Faculty Spotlight: Kathy Holmes and Mary Jo Larsen

Providing Library Instruction Through Online Webinars
Research Seminar Investigations, Adult Learning Division

Introduction

Mary Jo Larsen teaches a research course on-site in Tacoma, WA. Her students extensively use the Library's online databases and resources. Mary Jo began working with Kathy Holmes, the Library's Assistant Director, to provide a specialized orientation to using library resources for research. Initially, Kathy flew to Tacoma for a face-to-face orientation. It was soon clear that the cost of providing a face-to-face orientation was not scalable. For the second orientation, Kathy delivered her content via a live phone conference while Mary Jo and her students participated from their Tacoma classroom. This approach was okay, but still lacked the strong connection to the visual elements they needed. Kathy then contacted eLIS to learn about Elluminate web conferencing software that could potentially provide the ideal situation for delivering Kathy's presentation.

Timeline

In January 2009, Kathy met with the Learning Technologies Designer in eLIS for a tour of Elluminate and to brainstorm plans for the event. Kathy then completed Elluminate's online moderator training. She and Mary Jo practiced using the Elluminate tools while sharing scripts for the event. In February, they gave their first Elluminate event.

Equipment

• Elluminate vRoom (Free)
• Headset microphone ($20-$30)

Process

Kathy and Mary Jo kept things simple for the event. Mary Jo plugged her laptop into the classroom's projector and sound system in her Tacoma classroom. She then logged into the Elluminate virtual classroom while Kathy logged in from her computer in Cambridge. The students could see and hear Kathy's demo on the projection screen. Mary Jo used the Raise Hand tool in Elluminate to let Kathy know when there were questions. Students then had hands on time to practice on their computers in Tacoma. They could still see the projection screen at the front of the classroom so Kathy put up tips or steps for the students to view while working. A few students used the voice feature to ask Kathy specific questions.

Outcome

The students felt they got the information they needed from the Elluminate event and that it was equivalent to face-to-face orientations they had received. It was a new experience for the students, but they were very accepting. Kathy and Mary Jo found that as long as they didn't get nervous about the technology, the students wouldn't either. The event also helped the off-campus students feel more connected to the University. They could now see the librarians as real people and the web conference allowed the library to provide just in time instructions to a whole group of students at once and answer common questions.

Next Steps...

Kathy and Mary Jo are refining their use of Elluminate for short Q&A sessions at the start of class. They hope to include video of Kathy to help build a stronger connection and to experiment with alternate microphone options so students have greater opportunity to talk directly with Kathy and guide her presentation with questions and comments.

You Can Elluminate Too!

• Contact eLIS@lesley.edu for training and orientation
• Get a free vRoom at http://www.elluminate.com/vroom