Online by Design

The Essentials of Creating Information Literacy Courses

By (author) Yvonne Mery, Jill Newby

Publication date:

23 April 2014

Length of book:

200 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

229x152mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780810891111

As more and more academic libraries consider offering online credit courses or converting face-to-face courses to online, instructional librarians need to quickly get up to speed about online course design and delivery. Even the most seasoned instruction librarian may be intimidated by the thought of converting their classroom course into an online course.

Based on both sound research in the area on of online pedagogy and extensive teaching experience, this book includes ideas for:

Creating innovative and interactive information literacy tutorials that engage students.
Addressing common pitfalls of online instruction including communicating with students, designing a course that is easy to navigate, and getting the most out of the course management system.
Developing assignments and assessments that work in an online environment
Incorporating the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education into the materials development process.

A must for both seasoned instruction librarians and those just starting, this book will provide librarians with the practical information needed to move their instruction online and teach a successful course.

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Introduction
Perceptions of Online Learning
Perceptions of IL Credit Courses
Is Online Instruction Effective?
Benefits of Online Instruction for Students, Librarians, and Libraries
The Challenges of Online Instruction
Defining Online Instruction
SECTION 1: DEVELOPING THE COURSE
Chapter 2: The Nuts and Bolts of Online Credit Courses: What You Need to Know Before You Start
The Course Approval Process
Online Instructor Roles
Competencies
Time Commitment
Marketing the Course
The CMS: A Love/Hate Relationship
Quality Matters!
Where to Get Training
Chapter 3: A Recipe for Success: Cooking up the Curriculum
Needs Assessment and Environmental Scanning
Writing Goals and Outcomes
Information Literacy Topics in an Online Course
Course Units: Scope and Sequence
Textbooks
Resource 3.1: Sample Undergraduate Course Topics and Learning Outcomes
Resource 3.2: Sample Graduate Course Topics and Learning Outcomes
Chapter 4: Creating a Student-Centered Syllabus: Taking it to the Next Level
The Interactive Syllabus
What is a Syllabus Good for Anyway?
Elements of the Course Syllabus
Will They Use It?
Resource 4.1: Sample Syllabus Undergraduate Information Literacy Course
Resource 4.2: Sample Syllabus Graduate Information Literacy Course
SECTION 2: DEVELOPING THE UNITS
Chapter 5: Learning Materials 101: Variety is the Spice of Life
Underlying Teaching Strategies
Aligning Learning Materials and with Learning Objectives
Addressing Learning Styles
Creating the Materials
Universal Design for Learning
Using Copyrighted Materials
Chapter 6: Tutorials 101: Keeping Students Engaged
Passive and Active Learning
Writing Student Learning Outcomes
Building Interactivity
Building Engagement
Make it Real
Make it Effective
Choosing the Software
Developing for Mobile
Chapter 7: Assignments 101: Making it Real, Related, and Rewarding
Assignments: More than Busy Work
Creating Meaningful Assignments
Best Practices in Assignment Development
Collaborative Assignments
Workload Management
Resource 7.1: Sample Assignments for Graduate Students
Resource 7.2: Sample Assignment for Undergraduate Students
Chapter 8: But Did They Learn Anything? Assessing and Evaluating
The Assessment Cycle
Formative and Summative Assessment
Assessment Methods
A Word about Cheating
Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness
Resource 8.1: Pre-Post Test Questions
Resource 8.2: Research Portfolio Requirements
Chapter 9: New Models for Teaching and Learning
MOOCs
Digital Badges
The Flipped Classroom
Mobile
A New Instruction Librarian
Index
About the Authors

Yvonne Mery and Jill Newby successfully lead the reader through the process of designing an online information literacy course. For those not designing such a course, Online by Design: The Essentials of Creating Information Literacy Courses still has much to say about online course creation and instruction in general. Writing from their own experiences at the University of Arizona in Tucson, which made a strong commitment to online learning in 2008, the authors begin with a general review of the issues surrounding online instruction and credit-bearing information literacy courses. In the following seven chapters, they provide details and suggestions for developing the course and then the individual course units. In the final chapter, they reflect on the future of online learning and instruction. This is a thorough and well-organized guide that is essential reading for those following in the authors’ path.