Exploratorium 2012: Gray, Donna
Learning with LibGuides
Table #7 Learning with LibGuides
Audience: All
Presenter: Donna N. Gray
Bathgate Educational Campus Library
1595 Bathgate Avenue
Bronx, NY 10457
Library Web site tinyurl.com/bathgatelibrary
LibGuides profile tinyurl.com/msgrayLibGuide
E-mail dgray2@schools.nyc.gov
Description, Goals, Intended Outcomes:
I began using LibGuides as part of the pilot program sponsored by School Library Services. I had a few wikis but did not find them easy to create or manage. I was working with our foreign language teacher on an immigration project and decided to create a LibGuide for our work together and to assist our students with their research projects. Our students found LibGuides more accessible than our previous wiki. We were also able to add more information as the unit progressed. As the project ended the teacher I worked with asked if we could create more LibGuides for her units and projects in other classes.
Process to Develop and Implement this Project:
After making the first LibGuide for our immigration unit, I began making a general library LibGuide and one for our library monthly reports. The great aspect of LibGuides is they provide several different “boxes” which allow the user to input links, embed media, upload documents, and much more. Currently we have several different guides that range from topics such as ethanol to sexual education. Once I got familiar with using and creating LibGuides making more was easy. When I had time to focus solely on one guide, I was able to create it in less than an hour. The great part about creating LibGuides is that you are never “finished.” You can continue adding new pages and more information.
Six steps to CREATE a guide
- Come up with a topic
- Record information and resources
- Establish presentation type
- Add select resources to your guide
- Take time to edit
- Evaluate your guide
1. Come up with a topic
Topics we have created range from Immigration, Romeo and Juliet, to Sex Education
2. Record information and resources
Begin searching for information to add to your guide. You can look for information online or begin your search with books you have in your library that relate to your topic.
3. Establish presentation types
- Documents – Include assignment from teacher, rubric, checklist for major assignments
- Videos – Video can be embedded from the internet
- Links -- websites suggested by teacher or found during an online search
- Books- Books added from the catalog
- RSS feed – Search for feeds that apply to project goals
- Calendar detailing library hours and when their class is scheduled to meet
- Voki – Explaining assignment or welcoming students to the library
4. Add select resources to your guide
Once you begin adding boxes and inputting information, you may need to create additional pages. We created one main page and had additional pages for webquests and assignments.
5. Take time to edit
You may find your resources need to be more complex or that you do not have enough information on the given topic. You might also decide to add a new page to display student work once the unit is complete.
6. Evaluate your guide
Your ideas and fervor for the topic and direction of the guide might not be what your partner/teacher would like to see in the guide. Remember: at times you will need to go back and edit, or add more information, depending on what the teacher wants the end product to look like. Also make sure the guide works and is appropriate for those that will be using it; whether they be students, faculty or the entire learning community.
Budget: Cost of LibGuides $549.00 per year for K-12 institutions
Timeline: Once you begin with a general LibGuides the process is ongoing as you add new pages and guides.
Evidence of Outcomes, Possible Adaptations, Lessons Learned:
Depending on the LibGuides created students will
- Find information needed on a specified topic
- Have a better understanding of the topic presented
- Present information in an ethical and proper manner.
LibGuides can be adapted for different grades and comprehension levels
Students will not use the guides if they do not know about them. The guides need to be advertised and integrated in the unit and library.
Common Core State Standard(s) addressed:
College and Career Readiness anchor standards:
Reading:
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
Writing:
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
Speaking & Listening:
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
Information Fluency Continuum (IFC) Skill(s) addressed:
Pursues a balanced perspective. by evaluating information based on authority, accuracy, point of view, and reliability.
Skill(s) taught:
Students will learn to search for information on the Internet and will also learn how to conduct in-depth research on a specific topic/idea.
Resources Used:
Main resources used
- LibGuides
- http://schools.nyc.gov
- vimeo.com
- arisnyc.gov
There is really no limit to the resources used with LibGuides. The only limit is your imagination!