Rethinking handouts for library instruction sessions Theyre not

Rethinking handouts for library instruction sessions: They’re not as bad as you’ve been told John Hickok Instruction/Outreach Librarian CSU Fullerton http: //users. library. fullerton. edu/jhickok/conferences. htm

Today’s presentation 1. Why handouts have a bad rap 7 min. 2. A rebuttal to the bad rap 7 min. 3. are tools for active-learning 10 min. 4. can be green-friendly! 10 min. 5. have advantages over e-guides 10 min. 6. Effective design principles 10 min. 7. Q&A 5 min.

Learning objectives Participants will be able to… 1. Identify why handouts have a bad rap 2. Identify rebuttals to these bad raps 3. Explain how handouts help in active-learning 4. List ways handouts can be green-friendly! 5. State an advantage handouts have over e-guides 6. Recognize effective design principles

1. Why handouts have a bad rap

1. Why handouts have a bad rap A. Considered old fashioned

1. Why handouts have a bad rap A. Considered old fashioned 1980 s/90 s: catalogs & databases were not graphical and required complicated text strings to search…so explanation sheets were needed

1. Why handouts have a bad rap B. Not green-friendly

1. Why handouts have a bad rap B. Not green-friendly Today, “paperless”, “save the trees”, “ecofriendly” is the call. Printing is seen as wasteful.

1. Why handouts have a bad rap B. Not green-friendly Today, “paperless”, “save the trees”, “ecofriendly” is the call. Printing is seen as wasteful. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ref. Jm. Qh. Lv. Bs

1. Why handouts have a bad rap C. No longer needed due to e-guides

1. Why handouts have a bad rap C. No longer needed due to e-guides Academic libraries everywhere now have former handouts on their websites as e-guides

1. Why handouts have a bad rap C. No longer needed due to e-guides Academic libraries everywhere now have former handouts on their websites as e-guides CSU Fullerton

1. Why handouts have a bad rap C. No longer needed due to e-guides Academic libraries everywhere now have former handouts on their websites as e-guides Pasadena City College

1. Why handouts have a bad rap C. No longer needed due to e-guides Academic libraries everywhere now have former handouts on their websites as e-guides UCI

2. A rebuttal to the bad rap

2. A rebuttal to the bad rap A. Old fashioned

2. A rebuttal to the bad rap A. Old fashioned Yes, newer catalogs/databases are more graphical & user-friendly…. but GUI-ier interfaces do not automatically ensure adequate Info. Literacy.

2. A rebuttal to the bad rap B. Not green-friendly

2. A rebuttal to the bad rap B. Not green-friendly Responsible sustainable use

2. A rebuttal to the bad rap C. No longer needed, due to e-guides

2. A rebuttal to the bad rap C. No longer needed, due to e-guides While e-guides are great, they put all the responsibility of understanding/deciphering solely on the student…without live, human explanation.

3. are tools for active learning Handouts provide a means for hands-on participatory, experiential learning

3. are tools for active learning Handouts provide a means for hands-on participatory, experiential learning Lev Vygotsky (1896 -1934) Psychologist Students learn most effectively experientially—interacting in their learning environment.

3. are tools for active learning Handouts provide a means for hands-on participatory, experiential learning Jean Piaget (1896 -1980) Psychologist Students learn best in interactive environments, and draw from others’ influence/guidance.

3. are tools for active learning Handouts provide a means for hands-on participatory, experiential learning

3. are tools for active learning Handouts provide a means for hands-on participatory, experiential learning • Too Textual • No visuals • No invitation to participate • Aesthetically: boring

3. are tools for active learning Handouts provide a means for hands-on participatory, experiential learning

3. are tools for active learning Handouts provide a means for hands-on participatory, experiential learning • Text, but paced • Screenshot visuals • Invited participation box • Aesthetically: bullets, graphics

3. are tools for active learning Another example: handout invoking experiential learning among international students.

4. can be green-friendly

4. can be green-friendly Let’s start with examples of abuse that give handouts a bad name: n Little/no content using an entire page

4. can be green-friendly Let’s start with examples of abuse that give handouts a bad name: n n Little/no content using an entire page Only using one side

4. can be green-friendly Let’s start with examples of abuse that give handouts a bad name: n n n Little/no content using an entire page Only using one side A hanging paragraph taking an entire page

4. can be green-friendly Let’s start with examples of abuse that give handouts a bad name: n n Little/no content using an entire page Only using one side A hanging paragraph taking an entire page Giving out nearly full course-pack as a handout

4. can be green-friendly Let’s start with examples of abuse that give handouts a bad name: n n n Little/no content using an entire page Only using one side A hanging paragraph taking an entire page Giving out nearly full course-pack as a handout Libraries using 0% recycled paper

4. can be green-friendly Work with your library or university’s purchasing officers to investigate 100% recycled paper.

