Library Research Orientation

One point the librarian made that bears repeating - research takes time. I'm not talking about the reading of articles (that takes even more time) but finding good research is work. Students who got "A's" and "B's" last semester said they spent over 30 hours on research alone. That doesn't include the writing of the paper at all. This was easy for them because they picked topics they felt passionate about.

An idiom allegedly from Chinese goes, "if you give someone a fish, they eat for a day. If you teach them to fish they eat for a lifetime." Our goal in our class is teaching - and skills that transfer to a lifetime of use.

You have to hunt for research (hence the word "search" embedded in the term). CQ Researcher is like a barrel of fish for you to shoot at - I hope most of you don't need it - it doesn't impress me. It is not a database but an encyclopedia published in a journal format. Its primary virtue is ease of use. Sure, we may get more calories in you if we spoon-feed pre-digested information, but it isn't the calories that are important, but the ability to provide for ourselves. And CQ Research is processed. Sure a McDonald's Filet-o-fish will provide more fat and calories (not to mention salt) than a fish you catch and prepare for yourself - but is is far less healthy, and ultimately less satisfying. We only prefer the taste if we've been raised on a diet of deep-fried and slathered in fat.

To teach this subject better, in the future I should create a handout with links - that students can follow. I also need to clarify that students NEED time to work on their own research.
Databases I recommend:

• Academic OneFile link
• JStor
  
• ERIC
• Gale (3 different databases - I'm thinking Gale Virtual is the way to go first).
  
• PsycArticles
  

Resources I would use sparingly - no more than one source per paper.

• Wikipedia - not a bad place to start to learn language and to poach resources, but it's a lot like peeing in the shower: not something you need to brag about.
  
• CQ Researcher. It's research lite. It may be credible, but it doesn't impress anyone. In some ways it's inferior to wikipedia. The same scatological analogy applies.
  

Another thought on comments made regarding procrastination: computers changed the process and meaning of "writing a paper." 30 or 40 years ago research was done with bound indexes, card catalogs that took up enormous space, and rows and rows of physical books. Writers would copy from books by hand into notecards (or notebooks) then rearrange notes and recopy by hand into their notebook rough drafts - and repeat until the last minute and TYPING often happend the night before the paper was due.

Research today all happens at a computer/ word processor - so "writing" isn't divorced from research - but the two are connected throughout the process. Also, the myth of writing a paper the night before it's due in college and still getting an "A" is an college urban myth that ranks right up there with the one about people who only show up for tests and Ace classes - or that drinking bong water is an awesome psychedelic experience.

Why might fools or sociopaths repeat these college myths?

On education

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

It’s important to clarify a distinction between LMS ( such as ANGEL)and Web 2.0 tools. LMS “use a top-down approach; blogs tend to go in the other direction. LMS offer a great deal of flexibility and the potential for creativity in the construction of the site, yet still feature the ease of use of a template-based system” (Godwin-Jones, 2003). LMS’s encorporate many of the social and collaborative authoring tools of Web 2.0, and while sometimes slower to market and stripped down of features, they offer more security. Lane (2008) clarifies the distinction:
integrated commercial [LMS] systems have a built-in pedagogy, evident in the easiest-to-use, most accessible features. The focus on presentation (written documents to read), complemented by basic "discussion" input from students, is based on traditional lecture, review, and test pedagogy.

Lane clarifies that this differs widely from a learner-centered, constructivist or inquiry based model of instruction, which many instructors believe in. Constructivist pedagogy sees the role of the instructor as one who creates an environment that is rich and conducive to learning. Such an environment might include independent projects, social interaction and\or self-assessment. Web 2.0 applications, or LMS better support such teaching techniques and pedagogy.

An instructor who is already experienced with Web 2.0 applications and "lives on the web" may feel stifled when facing the managerial focus of a commercial CMS and wonder, Why can't I do that? Those who want to offer learning experiences based in audio, visual, or mixed media formats, for example, find these systems clunky if not completely unusable for their purposes (Lane, 2008).

This has been the experience of this researcher and several of those who work in IT support at the schools I’ve worked at.

