E-Learning Tools: Creating an Online Instruction Module

摘要

Each academic year, the Douglass College of Rutgers University conducts a writing and research course for all first-year and transfer students called Shaping A Life. This class focuses on interviews conducted with notable women and the events surrounding their lives, the final result of which is a research paper. In recent years, the Douglass Library has participated in this course by offering bibliographic instruction on basic research methods to approximately 800 students each Fall semester. In cooperation with the Shaping A Life class instructors, library instructors present a large amount of information to these students during a short period of time; just two library sessions are presented to each class section. In an effort to more efficiently provide information to students, Eileen Stec, the Instructional Outreach Librarian of the Douglass Library, proposed that we create an online instructional module to present information more thoroughly outside of the classroom. This module would be accessed by students on the Internet and would cover important information before class time, allowing the in-class instruction to focus on research methods. Eileen chose plagiarism and its place in academic writing and research as the topic for this first online module. Focusing on both intentional and unintentional acts of plagiarism, it would cover the information in a way that would appeal to our audience. Intended as a guide for students, it would also present instruction in an entertaining and interactive format.