The MAGIC of Web Tutorials Developing Best Practices to (Re)Focus on Users Amanda Nichols Hess...

The MAGIC of Web Tutorials

Developing Best Practices to (Re)Focus on Users

Amanda Nichols Hesse-Cornucopia 2013 | May 31, 2013

Presentation Objectives

• Discuss one academic library's experience making online tutorials (and their interface) more user-centered - including challenges and future goals

• Share "best practices" in online tutorials as developed from the literature and others' experiences

• Identify strategies to make online information appealing, engaging, and useful for users

Background

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44897573@N05/5660904529/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44897573@N05/5660904529/sizes/l/in/photostream/

What are web tutorials?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilal-kamoon/6835060992/sizes/c/in/photostream/

What are web tutorials at OU Libraries?

Where We Were

Timeline to Redesign

ca. 2011: Tutorials

inventoried, categorized by

librarian

Fall 2012: Web tutorials

redesign process begins

Summer 2013: KL Faculty

migrate existing

tutorials into new system

December 2012: Next steps (best

practices and new system)

developed and approved by

KL faculty

March & April 2013: KL

faculty assess existing tutorials, create

structure for new page

Ongoing: Creation of

new tutorials, evaluation of

delivery system

Conversations with Colleagues

Conversations with Colleagues

• Not user-centered• No continuity of style

across tutorials• Inability to keep up with

changing interfaces, platforms, etc. - "ceaseless pace of change"

• Not accessible at point-of-need

• Level of quality is inconsistent and problematic

• Shift focus from the tool to the concept

• Offer increased interactivity

Research

When designed and used effectively, online tutorials can effectively help students learn library and information literacy skills (Dewald, 1999; Dewald, Scholz-Crate, Booth, Levine, 2000; Su & Kuo, 2010; Beile & Boote, 2004; Silver & Nickel, 2005; Lindsay, Cummings, Johnson, & Scales, 2006; Zhang, 2006)

Research

Tutorials and interfaces should be designed to meet learners' needs, particularly at the user's point of need (Detlor & Lewis, 2006; Gold, 2005; Lindsay, Cummings, & Johnson, 2006; Su & Kuo, 2010; Bowles-Terry, Hensley, & Hinchcliffe, 2010)

Research

Tutorials need to be student-centered and consider who the learners are(Gold, 2005; Willis & Thomas, 2006; Oud, 2009)

Research

Findability is key(Gold, 2005; Willis & Thomas, 2006; Oud, 2009)

Research

Engagement in tutorials through active learning and interactivity is critical to creating lasting knowledge(Dewald, 1999; Riley-Huff, 2009; Dewald, Scholz-Crate, Booth, & Levine, 2000; Macklin, 2003; Zhang, 2006)

Research

Short or chunked tutorials prove most valuable by allowing for personalization, increasing learning, and decreasing redundancies(Detlor & Lewis, 2006; Dewald, Scholz-Crate, Booth, & Levine, 2000; Su & Kuo, 2010; Silver & Nickel, 2005; Bowles-Terry, Hensley, & Hinchcliffe, 2010; Oud, 2009; Reece, 2005)

Research

Focus on a single task or purpose, and eliminate fluff or attempts at humor(Gold, 2005; Bowles-Terry, Hensley, & Hinchcliffe, 2010)

Research

When possible, provide alternate representations - this accommodates learning preferences or disability-related issues(Bowles-Terry, Hensley, & Hinchcliffe, 2010; Oud, 2009)

Learning from Others

Our Path Forward: MAGIC

Maintainable

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/576665319/sizes/o/in/photostream/



MaintainableAvailable




MaintainableAvailableGeared at users




MaintainableAvailableGeared at usersInformative




MaintainableAvailableGeared at usersInformativeCustomizable



Guiding Documents

Collaboration, Planning, and Design

Faculty Support

Again, Where We Were to...

http://library.oakland.edu/tutorials/index.htm

Where We Are Now

http://research.library.oakland.edu/sp/subjects/beta_tutorials.php

Next Steps for OU Libraries

Usability testing Collect usage data and statistics

To

determine

if

Our Research, Ideas, and Best Practices

OU Students' Needs and Behaviors

Next Steps for OU Librarians

Michaelangelo. The Creation of Adam. Accessed 29 May 2013 from www.ARTstor.org

Thank you!

All resources available at bit.ly/eCornMAGICReferences

Beile, P. M., & Boote, D. N. (2004). Does the medium matter?: A comparison of a web-based tutorial with face-to-face library instruction on education students' self-efficacy levels and learning outcomes. Research Strategies, 20(1–2), 57-68.

Bowles-Terry, M., Hensley, M. K., & Hinchliffe, L. J. (2010). Best practices for online video tutorials in academic libraries. Communications in Information Literacy, 4(1), 17-28.

Riley-Huff, D.A. (2009). Design insights and inspiration from the Tate: What museum web sites can offer us. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 9(1), 79-98.

Detlor, B., & Lewis, V. (2006). Academic library web sites: Current practice and future directions. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(3), 251-258.

Dewald, N. H. (1999). Transporting good library instruction practices into the web environment: An analysis of online tutorials. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 25(1), 26.

Dewald, N., Scholz-Crane, A., Booth, A., & Levine, C. (2000). Information literacy at a distance: Instructional design issues. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 26(1), 33-44.

Gold, H. E. (2005). Engaging the adult learner: Creating effective library instruction. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 5(4), 467-481.Oud, J. (2009). Guidelines for effective online instruction using multimedia screencasts. Reference Services Review, 37(2), 164.Lindsay, E., Cummings, L., Johnson, C., & Scales, B. (2006). If you build it, will they learn? Assessing online information literacy tutorials.

College & Research Libraries, 67(5), 429-445.Macklin, A. (2003). Theory into practice: Applying David Jonassen's work in instructional design to instruction programs in academic libraries.

College & Research Libraries, 64(6), 494-500.Mestre, L. S. (2012). Student preference for tutorial design: A usability study. Reference Services Review, 40(2), 258-276.Reece, G. J. (2005). Critical thinking and cognitive transfer: Implications for the development of online information literacy tutorials. Research

Strategies, 20(4), 482-493.Silver, S. L., & Nickel, L. T. (2005). Are online tutorials effective? A comparison of online and classroom library instruction methods. Research

Strategies, 20(4), 389-396.Su, S., & Kuo, J. (2010). Design and development of web-based information literacy tutorials. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(4),

320-328.Zhang, L. (2006). Effectively incorporating instructional media into web-based information literacy. The Electronic Library, 24(3), 294-306.

The MAGIC of Web Tutorials Developing Best Practices to (Re)Focus on Users Amanda Nichols Hess...

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