Jo Angela Oehrli Peter Timmons Learning Librarian University Library Associate University of Michigan May 4, 2012.

Instructor CollegeVirtual Swap Meet:

The Instructor College Café as a Model for Developing an Online Instruction Community

Jo Angela Oehrli Peter TimmonsLearning Librarian University Library AssociateUniversity of Michigan University of Michigan

May 4, 2012

Presentation Overview

Instructor College at University of Michigan

Identifying a need Designing and building the Instructor

College Café The Café What we learned The Future of the Café

How did we get here?

‘X-wing plans’http://www.flickr.com/photos/55723329@N00/6657150957

‘Untitled’http://www.flickr.com/photos/35230654@N07/6004448378

Instructor College

Launched in 2001 Goal: Strengthen the instructional

skills of our instruction staff 2003 ACRL Innovation Award Instructor College Activities

Instructor College & Its Repository

Instructor College Resource Center (ICRC)

Internships Virtual Spaces

Learning to teach… It’s hard!

‘Slow my mind’http://www.flickr.com/photos/76089221@N00/1491218163

• What do I try out?

• What’s worth trying out?

• How do I put it into practice?

• Who do I ask?

• Where do I even start?

But you get better.

‘A history lesson for the mini Clones and Stormtroopers’http://www.flickr.com/photos/45940879@N04/5592994934

‘How does source affect company culture’http://www.flickr.com/photos/47691521@N07/5497223174

‘Look at the dreams of my generation, son’http://www.flickr.com/photos/8383928@N06/3836703417

The lesson here…

Good stuff is hard to find… …and often harder to make work.

The lesson here…

It’s best to learn how to teach as part of a

instructing community.

A broader need

Institutional curating of instructional material

Communal support and development

A simple solution

Recreate the ICRC virtually

‘Magazines’http://www.flickr.com/photos/7912605@N08/472964990

‘Graphic conversations’http://www.flickr.com/photos/88133570@N00/2945254545

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Goals

Centralize the storing and sharing of instructional material at U-M Library

Build a virtual community space of Instructor College

Leverage the capabilities of Web 2.0 tools

Allow for global interaction

Not reinventing the wheel

Comparative analyses

Challenges

Existing library technology tools› Staff intranet› Course management systems› Shared staff file space› Internal staff wikis› Email› 3-ring desk binders

Exploring User Preferences

User personas & scenarios

Exploring Technology Options

Prioritize desired core functions

MUST HAVE CAN LIVE WITHOUT

Uploading media Rating system

Conversation space ‘Best choice’ system

Simple back-end

Drupal vs. BuddyPress

Content management system

Open source Multifunctional web

development Learning curve:

Steep

Content management system

Open source ‘Social networking

in a box’ Learning curve:

Shallow

Our choice… Drupal!

Capable› Provided all desired functions› Customizable

Sustainable› Integrated with existing IT framework

Drupal: It can be deadly

Build, test, build, test, repeat.

Locate appropriatemodules

Utilize Drupal onlineCommunity

Instructor College Café (Beta!)

The Forum

The Forum Primary functions

› Post a topic or question› Get responses from community members› Identify ‘best response’

The WYSIWYG Uploader

The WYSIWYG Uploader

Primary functions› Add title and descriptions in text› Hyperlink to external content› Attach media files› Apply tags

The Repository

The Repository

Primary functions› Allow for browsing of uploaded resources› View full upload› View attached files› Rate & comment› In development: structured browse› In development: search

Instructor College Café – A Model

Platform Collaborative Development Title of Project Flexible Project Management

The Future of the Cafe

Transfer Other Archived Content Documentation Codified Training Continue Development More Beta Testing

Questions?

Thank you!

If you would have further questions or comments, please contact Peter and Angie at

[email protected]