Document Type

Journal Article

Department/Unit

Library

Language

English

Abstract

Purpose This paper describes how a course-integrated blog was used to facilitate the learning of information literacy skills. It also reports on how the effectiveness of the blog was evaluated. Design/methodology/approach The blog was made the centerpiece of library support offered to a first-year politics course. With the support of the faculty member involved, students were required to post answers to weekly library research skills questions posted to the blog. The quality of student responses was examined using a simple assessment rubric. Also, a survey was administered to students to determine perceived usefulness. Findings The evaluation of blog posts showed that the quality of answers was generally very good. Students put effort into their responses and most gave accurate and thorough answers. The results of the survey indicated that most students felt the blog was useful to their learning, both in terms of general information skills, and in terms of helping research the term paper for the course. Research limitations/implications These results reflect just one course at a single university, therefore it is not possible to use the findings to make generalizations. The study could serve as a starting point for further inquiry into the evaluation of blogs as a support tool. Originality/value While others have reported on using blogs in a similar manner, this study also attempts a thorough evaluation of the efficacy of the blog in helping students learn. Given the positive results of this evaluation, librarians could consider using blogs and other Web 2.0 tools to engage students in their own learning.

Keywords

Blogs, Library 2.0, Course-integration, Collaboration, Hong Kong

Publication Date

2009

Source Publication Title

Reference Services Review

Volume

37

Issue

4

Start Page

395

End Page

407

Publisher

Emerald

Peer Reviewed

1

Link to Publisher's Edition

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/00907320911007001

ISSN (print)

00907324

Download
Link to Publisher's Version

Share

COinS