Demystifying online instruction

CHICAGO — The design of information literacy instruction and the building of it are two distinct skillsets and processes; yet all too often everything gets mashed together, creating needless confusion and stress. In “Demystifying Online Instruction in Libraries: People, Process, and Tools,” published by ALA Editions, instructional designer Dominique Turnbow and instructional technologist Amanda Roth suggest a better way to organize the work. They shed light on the people, processes, and resources required to create a sustainable portfolio of online instruction. With the goal of fostering conversations in your library about the most streamlined and effective ways to get the work done, they provide guidance on such topics as:

• design and development processes, complete with “I.D. in Action” examples and sample design documents;
• thumbnail descriptions of ADDIE, SAM, and design thinking methods;
• creating learning objects;
• types of software tools and how to evaluate them;
• crafting the best documentation of your work for efficient maintenance and reuse;
• adapting assessment to your learning outcomes and purpose;
• when to design for performance support, an underutilized method in libraries; and
• starting points for those interested in developing instructional design and development skills.

Turnbow combines her expertise in instructional design with over a decade of experience working in academic libraries to deliver information literacy instruction effectively in online environments. In 2002, Dominique received her MLIS from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she began her career as an instruction and reference librarian before moving to the University of California, San Diego. Since receiving her MEd degree in 2013 she has applied her instructional design expertise to the design of online information literacy tutorials. Roth uses her more than five years of experience with website design, information architecture, and knowledge of user experience best practices in the corporate world to create and deliver information literacy instruction through the use of online learning objects. Amanda received her MLIS from San Jose State University in 2013 and has since worked in academic libraries, providing instruction services to undergraduate students.

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