Paper, Powerpoint... podcast?

It's not always easy to find a quiet space to work on the sound for multimodal assignments.  The library now has a sound dampened podcasting room that can be used for high quality recordings of podcasts, interviews, narration for video, and more.

Students can check out the room on a first come, first basis, or schedule it ahead of time.  For more information to share with your students, including the equipment offered, please check out the Podcasting Room guide.

Library instruction served 3 ways

1.  Most of the time, when the library faculty get invited to meet with a class, we spend a whole

period working with the students, focusing on an assignment, disciplinary research norms, or information literacy in general.

2.  But, sometimes a whole class period is not required.  Introducing students to the resources relevant to the course or assignment and introducing them to the services and resources of the library can often be done in briefer window(~15-20 minutes).

3. And consultations are another way to get students the library instruction they need.  In one scenario, a librarian will meet briefly with a whole class and then students will sign up for required group appointments to get more tailored instruction.  Of course you are always welcome to recommend that your students meet with us.  We just ask that you consult with us if you are going to make it a requirement in your class.  We can facilitate tracking attendance, as well.

Request a library session or contact your library liaison to discuss.

Teaching with video: survey results

Last fall we sent out a survey about the instructional use of streaming videos and DVDs at UW-Eau Claire.  We wanted to find out how people were accessing and sharing videos and what needs exist in that area in order to help guide our decisions in the future.

We had 146 responses from all four colleges and learned quite a bit about classroom video use:

• Of our respondents, 125 reported currently using video in their classes
• Videos are viewed in class or assigned as homework in roughly an even amount
• A substantial amount of video content shared with classes is free, provided by faculty themselves, or available on platforms without institutional subscriptions.

When we asked what topic areas the library should carry more of,  we got a wide range of

disciplinary areas, and even some specific suggestions.  Science, economics, social justice, healthcare, disability, social work, kinesiology, American Indian Studies, Latin American Studies, gender, education, and history were some of the more frequently mentioned subject areas.

One implication of having so many disparate needs is that we would be hard pressed to find a streaming service that meets even a third of these.  Our streaming service Films on Demand probably comes closest, with content in almost all of the subject areas mentioned. Kanopy is our second most used service, with an emphasis on providing contemporary documentaries.  

But the fact is that content needs tend to be more specific than subject areas or even topics.  And that is why we realize developing our collection at the individual title level, with input from you, will be an important prong in our efforts to support the curriculum.   Given the constraints on the library budget and the expense of streaming media, we want to make sure that what we do purchase gets used. We also are trying to anticipate the ways that the diversifying production of moving pictures will affect future requests.  We've already been challenged in trying to acquire films that are only available streaming from one source.

In the meantime, whenever you want to request videos, simply email your request to Carrie Butler-Becker or contact your library liaison.  DVDs/videos vary widely in pricing, licensing restrictions, and availability, but we will try to fill every request.