Works Consulted

Lane, C. and Yamashiro, G. (2008) Assessing learning and scholarly technologies: lessons from an institutional survey. Educause Quarterly. V. 31 no. 3 (July-Sept. 2008)

Lane, L. (2008) Toolbox or Trap? Course Management Systems and Pedagogy. Educause Quarterly V31 No. 2

Godwin-Jones, R. (2003) Emerging technologies: Blogs and wikis. Language Learning & Technology. May v. 7 No. 2 pp. 12-16 Http://llt.msu.edu/vol7no2/emerging/

Podcasting - little literature review

Podcasting can be compared to radio programs made available on demand rather than broadcast arbitrarily. It can also be likened to blogging, and is sometimes referred to as audio blogging (Learn Out Loud). Podcasts can be the content delivered during class (i.e. the class itself), or supplemental material such as audio productions of written literature, interviews, discussions or almost anything. Mikat, Martinez and Jorstad (2007) call podcasting, “a new and powerful tool that can potentially benefit students and instructors. Podcasts are versatile, reusable, interesting, and stimulating to the new generation of technology-savvy students, and they can be listened to at the consumer’s leisure” (p. 15). Ample evidence supports the potential educational benefits of podcasting. Duke University has developed curriculum exploiting the potential of Podcasts, and Duke Provost Peter Lange reports “The direct effect of iPods …[is that] students learn better” (ctd in Allen, 2007).

The addictive appeal of the accelerated communication and convenience of content portable on demand is difficult to overstate. According to the 2005 Pew Internet and American Life Project, 22 million adults own iPods or MP3 players and of that 22 million 29% (approximately 6 million people) have downloaded podcasts from the web. When we consider that the vast majority, 80%, use their computers to listen to these broadcasts (Essex, 2006, Bridge Ratings, 2005), this burgeoning communication medium is expected to continue growing. The technology is already in students’ hands. Lum (2006) cites national studies showing, “more than 80 percent of college students own at least one device that can download and play recordings.” In predicting future trends, Bridge Ratings estimated a conservative 45 million people will have listened to a podcast by 2010; more aggressive estimates put that number at 75 million. Ipods, the most popular portable music player was the number one most “in” thing on campus in 2006, according to the Student Monitor’s “Lifestyle & Media Study” (cited in Winham 2007). Interestingly the ipod bumped the former number one, beer.

The use and production of podcasts fulfills Lunsford’s definition of writing, and benefits NNS and those who are auditory learners. The students will benefit because, as Baskin and Harris (1995) point out, audio “can facilitate understanding of dialect and complex language, emphasize humor and drama, and provide the benefits of storytelling” (p.272). Troyka elaborates:

for naive, limited, or simply inexperienced readers, proper names and uncommon words may be heard correctly pronounced for the first time, offering suitable models, comfortably extending vocabulary, and overcoming possible barriers to the flow of the narrative.. More significantly, the professional narrator, bringing finely honed dramatic skills to an interpretation of a text, can generate excitement and captivate a wide spectrum of listeners from the inept and the unwilling to the expert and the passionate (1982, p373).

Many researchers and teachers, Ong (1978), Troyka (1982), Heath (1983), and Sabrio (2007) among them, have long documented and elaborated upon the great “extent to which many of our entering college students are products of an oral culture” (Sabrio p.39-40).

Work Cited

• Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2006). Making the grade: Online education in the United States. Needham, MA: Sloan-C. Retrieved March 29, 2008, from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/making_the_grade.pdf

• Baskin, B. H. and Harris, K. (February 1995) “Heard any good books lately? The case for audiobooks in the secondary classroom” Journal of Reading. 38:5 p. 372-376

• Bridge Ratings (2005) Bridge ratings industry update: The podcasting outlook. Retrieved November 12, 2007 from http://www.bridgeratings.com/press_11.12.05.PodProj.htm

• Essex, C. (2006) Podcasting: a new delivery method for faculty development. Distance Learning. 3:2. p 39-44

• Heath, S. B. (1983) Ways with words: language, life, and work in communities and classrooms. New York: Cambridge University Press

• Lum, L. (2006) Language, culture & technology. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Sept. 21, vol. 23. no 16, page 30

• Ong, W (1978). Literacy and orality in our times. ADE Bulletin, 58, 1-7

• Mikat, Martinez and Jorstad (2007) Podcasting for your class. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. May/June vol 78. No. 5

• Sabrio, D (2007 spring) Research in developmental writing courses and implications for practice. NADE Digest, 3 (1) pp 39-

• Troyka, L. (1982) Perspectives on legacies and literacy in the 1980’s. College Composition and Communication, 33 (3), 252-261

• Windham, C. (May/June 2007) “Confessions of a Podcast Junkie” EDUCAUSE Review http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm07/erm0732.asp accessed 11-15-7