This just came out : the latest “Tips and Trends” report from the Instructional Technologies Committee members of the American College and Research Libraries and the American Library Association.

Tips and Trends, written by Instructional Technologies Committee members, introduces and discusses new, emerging, or even familiar technology which can be applied in the library instruction setting. Issues are published 4 times a year.

Technology for Flipping the Classroom
Spring 2014

By Angela Colmenares

Here is an interesting twist on the old academic integrity issue : a web-game where Goblins are eliminated when you correctly answer questions about plagiarism.

It seems that UK institutions have pulled together to create a common MOOC platform called FutureLearn.

Interesting article from the McMaster Daily about an economics prof doing away with the traditional essay. Her solution? Posters. It tests student’s oral skills, allows for one-on-one evaluation and asks students to produce something closer to what employers will value.

Educause has a piece on what makes instructional vidoes compelling. Little surprise, the most viewed have content dealing directly with course activities.

Practionners have a love-hate relationship with Library and information science. Here is a recent article on the topic of whether it is a science or not:
Citation: Fredrick Kiwuwa Lugya, (2014) “What counts as a science and discipline in library and information science?”, Library Review, Vol. 63 Iss: 1/2
(Lugya says yes).

Also of interest, this recent book on theories of information:

Theories of Information, Communication and Knowledge: A Multidisciplinary Approach edited by Fidelia Ibekwe-SanJuan and Thomas M. Dousa (Eds.). London, UK: Springer, 2014. 380 pp. $179.00 (hardcover) (ISBN 978-94-007-6973-1)
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6973-1
(Also reviewed in JASIST)

A colleague of mine highlighted a few articles which explain how university libraries are engaging faculty and providing assistance to switch to open textbooks. Here are the links:
– For more on open textbooks
– The Alt textbook from Temple’s Teaching and Learning Technology Roundtable
– CBC radio (Calgary) interview about open textbooks

A great way to think outside the box is to give yourself difficult constraints. A colleague of mine pointed out this great lecture featuring Kenneth Goldsmith Poets at the White House, discussing uncreative writing. Arguably, a great example of creatively thinking about the importance of academic integrity or plagiarism:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqHaKniXkF8&w=420&h=315]
We were thinking of ways of making academic integrity more meaningful to students. In this other video, my institution takes a radically different approach, scaring students into acting appropriately:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BeyUy_QyO8&w=560&h=315]

The Science Blog’s Confessions of a science librarian provides for a list of 18 recent studies and reports targetting discussing contemporary issues in librarianship.

The American Library Association just published a report by Canadian librarian Carmen Kazakoff-Lane called “Environmental Scan of OERs, MOOCs, and Libraries: What Effectiveness and Sustainability Means for Libraries’ Impact on Open Education” (pdf).

Of particular interest is the 6-page bibliography (which I will reproduce in the comments section of this post).