THATCamp Philadelphia: Getting Distance Education Students To Engage With Library Materials (Session Moderator/Proposer=William Patrick Wend)

I proposed a session on trying to get distance education students to work with library materials more. I have had a number of conversations with both faculty and administrators about this issue, so I thought it would be useful to speak to others at THATCamp about it.

  • University of Delaware does virtual tours of their library.

  • What if there were embedded videos of library tours?

  • Do we have romanticized ideas about libraries?

  • How do we get more distance students engaged with the community of the college?

  • Lee Skallerup-Bessette’s work may be helpful for this issue.

ThatCamp Philadelphia 2014: Working With Students Who Have Low Technology Skills In Distance Education

This was the session I proposed and moderated at ThatCamp Philadelphia 2014.

  • So much automation today...students do not learn to code, html, like a lot of us did back in the day.

  • What is the library's role?

  • Who is responsible for technology skills, students, or colleges?

  • Students are often scared to break something, so do not try to fix things because K-12 is so punishing of mistakes.

  • How can we make basic digital skills something worth learning?

  • Tell students to look for answers on Youtube.

  • What about a forum on Blackboard for students to help each other with technical problems?

  • What about a distance education scavenger hunt?

  • Is this an institutional issue or a student issue?

  • Many of these issues could be resolved at orientation, but it is not mandatory at many schools.

  • Make a list of resources for help on Blackboard for technology problems.

  • How do we support students after disasters?

  • Why aren't there tests to see if students are ready for technology requirements?