4. can be green-friendly Work with your library or university’s purchasing officers to investigate 100% recycled paper. Yes, it is more expensive, but there are strategies you can take: n 100% just for instruction n Consortium bulk buying n Searching 100% vendors

4. can be green-friendly www. conservatree. org lists 100% paper products and vendors

4. can be green-friendly And the best way to employ handouts and be green: post your handout on your homepage, LIVE, as you teach, and offer students with mobile devices the option of using the e-handout instead n n Poll the class before running the copies Post the handout as a write-on-able document

5. have adv’s. over e-guides

5. have adv’s. over e-guides Yes, e-guides are wonderful. They provide unparalleled access to instructions & information!

5. have adv’s. over e-guides Yes, e-guides are wonderful. They provide unparalleled access to instructions & information! But… they have drawbacks.

5. n have adv’s. over e-guides Yes, e-guides are wonderful. They provide unparalleled access to instructions & information! But… they have drawbacks. Many times they are general guides, not specific to a students exact assignment or needs

5. n n have adv’s. over e-guides Yes, e-guides are wonderful. They provide unparalleled access to instructions & information! But… they have drawbacks. Many times they are general guides, not specific to a students exact assignment or needs Even if the e-guide is course-specific, it is accessed without human interaction, so all the burden of deciphering falls on the student

5. n n n have adv’s. over e-guides Yes, e-guides are wonderful. They provide unparalleled access to instructions & information! But… they have drawbacks. Many times they are general guides, not specific to a students exact assignment or needs Even if the e-guide is course-specific, it is accessed without human interaction, so all the burden of deciphering falls on the student They are frequently heavily textual and just “content dissemination”, not participatory

5. have adv’s. over e-guides CSUF Classspecific E-guides

5. have adv’s. over e-guides Comm 353 e-guide (by John Hickok)

5. have adv’s. over e-guides Yes, has some good elements (graphical, etc. ) But….

5. have adv’s. over e-guides The inperson handout has SO many more advantages!

5. have adv’s. over e-guides n Teamwork exercises of evaluating Ad websites

5. have adv’s. over e-guides n Teamwork exercises of evaluating Ad websites n Step-by-step live demo’ing of how to dig deep into databases for company brand info

5. have adv’s. over e-guides n Teamwork exercises of evaluating Ad websites n Step-by-step live demo’ing of how to dig deep into databases for company brand info n Prompts to apply the steps on the handout, by searching for new brands

6. Effective Design principles

6. Effective Design principles Literature review of “designing handouts for effective learning” yields works from: Educators n Trainers n Librarians (very little) n

6. Effective Design principles Educators: Marla Yoshida (ESL Instructor, UCI Extension) http: //yoshidacatesol. pbworks. com/w/file/fetch/38693272/Effective%20 handouts%20 slideshow. pdf http: //yoshidacatesol. pbworks. com/w/file/fetch/38693257/Effective%20 Handouts. PDF Abbie Brown (Instructional Design Ph. D, formerly CSUF) http: //www. mscare. org/cmsc/images/pdf/document_design_brown. pdf Mary Bucholz (Linguistics Ph. D, UCBerkeley) http: //www. linguistics. ucsb. edu/faculty/bucholtz/sociocultural/handouttips. html U. of Minnesota Ctr. for Teaching & Learning http: //www 1. umn. edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/powerpoint/handouts/

6. Effective Design principles

6. Effective Design principles Trainers: Olivia Mitchell (Professional trainer) http: //www. speakingaboutpresenting. com/delivery/presentation-handouts/

6. Effective Design principles

6. Effective Design principles Librarians: Anna Johnson (Mt. Hood Comm. Coll. , Oregon) http: //www. pcc. edu/resources/tlc/cascade/documents/PCCHandouts_handout. pdf U. of Texas Libraries (Librarian tools: creating handouts) http: //www. lib. utexas. edu/services/instruction/tips/tt/tt_handout. html

6. Effective Design principles

6. Effective Design principles Common principles among all of them: n ample white space n uniformity (font styles, outline) n use of graphics (screenshots, photos, etc. ) n infusing active learning (prompts, tasks)

6. Q & A Thank you!