Communicating, Collaboration, and Citing
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Chapter 5 Communicating, Collaboration, and Citing LMS Embedded Librarianship Thankfully, there are many citation generators and managers available today that simplify citing sources. Creating a virtual presence, online collaboration, These citation tools, guides, and tutorials are typically and academic integrity are hallmarks of LMS embed- included on the embedded librarian’s page and sent to ded librarianship. Embedded librarianship necessi- students in other messages. In all these ways, embed- tates communication and collaboration with faculty ded librarians reach out to communicate, collaborate, who open their LMS courses and with their enrolled and teach information literacy within a LMS course. students. Online communication and collaboration become all the more important when the embed- ded librarian works only virtually with stakeholders Communicating with Students in the LMS environment due to geographic distance or scheduling conflicts. To be effective as an online E-mail, which has been in use for fifty years, has research consultant, the LMS embedded librarian replaced physical and voice mail as the primary com- relies on a variety of communication tools to ful- munication method in academe, business, and govern- fill tasks: to identify the faculty member’s research ment. It is flexible and efficient in that information assignment learning outcomes and propose relevant and messages can be exchanged asynchronously. The research strategies, library resources, and services. ability to attach articles, scanned documents, presen- Sometimes these conversations lead to assignment tations, and images maximizes the usefulness of the redesign or the creation of new tutorials and guides. brief e-mail. E-mail has expanded to mobile platforms February/March 2016 LMS embedded librarians proactively engage stu- like smartphones and tablet computers. E-mail service dent researchers and respond as called upon by indi- providers like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! provide viduals to confer on information literacy challenges e-mail hosting servers and compete for customers throughout the research process. Some hold virtual by offering features related to their other product office hours to meet and consult with students. Others lines. Some paid e-mail services like Microsoft rely hold synchronous help sessions that are recorded and on downloaded software and are typically used by alatechsource.org shared with students who could not otherwise attend. large organizations, hosted on their own e-mail host- Sometimes chat or e-mail suffices as a communication ing servers and equipment. Other, free e-mail services method. Librarians intentionally build trusted rela- like Gmail rely on web browsers and cloud computing. tionships with individual students in order to share E-mail has become a low-cost marketing tool, used to their bibliographic and technology expertise. Often reach potential customers or, in academe, to reach embedded librarians carefully select and share tested students. Spam, unsolicited commercial e-mail fill- online collaboration tools that students may use to ing one’s inbox, and attachments that carry computer complete their group research projects and presenta- viruses are two problems associated with e-mail. tions. In addition, academic research requires adher- Spam filters and computer security industries arose to Library Technology ReportsLibrary Technology ing to academic integrity protocols, the chief one combat these problems and are an added expense for being source citation in a discipline’s accepted style. organizations using e-mail. Google and Microsoft are 28 Learning Management Systems: Tools for Embedded Librarianship John J. Burke and Beth E. Tumbleson Free E-mail have somewhat different names, such as forums, dis- cussions, or discussion boards. These collaborative Google Gmail tools may function more or less effectively, from LMS https://mail.google.com/mail to LMS, based on user and reviewer feedback. The intent of collaborative tools is to allow users to inter- Paid E-mail act, build community, and strengthen collaboration. “Many of the underused LMS features (e.g., those that Microsoft Outlook involve collaboration) have the potential to enhance www.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-com student learning and engagement.”2 Sometimes these lofty goals are not reached, how- Chat/IM ever, due either to pedagogical methods employed or to technology obstacles. According to an EDUCAUSE LibraryH3lp (Paid) report, the LMS collaborative tools are the least liked. https://us.libraryh3lp.com “Today, user satisfaction is highest for basic LMS fea- OCLC QuestionPoint (Paid) tures and lowest for features designed to foster col- www.questionpoint.org laboration and engagement.”3 Although students are using mobile devices more to access LMS course Zopim (1 agent only Free) content, their use of educational technologies has https://www.zopim.com remained steady over the past five years. Students admit wanting more peer collaboration technologies; however, “this study reveals a noticeable increase in the leading e-mail service providers and offer a wide the demand for more online technologies for assess- range of features. ment, collaboration with peers, administrative pur- Faculty and embedded librarians communicate poses and access to resources such as podcasts, lec- with students regularly to announce, remind, explain, ture recordings and online library resources.”4 encourage, and update students about upcoming As mentioned above, LMS collaboration tools course details and changes. Often instructors choose include blogs, wikis, discussions, and groups. to mass e-mail all or selected registered students using the LMS course e-mail. At other times, instructors will • Blogs are online journals created by individuals opt to post and e-mail an announcement so that stu- or groups to share activities, information, news, dents receive a personal message in their inbox and opinions, or research. They may include text, also see the message posted as an announcement in hyperlinks, images, audio, and video and solicit the LMS course. The LMS e-mail tool saves time and comments by others. Blogs build community and makes ongoing communication easier. LMS embed- allow for collective reflection. ReportsLibrary Technology ded librarians assigned to specific courses also have • Wikis can be used to organize information by the means to mass e-mail an entire class in regard to numerous contributors on this “quick” web- research assignments and to offer strategies and links site. Wikis promote interaction and cooperation to electronic resources. Virtual reference services through shared creation. inside the LMS and also based in the library utilize • Discussions are sometimes called discussion e-mail in addition to text, chat, and web conferencing. boards or forums. Students respond to the instruc- tor’s prompt and often comment on one another’s posts, thus mirroring a face-to-face classroom dis- LMS Collaboration Tools cussion or conversation. alatechsource.org • Instructors often assign students to groups Connectivism is a pedagogical method employing col- within the LMS. Then students work together on laboration. “Connectivism focuses on learning that projects, presentations, and papers by using those occurs when individuals interact socially using col- LMS tools that enable groups to chat, e-mail, and laborative technologies. The connectivist learner pro- share documents and files. duces knowledge through creating and sharing digital February/March 2016 artifacts.”1 LMS collaboration tools improve commu- In addition to LMS collaboration tools, there nication, learning, and teaching among students and are many third-party vendor products and free sites between student and instructor. Most LMSs include that offer tools for student collaborations and group various collaboration tools such as blogs, wikis, dis- work in connection with study and research, teach- cussions, and groups. Each has its purpose. For added ing and learning, or presenting and publishing. Out- sensory input there are collaborative tools that per- side the LMS, instructors may use third-party prod- mit inserting images and recording audio podcasts ucts that rely on cloud computing and include single and videos. Collaborative tools in different LMSs may sign-on, APIs, and dashboards for sharing data across 29 Learning Management Systems: Tools for Embedded Librarianship John J. Burke and Beth E. Tumbleson Web Conferencing Blog Software Ghost (Paid) Web conferencing offers instructional flexibility for https://ghost.org faculty and students who cannot meet at the same time and place for classroom instruction, group work, LinkedIn (Free) or consultations. Web conferencing saves travel time https://www.linkedin.com and expense by enabling students to meet virtually Postach.io (Evernote, Free) with peers, librarians, faculty, or academic advisors. http://postach.io/site Anyone with a computer, webcam, Internet access, and Silvrback (Paid) web conferencing app or program may either teach https://www.silvrback.com virtually or receive course instruction as a student via video, audio, and virtual collaboration using white- TinyPress (Github, Free) boards and group chat rooms. Sometimes instruction https://tinypress.co will be synchronous, while at other times recorded Tumblr (Free) content can be accessed asynchronously when conve- https://www.tumblr.com nient for students who live at a distance, who have competing job or family responsibilities, or who have Weebly (Free)