Assignment Idea

I’m often asked for ways to incorporate research into classes, or for ideas for different methods of engaging students with library resources.  In his Inside Higher Ed column, Instant Mentor, Rob Wier recently provided a very detailed and interesting description of an assignment that he uses: a book or article review.  Take a look, and let me know what you think.  Could you use this idea in your class?

Wikipedia and Academia

In October of 2007, Martha Groom, Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, and Andreas Brockhaus, Director of Learning Technologies, both from the University of Washington Bothell, presented a paper at EDUCAUSE2007 entitled, “Using Wikipedia to Reenvision the Term Paper”. The abstract read:

“The structure of the traditional term paper can limit its educational value. To make the assignment more meaningful, students published their papers in Wikipedia. This session will examine how publishing for a large online community motivated students to do better work and deal with issues of voice, knowledge, and community.”

Groom’s first attempt at incorporating Wikipedia into a class came in the fall of 2006, when she required her students to make a major revision to an existing article or to create one of their own, with a minimum of 1,500 words, for 60 percent of the grade. The assignment, for her course on environmental history and globalization, encompassed an initial proposal, a first draft, revisions and peer review, after which students would post the final article to the Web site. For the next semester, and after student feedback, Groom decided to lower the weight of the assignment (to 40 percent of the grade) and have students work in groups.

The notion of using Wikipedia, vilified by many an academic, will be anathema to many and an intriguing opportunity for others. For more information about this project, visit When Wikipedia Is the Assignment. This article includes a link to Groom and Brockhaus’ power point presentation to EDUCAUSE 2007. More information and commentary can be found at:

Prof replaces term papers with Wikipedia contributions, suffering ensues

Using Wikipedia to Re-envision the Term Paper

Wikipedia not good enough for you? Edit it

New versions of APA and MLA – what you need to know

Both APA and MLA citation styles have changed over the summer, and a new version of each has been published. Here’s what you need to know about these citation styles and support for them in the Library.

Information Literacy support for faculty

Did you know… the Library offers information literacy support to faculty in a variety of ways, including information literacy workshops for your students and help with research assignment design.

Mind the gap

A recent study, commissioned jointly by the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), found, unsurprisingly, that young people are lacking critical and analytical skills.

The report, Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future, deflates the myth that the “Google generation” (young people born or brought up in the Internet age, i.e. since 1993) is completely comfortable online, able to navigate anywhere and find anything, while older people stumble around. On the contrary, the report found that “factors specific to the individual, personality, and background are much more significant than generation.”

Another interesting finding from the report is that most users “power-browse” or skim material, using “horizontal” (shallow) research methods. Most spend only a few minutes looking at academic materials and few return to them. “From undergraduates to professors, people exhibit a strong tendency towards shallow, horizontal, flicking behaviour in digital libraries.”

Many academic institutions assume that young students know how to do research on the Internet, by virtue of their age. But while most are proficient users of Facebook and Wikipedia, they are not necessarily information-literate. They lack the skills to differentiate between authoritative information and amateur blogging. Most academic libraries are aware of, and eager to bridge, this gap.

Find out how RDC Library helps bridge this gap through our information literacy program.

New look for Info Lit program

We’re pleased to announce that the RDC Library’s Information Literacy program has a fresh new look! We have used the image of a leaf along with the colour green to signify the positive benefits which students will experience through the acquisition of information literacy skills.

Green signifies growth, hope, and possibilities. The leaf, as part of a tree, is a symbol of knowledge, and draws to mind the lifelong learning aspects of information literacy skills.

For more information on the RDC Library Information Literacy program, contact Michelle Edwards Thomson, the Information Literacy Coordinator, at (403) 342-3346, or email her at michelle.edwards.thomson@rdc.ab.ca.

Help your students tap into their critical thinking skills

“Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use, and communicate it in an ethical manner ¹.”

Are your students feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by their research assignments?  Why not bring them to the library for an introductory or refresher class this semester?

Book an Information Literacy instruction session now … don’t delay!

“Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use, and communicate it in an ethical manner (1).”

Disappointed with the quality of your students’ research? The Library can help you increase the information literacy skills of your students, showing them that there’s more to doing research than Googling their topic. We can also teach them to critically evaluate and use the information that they find.

Does Facebook have a place in higher education?

Facebook is a social networking site where users interact through an evolving, self-defined set of networks, interest groups, and “friendships.” But does Facebook have a legitimate place in the world of post-secondary education? The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) says “yes.”

Alternatives to the Research Paper

It is PD time again, and today library staff facilitated a discussion on developing assignments beyond the research paper. If you were unable to attend the session, but are interested in some of the things we talked about you can contact us:

Michelle Edwards Thomson: michelle.edwards.thomson@rdc.ab.ca

Anwen Burk: anwen.burk@rdc.ab.ca

and/or check out the following online resources: