Instructional Resources for Library Instructors: LibGuides and Instruction

Activity: Small group discussions

• Idea: Have participants break into small discussion groups for a set time period (5-10 minutes)
• Relevant Tool:  Zoom Breakout Rooms. Some available functions that can help with this activity are
  • Broadcasting a message to all meeting rooms simultaneously
  • Participants in breakout rooms can ask facilitator/instructor for help using a specific button in the small groups windows
  • Close All Rooms: Stops all rooms after a 60 second countdown, shown to the host and participants, and returns all participants back to the main meeting

Activity: Collect responses for open ended questions

• Idea: facilitating conversation and engagement on specific topics of relevance
• Relevant Tool: Padlet (free account)
• Example: As a warm up activity, have lecture participants contribute answers to three columns of questions: One thing you know about the library (Column 1), One question you have about research (Column 2), One goal you have for this session/project (Column 3)
• Example Padlet used by Des for a remote lecture

Activity: Collaborative note taking

• Idea: Provide an outline of your lecture/workshop as an editable Google Doc for folx to add their note, questions, and comments directly to the document. Allows librarian to provide in-context follow up after the session
• Relevant Tool: Google Docs

• Provide directions on the intended sequence of activities and materials
  • Example: "Complete the keyword worksheet before reviewing the lecture video. Take the quiz after reviewing the lecture video." 
• Use LibWizard tools to create forms, surveys, and quizzes that can be embedded in Canvas.
  • See the Writing 2 Module created by the Teaching & Learning Librarians.
    • Example: Developing a pre-session quiz to survey student familiarity with conducting database and catalog searches, peer review, etc.
• If using a pre-recorded lecture in Panotop/Gauchocast
  • Include a transcript of your lecture or closed captions whenever possible. We recommend using a script for your video to reduce the need for captioning after recording.
  • Lectures can be used to introduce or review key concepts and provide a video on how to access specific library databases.
  • If you need help creating accurate closed captioning and audio description for your recording, please reach out to a Teaching & Learning member for assistance. 
• If using monitored discussion forums
  • Set expectations for how often you will be responding to the students or checking posts.
  • See "Monitoring Discussion Posts in Gauchospace" for more information.
  • Relevant Tools: Nectir, Slack, Canvas Discussion Forums.

Your LibGuides should be organized with your user in mind. How might you be able to use your LibGuides differently to facilitate remote instruction?

• Your LibGuide can be integrated into a Canvas class as a resource. Please refer to Library Services in Canvas for more information. 
• LibGuides can be used effectively to organize resources or link to additional relevant content, including trial databases and online collections.
• Think about the learning outcomes you have for your instruction sessions, and how your LibGuide can support those outcomes.
• Consider how your LibGuide may fit into your lesson plan. It may be more useful for your guide to focus on assignment support, or on a clear user-task that complements your instruction session.

Making Accessible Word Documents

• Include alternative text with images and tables
• Use built-in headings and styles
• Use hyperlink text, don't just include the link

Note: If you are using Word, Powerpoint or Excel, there is a built in accessibility checker you can use. 

Making Accessible PowerPoints

• Describe any images using alt text. Recommendations are descriptive text should be limited to 120 characters. Imagine describing this image to someone over the phone (Michigan State University Resource)
• Use a table of contents and headers in your slides (Michigan State University Resource)
• Use contrasting background and text colors