Update from Toronto: Thoughts on Buck & the Distance Student Experience

One of the great things about blogging is that, given the aids of a functional laptop and available internet access, updates can be carried out anytime anywhere.  For example, though I usually update from my home base in London, today I am posting from Toronto, where I am currently situated while attending my first-ever Ontario Library Association (OLA) super conference.  Though it is difficult to find a free moment of uninterrupted time during this busy, but so-far enjoyable experience, I felt I should devote at least a few minutes to a valid blogging update. 

First of all, though slightly overdue, I figured it would be useful to reflect on the Stephanie Buck article, “A Distance Education Librarian Becomes a Distance Education Student.”  In reading about Buck’s experiences, I immediately developed a sense of empathy.  Through entering the world of distance learning from the student perspective, Buck (2011) asserts that she, “gained a better understanding of the issues that distance education students face and how the library can help them” in her role as a library professional (1).  Similarly, I am also in the process of exploring both sides of the distance learning experience. 

Over the summer, my co-op placement as a reference librarian at an academic library gave me an opportunity to work with distance users on a fairly regular basis.  By fielding reference questions via the media of phone, email and chat, I was exposed to the needs of distance students, provoking me to consider the best ways to assist them without face-to-face contact.  Having never participated in distance learning myself, it was sometimes difficult to discern the effectiveness of my reference approaches and responses, making my current role as a distance student a highly valuable one.

In addition, the article made me think critically about distance librarians.  Though Buck’s institution is fortunate to have a distance librarian who cares enough to further their learning about distance users, what about the distance librarians who don’t go to such lengths?  More importantly, what about institutions that don’t have a librarian who possesses the “distance education librarian” title?  During my undergrad, I studied at a smaller school, serving approximately 9, 200 students.  Though the school itself had adopted and run a distance program for many years, its library had no employee devoted to the needs of these users.  I feel this is a problematic approach, given that remote students deserve the same attention as the on-campus population, but may require information in alternative methods, and therefore, need a librarian who understands how this information can be relayed in the most compatible way.

Though I’d like to write more, given a busy schedule over the next few days, I will temporarily sign off.  Wishing everybody a good week.  More on the OLA experience to follow…

Second Life - here I come...

Though I have come across many references to Second Life through articles, discussions, or experiences from SL users themselves, this virtual environment was one that had – up until now – remained personally unexplored. Like many of my peers, the creation of a Second Life avatar prompted me to think critically about how people choose to portray themselves online, and more specifically, how I wanted to portray myself. As I began browsing through the different avatars available, I found myself giving serious thought to the avatar-creation process.

In real life, people are continuously judged based on their physical appearance, and so far, my introduction to SL has led me to believe that a virtual world is no different. Whether human, robot, vampire or animal (among others), each avatar allows you to communicate a specific first impression. However, unlike everyday existence, the ability to change who you are in Second Life can happen almost instantaneously. Whether selecting different facial features, hairstyles, clothing, etc. often times these alterations can be made with little money (or sometimes for free) and occur within a matter of seconds, catering to our culture, which is increasingly more expectant of instant gratification – especially when it comes to anything online!

Having never used Second Life before, at times I would become frustrated, not always knowing how to use certain features, or where to find what I needed. During these times, I considered such feelings and issues on a larger level. Over the summer, I was given a co-op placement at a large, academic library. Working as a Reference Librarian, I was responsible for answering questions through a variety of venues, some of which (phone, email, virtual chat) catered to students who required help from a remote location. I noticed that the majority of questions dealt with an inability to gain access to the information they needed (usually locating the right article), and often led to immediate frustration and concern caused by these issues - similarly to how I had felt during my early days on Second Life.

Though I believe that issues are often best confronted in face-to-face interactions, it is clear that these types of situations are not always possible. Therefore, it is important for us as librarians to be understanding of distance learners, providing them with the same level of service that would be given to users who approached our desk for an in-person reference interview. As librarians, it is our responsibility to learn how to communicate through alternative (and sometimes unfamiliar) venues in a way that is easily comprehendible and able to effectively meet the information needs of distance learners.

an introduction

Hello there, and welcome to my humble blog!

Since I am currently enrolled in an Issues in Distance Learning class as part of my Library and Information Science degree, I figured I would devote this space to anything & all things distance learning.  More to come in future!