Library Connection: Virtual Orientation Badges

In addition to the information literacy badges, we have developed a program known as Library Connection. The goal of this program is to provide an equivalent level of service as residential students receive. This program is a series of 5 badges that go over foundational skills that serve as the starting point for increasing students comfort and knowledge with using the library.

What Makes this Unique?

Orientation programs are not unique. What makes our program unique is that it is interactive, student-centered, and provides personalized feedback to students. Librarians provide the assessment and students have to actually apply what they are learning as they are learning it. This differs from some other orientations that provide information with minimal assessment because every student needs to articulate and externalize their internal cognition while completing the badges. We then get to see student thinking and adapt our future design based on this.

Where is the Quality?

We have well-established learning outcomes for this program. We have also been able to conduct an IRB study and review the competency of student responses. Librarians serve as evaluators and have the expertise to assess student mastery.

1. Students will locate the subject guide for their specific course in order to find resources relevant to their field. 
2. Students will select a topic in LionSearch and find one book and one article or one popular and one scholarly resource for their paper topic. 
3. Students will assess their information to access through ILL/borrowing resources/Commonwealth campuses. 
4. Students will be able to identify librarians as resources/experts and contact them for their reference/instruction/and navigational questions in order to forge a connection to the library. 
5. Students will locate and understand the library resources listed in Canvas in order to use the library within their learning management system. 
6. Students will complete a module on academic integrity and connect it to their prior experiences in order to prevent future violations of academic integrity due to uncertainty.
Ideal Course Integration
Students find more value in co-curricular instruction when they see a purpose and connection to their course work. Anyone can complete the Library Connection but it is more effective when it is used in conjunction with a research assignment in a first-year course such as English 015, general education, or department orientation courses.

Time to Completion

It takes about 30 minutes for students to complete one badge. Therefore, you can expect to spend about 2 and a half hours on the Library Connection.

Badges

Ask-A-Librarian:
This badge connects you to the library by providing you with the information you need to know to be able to contact a librarian when you need help. There are multiple ways for you to connect with a librarian who are here to help. At the conclusion of this badge you will know how to navigate the library website to get the contact information you need and learn how to know when you need personalized help from a librarian. As with all of the Penn State Libraries badges good grammar and sentence structure is expected. These badges are a reflection of your academic work and should represent the best of you. This badge is related to the ACRL Framework Authority is Constructed and Contextual.
Library Resources in Canvas
Library Resources in Canvas:
There are library resources in Canvas located under the LibraryResources tab. In this badge, you will learn what these resources are and how to use them. Placing these resources in Canvas allows you to use the library while you are within the context of your course. This helps to situate the learning and allows you to use the resources as you need them. This badge gives students the opportunity to interact with the ACRL Framework: Searching as Strategic Exploration.
LionSearch
LionSearch:
In this badge students will begin the process of searching with library resources. This badge is intended to introduce students to Lionsearch and to see how their previous search strategies in search engines are not that different from using Lionsearch but that the information the search generates is quite different. This badge is related to the ACRL Framework Searching as Strategic Exploration.
I Want It/ILL
Requesting Materials:
In this badge students will learn about Interlibrary Loan and I Want It and how these services can improve the information and resources that students request and use. At the conclusion of this badge students will know how to (a) request a resource Penn State does not own and (b) request a physical resource to be delivered to you. This badge is related to the ACRL Framework Research as Inquiry
Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity: 

Academic integrity is a complex topic. Gaining expertise in the components of academic integrity such as plagiarism, fair use, copyright, cheating, and sharing of course materials is more complex than it first appears. At the conclusion of this badge, you should have articulated your prior understanding of academic integrity, completing the academic integrity module offered by Penn State, and reflected on knowledge gained and remaining questions you have about academic integrity.

The ACRL Framework identifies the Frame of Information Has Value as the primary Frame detailing facets of Academic Integrity. Specifically, this badge help students learn how to give credit for others ideas, understanding the notion of intellectual property, and articulating the purpose of concepts such as copyright and fair use.  Finally, students will understand that citing allows them to cite themselves in the future and establish an area of expertise in their academic and professional careers.