The following presenters focused on specific technology applications being used in their libraries in a variety of ways, for a variety of purposes, weighing the pros and cons of each.

Txting the Teacher: How to Illuminate In-Class Learning with Web Conferencing Software

Kim Bloedel of the University of Iowa discussed and demonstrated Ellumiate web conferencing software, which she uses to meet with her students virtually in an undergraduate business research class. Kim has taught this class in both face-to-face and online settings, and has found definite benefits, along with some drawbacks, to teaching a class in this format.

Some of the important lessons-learned that Kim shared with us include sending out messages to students reminding them of the start date, with detailed instructions for getting to their online meeting place; giving yourself extra time to prepare for the class and allowing extra class time for students to adjust settings on their end; and as with any technology, being prepared in the event of technology failure.

One surprising anecdotal finding, was that Kim found many of her students to be "worried about this new, formal online environment". Some students needed extra help in logging on and making use of the technology, and some students simply dropped the class due to their discomfort with the online classroom environment. On the plus side, Kim found that students who stuck with the class were more likely to ask questions during class, the result being that she felt there was more interaction with students online than in her face-to-face classes, with a greater sense of community and social networking.

Some features of the Elluminate software include the ability to record class sessions, instant messaging during class, built-in polling feature, and audio and video on the instructor's end. Although audio and video are available on the student end, Kim has not personally explored giving students this option!

Submitted by Kate Hess, Newsletter Committee

"You were poked by the OPAC" -- Facebook Applications in Libraries

Ryan Gjerde of Luther College presented information helpful for any library considering having a presence in Facebook, or wanting to make better use of their current Facebook account. He discussed features such as groups, events, pages and "the wall", as well as a variety of applications you can add to customize your Facebook account. Most importantly, Ryan noted that libraries often pull content right from their website and put it into Facebook, bringing the library to their users.

Some of the features and applications that might appeal most to academic librarians, are building pages with basic library information (including photos or videos), and the ability to promote library-related campus events to your students with Facebook accounts. Applications such as embedding a "quick search" of your library catalog and databases on your Facebook page are also possible, and require some programming skills, access to a web applications server, and the addition of a developer application to your Facebook profile. Ryan noted that Facebook has worked in support features for developers such as a wiki and discussion boards where you can learn more about advanced applications. One other nice feature is the ability to collect usage statistics related to your page.

You may also view Ryan's Google Doc slides online.

Submitted by Kate Hess, Newsletter Committee

ICONic Training: Using a Course Management System for Continuous Student Training

The session presented by Sarah Andrews and Catherine Reed Thureson turned into a group discussion when technical difficulties didn't allow them to make their presentation as planned. But this didn't squelch their enthusiasm for the project they've been working on for a number of years with the student workers they supervise at the Hardin Library for Health Sciences at the University of Iowa. Sarah and Catherine have worked together to design training modules within ICON, the U of I course management system, for training new employees and posting messages and updates for all part-time service desk employees.

In the time they have worked on this project, they have made many changes, and they passed along to session participants many helpful ideas on what works, what needs improvement, and what doesn't work. There are many features on their ICON training module that work well, for example: having a "centralized repository of training materials" and a "place to organize and store manuals/documentation for easy access", as well as basic information like desk schedules and contact list for coworkers. ICON also makes it easy to create quizzes and tutorials, where progress of each individual employee can be tracked. For a library like Hardin that has many student employees all with different schedules, this type of training makes it available to the student employees during down time on their shift, and also frees up time for their supervisors, since many aspects of the training lend themselves to the online environment.