Fit for the future: New ways to support students at a distance
Josephine BurtLibrary Services Business Development Manager
‘Future technology now’
5th annual SLIC Conference for Further Education library and information staff in Scotland
Contents• The Open University
– OU in Scotland• Library Services
– What we offer students• Challenges for the future• Stuff you might use
Context - The Open University
• 13 regional centres• Single module,
certificate, diplomas, awards, PG, research
• Materials - paper-based, blended and online learning
• Europe and
worldwide
• 500 modules, 200 quals• Supported open learning
Open University students
OU students• no previous qualifications
required• 180,000 undergraduate
students• 30,000 postgraduate students• 10,000 students have
disabilities• 30,000 students live outside
UK• Part-time study
– 70% of undergraduates in full-time employment
– 50% sponsored by employer
• 2,000,000 OU alumni
Multichannel content
Headcount
1 – 20
21 - 40
41 - 60
61 – 86
Based upon Ordnance Survey BoundaryLine® data © Crown Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100046763
ssssssssssssssssssss
The OU in Scotland Campus2006/7 students by postcode district
The OU in Scotland• 4 in 10 - part-time undergraduates taught by OU • 15,000 OU students - live in virtually every community
across Scotland• 1 in 100 - participation rate for adults in Shetland -
studying with the OU• 1 in 5 - OU’s new undergraduate students in Scotland
come from the college sector, building on their higher national qualifications to gain a degree
• Working with Colleges– Progression – College routes– 15 colleges
Online Library Services 2009/10
• 98,000 unique student visitors to the Library website
• database usage 1,600,000 searches = 20% rise
• 6m website page requests
Our priorities are to
• Provide a variety of excellent learning resources to enhance the student’s learning experience
• Ensure that all our students develop the skills they need for work and study in the knowledge society
Use of Online databases by students and staff (ATHENS & EZProxy)
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
No
of
sess
ion
s
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11
Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor of the Open University
Naomi Sargant Memorial Lecture, 2010
Services for students
• E-resources and IL skills embedded in courses (inc. InfoRate and Safari)
• One stop search• Helpdesk support• SCONUL Access to other academic
libraries• Accessibility support• Induction via Elluminate
Where do I start?
Library Resources on module websites
Library resources embedded into VLE
Mobile OU Library website – v1 (developed in early 2007)
Information Literacy• Recognised as key skill• Levels framework• Faculty strategies• Digital literacies• E-meeting software
sessions for students and staff
Diagnostic quizzes
Programmes and materials to help staff develop their knowledge and skills
Library Information Literacy
Our challenges 1
• Students of the future• Social networking age• New technology and
applications• Information overload
– More new information has been produced in the last 30 years than in the 5,000 years before that
Our challenges 2
• Improving the student experience
• Supporting Digital Literacy• Improving search even more• Students helping
themselves• Taking Library Services
where the students want to be
Our challenges 3
• Giving the service and support flexibly• Information management policies• Change management• Being flexible
Resources for you and your students• Safari• How to …
guides• Referencing
and citation info
• Plagiarism• iKnow
Resources for you and your students
• Open research
online
Openlearn in Scotland
Services to partner institutions
website
Finally something for you!
• The evolving information professional – Helps keep you up to date– Short 30 hour course– Flexible, 1 -2 hour elements– Online– 10% discount for CILIP members
Thank you!
Contact
Josephine Burt, Business Development Manager– email: [email protected]– tel: 01908 659121