Librarian Fran Nowakowski showed off Dal library's instructional podcasts or 'Libcasts' to 15 faculty members at a technology showcase in the basement of Dal's Killam Library Friday. (Photo: John Packman)

Online videos to replace librarian lectures

Dalhousie's library is branching out to use podcasts instead of lectures

Over the summer, Dalhousie's library worked on a series of short movies to help teach research methods to students without having to use class time.

Many instructors of first- and second-year courses at Dal have librarians from the reference desk show students how to properly search and reference material at the libraries.

Librarian Fran Nowakowski says she hopes the online videos can replace these lectures, which professors sometimes have a hard time scheduling.

"This is just an opportunity to teach when the desk isn't open or when the student doesn't come to the reference desk and they just want to learn something in their dorm room," says Nowakowski.

The videos, or Libcasts, are available in a number of video formats as well as step-by-step texts which students can read.

Nowakowski showed the Libcasts to 15 faculty members at a technology showcase in the basement of Dal's Killam Library Friday.

A student intern from Dal's School of Information Management worked on the Libcasts starting in May using software which cost Dal about $200.  Nowakowski says it takes about two days to decide on a Libcast topic, script a video, film and edit a two-minute video. Each video costs about $200 of labour.

Dal libraries and other Nova Scotia libraries have also updated their Instant Messaging Help Desks where students can talk to a librarian by using a messaging window.

Nowakowski says the IM program has existed for three years but was recently simplified.

"It was not quite as immediate," says Nowakowski.  "It was just more layers to go through so we just eliminated the layers."

She says since September, students have asked university librarians across Nova Scotia more than 1,000 questions, up from the 800 that were asked all of last year.

The messaging service is staffed by every school that is part of the NovaNet library system. Of all Nova Scotia unviersities, only Acadia University and L'Université Sainte-Anne aren't part of NovaNet.

Every staff member spends part of their shift answering questions but Nowakowski says the service will soon hire specific staff to run it.

"Now there's a recognition that this is another piece of reference work and it needs to be acknowledged that you are doing this, maybe instead of working at the reference desk," says Nowakowski.

In the next few months she hopes the Libcasts and other library resources will be on Dal's iTunes U website.  Dal launched the site, run through the iTunes music store, more than a year and half ago but has mostly advertising material for content.

Queen's University regularly posts public lecture and convocation speakers, as well as lectures from a few classes. Dal has not updated its site in a year.

The university's media officer, Ryan McNutt, was recently tasked with updating the site. He says a revamped site will be online early next semester.

He says it's harder for the administration to get content outside the ads it produces.

"The challenge in iTunes U is encouraging people to invest in producing content,” says McNutt. "It often takes time, money and effort to record a guest lecturer who comes to campus."

He says he hopes to put Libcasts and other reference material on the website as well as guest lectures. He says the Faculty of Management regularly records its guest lecturers and is in talks with Dal's Music and Theatre department to have content online.

McNutt says by putting this content online, public lectures can be worth far more to the university.

"That event's over and done with in an hour but if it's recorded and can be experienced by prospective students, current students, faculty, staff alumni, it dramatically increases the value of the original event," says McNutt.

Greg Hebb, an associate professor of finance from Dal's Faculty of Management, discussed a piece of software that allows people to write on PowerPoint slides at Friday's technology showcase. Peter LaRiviere from eInstruction, a group that assesses and aims to solve technology issues in the classroom, also showed off educational remote controls with which students can answer in-class quizzes.

Dal's Centre for Learning and Teaching organized the showcase.

Comments on this story are now closed