A ROSE FOR EMILY

I just started doing instruction at work, and I have to admit that I was a little nervous at first. I have done two sessions, the first with another library science student, and the second by myself. The first session was for an upper-level English course about non-fiction prose. The second session was for an English 102 course. About five minutes into my second session, my nerves finally left me...whew!

I feel the need to stress the importance of collaboration with the instructor/professor when planning an instruction session. I mean really, how many students are excited about listening to library search strategies for 45 minutes? If the librarian or library student uses a current assignment to apply these search strategies during the session, students will pay more attention. The sessions are more interesting for the person giving them as well. I thought it was fun to look up information about illuminated manuscripts and the banning of Huckleberry Finn!

Technology-wise: I was in a relatively technologically advanced classroom. Classrooms like these are fantastic when available. I was able to project what I was doing on my computer onto a large screen at the front of the room. This made for better pointing-abilities ("See here..."). The students all had computers to use in order to follow along as well. Email, although a simpler technology, is also a wonderful tool...especially when trying to plan an instruction session for an adjunct professor/instructor. The University of Washington is working on a project called UWired, which concentrates on instruction and technology specifically. To quote, UW hopes to
"promote and support access to technology, fluency in information technology and resources, and innovation in teaching and learning through technology." Check out this site...there is information about initiatives for student and teacher information literacy. The site looks pretty good too, aesthetically.