, library instruction, electronic course reserves, and so forth . Yet another example is a page developed by Columbia College Chicago .
Individual Level Before reaching out to faculty members, it is important to have a good sense of which course management systems are being used on campus, and what levels can be assigned to course management system users. Often, course management systems will have different names for their particular access levels. At the most basic level, participants in a CMS belong to one of two groups, students and instructors. Students cannot typically alter the course management system beyond participating in discussion boards or turning in assignments. Students can view course content and their personal grades though. Instructor roles are more involved, and many course management systems will provide several levels of user involvement. The highest level instructor has full control over the entire course and can view and edit grades, content areas, calendars, discussion boards, and much more. Another level of instructor might be able to view and edit some of the content areas on the CMS, but cannot make changes to grades or view student information. For example, a list of access rights is included in the support materials for ICON , and the course builder has the option to change roles on the front page of a course to see how it looks to someone with the various roles listed (see Figure 3). In Blackboard, access can be granted as a teaching assistant or a course builder. Either option will allow the individual to work with faculty and place items in designated locations in the faculty member’s courses. One difference between the level of access of a course builder versus a teaching assistant is that the course builder cannot see grade information.
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FIGURE 3 Roles available in ICON.
Individual involvement for librarians can be as simple as creating content such as a handout, which the faculty member can then put into their course to a more involved level where the librarian is designated as a teaching assistant or course builder. A quick search through the literature will find librarians who have taught semester-long courses on topics like information literacy,10 become ‘‘embedded’’ in existing online courses,3 provided feedback=graded assignments,7 or provided content to supplement or replace library instruction sessions.11 Videos and handouts are library materials that can be integrated easily into a course management system. This type of help information can demonstrate step-by-step database instruction or contain a basic overview of library services. Resource guides, like LibGuides, can be easily inserted into a CMS as well. Another option for individual involvement is the creation of discussion boards. This can be done in many different CMS systems. Librarians can create an ‘‘ask a librarian’’ discussion board, which allows for students to pose questions to the librarian on topics like database searching or citing sources in papers. A benefit of using discussion boards is that other students can view the question as well. This might generate other related questions or alert the professor to any issues the students might be facing with an assignment. Students may expect immediate responses to their questions, so many librarians find it useful to establish ‘‘office hours’’ for the discussion board or include information on how long it might take for a student to receive a response. While options for involvement are unlimited, librarians will need to work closely with the faculty members to create the most relevant content for their particular course.
ASSESSMENT FEATURES WITHIN A CMS Many course management systems provide statistics for different content areas on the site. This makes it fairly easy to run a report and see how many students have clicked on links, help sheets, or other content in the site. The
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data provided can also include the date last visited, number of visits, total time spent on link, and average time spent on link. The way that the CMS generates the statistics is different depending on the system being used. The reports may be generated automatically (as is the case with Desire2Learn), or someone may need to turn on the statistics (which is the case with Blackboard). In the latter case, decisions will need to be made about what to track before the course begins, and librarians may need to ask the course instructor if statistics can be enabled. In addition to capturing statistics, many systems offer easy-to-create quizzes with automatic grading for short answers and multiple choice questions. These quizzes can be used to check for comprehension and=or retention of library instruction, or they can be used as a surveying tool. If planning to use the internal quizzing function for surveys, keep in mind that some institutional review boards will ask that survey responses be anonymous, and this is not always an option when using the built-in quizzing features within a CMS.
CONCLUSION There are many ways to become involved with a CMS. At any level, providing students with library materials directly in their courses allows librarians to connect with the students at their point of need. At an institutional level, librarians can create widgets and links for the CMS that are available to students even if the students do not have a formal introduction to the library. One of the best ways to get started is for librarians to become familiar with their local CMS system and figure out ways to integrate library resources. Although being involved with course management systems can be time consuming, it can also be very rewarding if the proper planning takes place before the service is implemented.
REFERENCES 1. Allen, I. E., and J. Seaman. ‘‘Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States.’’ In Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group, LLC. 2013. http://sloanconsortium.org/node/384451. 2. Foley, M. ‘‘Putting the Library at Students’ Fingertips.’’ Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship 24, no. 3 (2012): 167–176. 3. Sullo, E., T. Harrod, G. Butera, and A. Gomes. ‘‘Rethinking Library Service to Distance Education Students: Analyzing the Embedded Librarian Model.’’ Medical Reference Services Quarterly 31, no. 1 (January–March 2012): 25–33. 4. Lyons, T., and S. Warlick. ‘‘Health Sciences Information Literacy in CMS Environments: Learning from Our Peers.’’ Electronic Library 31, no. 6 (2013): 770–780. doi: 10.1108=el-06–2012-0063.
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5. Armstrong, M.L., B.A. Gessner, and S.S. Cooper. ‘‘POTS, PANS, and PEARLs: The Nursing Profession’s Rich History with Distance Education for a New Century of Nursing.’’ Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing 31, no. 2 (2000): 63. 6. Konieczny, A. ‘‘Experiences as an Embedded Librarian in Online Courses.’’ Medical Reference Services Quarterly 29, no. 1 (January–March 2010): 47–57. doi: 10.1080=02763860903485084. 7. Hoffman, S. ‘‘Embedded Academic Librarian Experiences in Online Courses.’’ Library Management 32, no. 6–7 (2011): 444–456. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ 01435121111158583. 8. Lovett, D.G. ‘‘Library Involvement in the Implementation of a Course Management System.’’ Medical Referrence Services Quarterly 23, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 1–11. doi: 10.1300=J115v23n01_01. 9. Cox, R. ‘‘Delivering Targeted Library Resources into a Blackboard Framework.’’ In Library 2.0 Initiatives in Academic Libraries, edited by L. B. Cohen, 45–57. Chicago: Association for College & Research Libraries, 2008. 10. Long, J., J.J. Burke, and B. Tumbleson. ‘‘Research to Go: Taking an Information Literacy Credit Course Online.’’ Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning 6, no. 3–4 (2012): 387–397. 11. Lenholt, R., B. Costello, and J. Stryker. ‘‘Utilizing Blackboard to Provide Library Instruction: Uploading MS Word Handouts with Links to Course Specific Resources.’’ Reference Services Review 31, no. 3 (2003): 211–218. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ 00907320310486809.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS Amy E. Blevins ([email protected]) is a Clinical Education Librarian, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, 600 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52240. Megan B. Inman ([email protected]) is the Liaison to the College of Allied Health Sciences, William E. Laupus Health Sciences Library, East Carolina University, 600 Moye Boulevard, Greenville, NC 27834.
