Narratives of Academic Librarians: Chapter 3: Embracing Technologies and Innovation in Instruction

Chapter 3: Embracing Technologies and Innovation in Instruction

Getting the [instructional technology and design degree] was great, because then I could reverse engineer the instruction I had done.

When I had to teach those workshops, the students had to come to the library for several sessions, all on their own time, and it was part of their grade.

 

Eventually, I think we did it a few semesters, we eventually moved another session into their class, but it was too much.

The first one was [information literacy].

The second one was [evaluating sources].

 

And the third was a hands-on session, because I've always thought hands-on instruction was one of the best things.

Students can glaze over when you're trying to talk to them, and you're trying to explain things to them, but instructional design really helped me to understand how to chunk up information, how to make learning objectives, and how to make assessments.

I ended up making my first set of tutorials for them and made them on [instructional software tool].

 

I don't know if you remember that one, but it was [not the ideal tool].

Maybe I didn't have knowledge or money. I didn't know what [tool] to get.

 

[I was] getting to start with the sessions, and I had to make it quick.

Just like I'm doing now, I'm going to use the software I know the best to get it done.

 

I had such a close relationship with the instructional designers at the institution at that time, which is amazing.

 

I got so familiar with [another instructional design tool], I guess I was really quick at learning.

The instructional designers gave me access to all the courses, so I could add my content.

 

I reverse engineered what I had made [before], but it made it better because it's almost like I'm using the subject matter experts’ stuff.

 

I don't know how I managed things, as I was in like dozens of different classes, but all I checked was that [the students] did do the work.

 

I felt like that consumed a lot of my time.

When I did the classes in person, I must've taught 100 classes that year, but I was not a faculty member.

I didn't have to do any publications.

I did very little service on campus.

In fact, when I did write a publication, the [institution] librarians said, “you have to do it on your own time. You can't do it here.”

 

Well f*** that.

I didn't want to do that.

But I did get involved with [an academic organization outside of the institution],

and the idea was that we'd share our [work products] together and work together.

Through that, I learned some helpful ways.

 

Obviously, the [second advanced degree program] taught me a lot more about how to make tutorials.

 

The instructional media department wanted faculty to use [a video-based instructional software,] but when I showed them how I couldn't zoom in and stuff, they gave me [a more advanced version of the software], which is still a thing I've been using for years for tutorials, because it's just so easy.

 

It's so easy, and it was meant for business.

It was never meant for [instructional] video production, but it's gotten better.

 

 

I saw the position open at another institution and it looked like a natural transition because their librarians [have more benefits].

While my pay stayed the same initially, I was able to go up and do more, and it's just such a different job [having more benefits].

 

We had so many more librarians and so many more resources at the time.

It just felt so much better.

Maybe because I had no liaison[responsibilities], but I did end up working with [one academic department].

Our [main database for that academic area] kind of stunk.

 

When [my current institution] posted the position, they called it, [a teaching and instructional technology librarian title], but when I read the description, it was all online learning, you know?

 

The librarians didn't know how to do online learning really at all.

I mean, there were some tutorials that were being made, but they were being made by students. They were really long.

It's such a different place [now].

 

[At my previous institution], we had LibGuides, we were really formal about them.

Here, there's so many, there's still too many.

It's overwhelming, I think it's too many.

I think that it was a more formal process [at my previous institution], and I feel like we had better technology.

 

I feel like we had higher standards sometimes too.

I don't think it was explicitly shared with me that “you should include accessibility, you know?” But when I was in my instructional technology and design program, it made sense to me, because...I always have that thought.

 

When I make this tutorial, if only one person sees it, that one person's going to need this to be great.

That person needs to be able to read it.

And [what] if they can't hear, they can't see?

I try to focus on universal design from the ground up.

 

When I came to my current institution, there is so much academic freedom and it's not just the library. It's everywhere.

It's like, so much.

The program I had with the [academic tutorials] program- it's been years, and I can get the [academic department] director to work with me, but the rest of the faculty just kind of do what they want to do.

 

Even the adjuncts have different assignments and different things.

It was a bummer because I wish I could just repeat the same thing.

Of course, I made those tutorials and had those things going and did some things, but the faculty weren't really putting them in their classes.

They just wanted it all to be done in person, and I taught in person.

I still taught, up until recently.

I taught in person way more than produced tutorials.

 

And I was bummed about students.

I would say this generation, but I guess I came here years ago.

I feel younger generations more and more, they're hard to figure out.

[Do] they just need to know something is there? or [Do] they [already] know something there?

I tried to focus a little bit more on marketing efforts, but I was still encouraged to use tutorials.

I know instructional technology uses quizzes and games and things like that. I would love to, but I've just never really explored them too much. I always got more challenging classes, less class time, and I feel like I always say, sometimes I'll use it, but we don't really use those things.

We still do a lot of hands on, and going back to my early years,

This chapter- “Embracing technologies, and innovation in instruction”.

I think I was kind of mixing [the chapters] together.

It’s a difference because, but I actually made some videos that we called the [institution’s library short topics].

We made some fun ones.

We made some videos where I was able to get students [to help create the videos].

I got some on-campus money to hire some students to work with me.

It's funny, because they were using the same [video creation software] too.

Another time I got a student, she did [video editing] in the back.

I don't know what she did.

But for that one, I hired students to act.

They didn't come out the same as the ones that were a little bit more homegrown.

Those videos were cute, but it takes so much time.

 

Then the names of databases change and things like that.

I didn't keep it up. [The videos] didn't have the same impact I wanted.

The point was you can build it, but if they don't come, you have to market your videos because they were only sort of being used.

The only people that really got into them were [specific academic department] faculty.

I mean, otherwise, it was kind of cute, and that was fun.

I mean, gosh, it got me established and people loved it.

I ended up becoming one of the more prime instructors taking over [a specific academic reference area], which I really resisted for a while because I don't have a [specific advanced degree in that area] and the librarian [who did have the advanced degree] was so accomplished.

 

Being in a [faculty librarian] role, required me to do other things like get more involved in campus.

I was having a hard time breaking this chapter up.

I called it advocacy, engagement and building connections.