Kristen Radsliff Rebmann

Designing rich information experiences to shape learning outcomes

Students in higher education typically learn to use information as part of their course of study, which is intended to support ongoing academic, personal and professional growth. Informing the development of effective information literacy education, this research uses a phenomenographic approach to investigate the experiences of a teacher and students engaged in lessons focused on exploring language and gender topics by tracing and analyzing their evolution through scholarly discourse. The findings suggest that the way learners use information influences content-focused learning outcomes, and reveal how teachers may enact lessons that enable students to learn to use information in ways that foster a specific understanding of the topic they are investigating.

Distance Learning Skills and Responsibilities: A Content Analysis of Job Announcements 1996–2010

Archived job advertisements from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) LIBJOBS mailing list (1996–2010) were examined using content analysis. Findings suggest that distance learning (DL) skillsets as job qualifications emerged in the late 1990s and continue to be relevant today. Jobs with DL responsibilities are most prevalent in public services followed by administration. Positions focused on DL also emerged in the late 1990s though it is unclear whether demand for these positions continues to be as strong. “Distance Leaning Librarian” and “Distance Education Librarian” are the two most common job titles for librarians focused on DL responsibilities.

Connecting distance learning communities to research via virtual collaboratories: a case study from library and information science

This case study reports on patterns of participation in a virtual collaboratory organised around goals associated with the involvement of graduate students in research and writing projects. Traditionally, distance learning classrooms have been devoted to teaching content matter (in a virtual context) yet this case study reports on the use of synchronous learning contexts to support research and professionalisation on the part of graduate students in library and information science. Focus is placed on discussing virtual collaboratories as a form of learning design that modifies the use of existing (synchronous) distance learning classrooms.

A Collaborative Approach to Digital Storytelling Projects

This chapter reports on an ethnographic study of digital storytelling activities in a semi-structured afterschool program, the Fifth Dimension. Focus is placed on understanding the collaborative production of digital stories, an already well-regarded form of programming for youth. Traditionally, digital stories are developed by authors working independently yet, when produced collaboratively, digital stories allow different subgroups with diverse goals for participation to shape the trajectory of activity and imagining. Findings suggest that digital stories are flexible enough to be interpreted and shaped by diverse, multi-age participants yet robust enough to support learning and sustained participation.