Orientations

On Friday, I was tasked with presenting to one of my largest audiences ever - 178 students - for one of the longest orientation sessions I have ever given - 90 minutes.  I was nervous to say the very least.
I find orientations challenging.  I want to make a good impression on the students (kind, friendly, helpful and perhaps funny).  I want to provide crucial information, but I do not want to overwhelm them with too much information that will be quickly forgotten, or worse, not relevant.

The majority of our orientations at Saskatchewan Polytechnic happen in a computer lab with a small group of students.  I really appreciate the opportunity to get to know students in a more intimate setting.  I also really like that they have a chance to participate in some hands-on learning activities.

So the challenges that I faced with Friday's orientation:

• It was Friday, after lunch and the last thing that the students had to do that day
• It was in a lecture theatre
• Everything that could go wrong did go wrong with technology (PPT did not have default setting of presenter view checked, projector turned off, couldn't get screen to show Internet browser).  Good reminder to go into the classroom in advance and test everything out!

Wins:

• Students laughed hysterically when I told them a story about shushing a patron
• Some students were overheard saying I was adorable.  To me this was a huge compliment, because I want them to feel comfortable coming to me in the future with reference questions.
• Students gave the impression of being very engaged
• I had a student come to my office immediately following the session to ask a question

The Amazing Library Race

This is a perfect activity for a library orientation when you have longer than an hour with a group of students.  It is also a good activity to review key concepts.

Materials required:

• Route markers
• Clues
• Students will require a pen

To review key locations in the library and give students an opportunity to learn more about each location in a smaller group setting:

1. This activity occurred after a library tour was given
2. We had five key questions that we wanted students to find the answers for.
• What is the title of the book at this call number? (understanding of how the library is organized and how to find a book based on a call number or a catalogue search)
• Reference Desk: Discover how to find a book in the library catalogue (acknowledge that there are people who are willing to help you find materials - students were also given a handout with more information about our catalogue)
• Library Web site: Look up who the liaison librarian is for kinesiology.  Also find the library hours for the Natural Science Library on Sundays (demonstrates that they understand how to retrieve library information from our web site)
• Circulation Desk: Ask what the loan period is for undergraduate students (where the circulation desk is and that students can ask questions here as well)
• University Learning Centre: What services does the ULC provide (acknowledges that the University Library is made up of many departments all with the objective to assist students with their research or academic needs)
3. We staggered the route so that the students would not all be travelling to the same places at the same time.  In other words, each clue that was given to the groups started them at a different place.
4. Students were provided with their next clue once they had successfully completed the activity at each checkpoint. 
5. First group back with five correct answers was given a small prize.

I felt that this activity was extremely successful.  The students were running around the library in search of their next answer.  There was a sense of competition but also I think it was fun!  I would definitely do this activity again if I had an appropriate class to implement it in.

The audience mixes things up

Today I had the opportunity to collaborate with my esteemed colleague on a library orientation for students from Centennial Collegiate who are participating in the Science Academy program.  The 16 students will spend two mornings with librarians from the University of Saskatchewan, this week.  This post will summarize the activities of the first morning.

Our agenda for our allotted time was spent discussing the concepts of academic libraries and librarianship; primary vs. secondary sources; scholarly vs. popular publications and finally a brief discussion of how the library is organized.  Students were then taken on a tour of the facility and returned to us for the wrap up exercise. 

We made use of several active learning techniques with varying degrees of success.  First, I learned a valuable lesson about high school students.  They are incredibly reluctant to share their thoughts in a group setting.  I had planned on asking for their feedback on how an academic library differed from their library and what they thought librarians did.  I waited the seven seconds to solicit a response and still nothing.  I did have one person give me an answer finally and her answer was awesome (I even learned something from it)!  So at least that is something.  Pair shares on the other hand were very successful.  The students were very happy to converse with their own peer group.  We asked them to share challenges with the research process and how they overcame those obstacles.  We identified the four main steps in the research process and asked them to work on each step for at least 2 minutes.  The students were very engaged with this activities and the quality of their responses was exceptional.  At the end of the pair-shares, I once again ventured into another group share activity.  The students were much more willing to share the thoughts of their group with the larger class.

Our best activity was the brain child of my colleague.  I will include details of that activity in a separate post.

Beautiful Moment

When I began my university education, my first year biology professor stated the common phrase "look to your left, look to your right - one of these people will not be here at the end of this school year".  Today at the orientation for first year Engineering student one of the speakers began that same adage, but ended it like this.... "these people are your friends, your lifeline in university.  Get to know them, rely them on because they are your support system".

This is one of the things that I love about modern education.  We (faculty, staff, etc.) present ourselves as individuals who are willing to help our students to succeed.  We care about their achievement and we are proactive in helping them get there.

What a difference!  I know that I was touched by the speaker's comments, and I am hoping that there were a lot of students out there who were equally moved.  I also feel truly blessed to work in the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan!

Orientation

Below you will find my script for the Engineering Orientation that will be held on September 4th in the afternoon.  I am hoping that I can cover all of this in 10 minutes or less.

Hello my name is Tasha Maddison and I am very pleased to be here today to welcome you to the University, especially in this, the centennial year of the College of Engineering. I am here to introduce the library and its services to you.

You may be sitting out there thinking: “I can make it through university without ever stepping foot into the library”. That is absolutely true; you can go through university without ever physically entering a library. However, you will likely be utilizing resources that the library has licensed, that your professors have provided through Blackboard or class web pages. The library offers more than 52000 electronic journals, as well as, eBooks and other digital resources which will allow you to avoid the actual library altogether.

You may be sitting out there thinking: “I didn’t know there was a library on campus”. There are seven libraries on campus, with a branch on the first floor of the Engineering building which is home to a specialized collection of Engineering materials covering all disciplines taught within the college. The Engineering Library is a somewhat unique library on campus in that we encourage discussion and collaboration. We will never shush you. You are welcomed to work in teams or individually in quieter study carrels. You are also welcome to drink your coffee and indulge in your snack at the Engineering Library. All libraries on campus are open to all students to use. If you crave a library that doesn’t smell of pizza than Natural Sciences library might be the place for you. If you crave natural light than the Vet Med or Natural Sciences libraries are idyllic. Perhaps you are looking for your Starbucks fix, well than Murray is the place to be.

You may be sitting there thinking: “I can’t wait to start using the library, see you tomorrow”. I say fantastic - the staff of the Engineering Library and I can’t wait to see you and get to know you better. We have 3 library assistants and 7 student assistants who can help you with borrowing materials, putting money on your printing account and with reserves. A brief note here for you about reserves as they are typically unique to an academic setting. Reserves are items that your professor provides for you to use for a shorter period of time. For example, it could be one of your supplementary textbooks that is available for borrowing for 4 hours at a time. Just enough time to read a chapter and still have time to have a snooze in one of our comfy chairs.

You may be sitting there thinking: “who is this person?” Well I am the liaison librarian for the Engineering library and my job is to help you with your research questions. I realize that when you come to me, you have exhausted Google and other searches methods, but you need an answer and you need it now because you have a pressing deadline. My job is to help you find what you are looking for. It is also my job to help you discover effective search strategies that will make your research easier and more efficient. I know you won’t have time to waste and that you have a lot on your plate - so I am here to help!