Extensive Internet instruction is included. A screening survey during the freshman advisement process helps students self-identify for possible enrollment in this course. Additionally, any freshman desiring in-depth instruction in using the Internet as an academic resource should be encouraged to enroll. The most effective opportunity we have to work with you and your students together. Focus sessions that provide comprehensive training and instruction for a single information resource are also an option.
Timing is critical.
Although the beginning of a semester sounds good in theory, it does not work in practice since students are not yet acclimated to you or your course environment and are unable to focus on important specifics at this point. Students are more receptive to a serious presentation on information resources if it is scheduled to coincide with their time of need, i.e., the point in the semester at which they actually begin work on the assignment requiring research. Course-related instruction improves a student's ability to locate, retrieve, and evaluate a variety of information resources, thus reducing frustration and improving the quality of research. Course-related instruction encourages productive interaction among classroom faculty, librarians, and students. Collection strengths and weaknesses are more easily detected and addressed in the context of actual course assignments.