A library network team, in close co-operation with the Centre for e-Learning, has produced a new online tutorial to guide students in their research at the library.
This bilingual tutorial, in four modules, is available on the Library Network's Web site (www.biblio.uottawa.ca/). It adds to resources already available to help students find their way through the maze of a university library. For example, the network offers seminars and private clinics every semester.
“The idea is to give all students easy access to a tool that enables them to understand the library resources at their disposal and to establish effective research strategies,” says Ann Romeril, librarian and co-ordinator of instruction and self-help.
Since the project began in the spring of 2003, the team has had a clear idea of what they wanted: an interactive tutorial (students learn better when they can surf!), which integrates other tools and is pleasant to use. “Other tutorials like this are too text-centred, in our opinion. We wanted an inviting tool, one that is very visual and focused on the basics,” says Romeril.
Produced by the Centre for e-Learning team, the final product meets all expectations. The tutorial is available in Flash, to assure wider circulation and add to its attraction. It also has a WebCT version, a format professors can use in class to evaluate student learning among other uses.
“It's a product that suitably reflects the University of Ottawa, in particular its bilingualism. It's unique, yet easily adaptable for other institutions,” says Richard Pinet, manager of the Centre for e-Learning.
Centre for e-Learning
