RACL WebCT Working Group Report GIL User’s Group Meeting May 20, 2004 Caroline Cason

Background   Campus portals and course management systems are changing the ways students and faculty interact with their courses and campus services   WebCT Vista will be the course management system for all USG institutions   How can USG libraries assist with integration of local library and GALILEO resources as well as other library services into the online course management environment?

Purpose of RACL WebCT Working Group   Review possibilities for integration of library resources and services into WebCT Vista Environment   Test authentication scenarios   Identify issues   Make recommendations

Group Members   Mary Morris - MSCSU   Carol Bray - EGA   Tyler Walters - GIT   Kim Eccles - Atlanta Metro   Sandra Stratford - CSU   Chris Huff - WGA   Shirley Lankford - WGA   Sherrida Crawford -VSU   Jan Ruskell - WGA   Laura Burtle - GSU   Jeff Heck - Augusta State   Caroline Cason - UGA   Phil Wetherington - MSCSU   Tammy Sugarman - GSU   Lauren Fancher - BOR   Merryll Penson - BOR

Review Possibilities for Integration of Library Resources and Services   Discuss current USG campus and library collaboration within WebCT and in support of faculty instruction   Review products for integration of library resources into online courses   Sentient   ENCompass Course Content Integrator   Review WebCT VISTA environment   Review other approaches nationally (ANGEL)

Discussion Questions   What should the student’s and faculty view of library resources within WebCT look like?   What can we do now to get there?

My WebCT (Student) View

File Manager (Faculty) View

Different Features and Functions for Students, Faculty, and Librarians   Students: need links to library resources and services at main page, as well as to particular materials within courses and assignments   Faculty: need to be able to place durable links to pre-selected as well as self-selected materials within courses and assignments   Librarians: need to be able to create collections of durable links to materials at the discipline, section, course, and assignment level for selection by faculty. Also provide services.

Examples of Linked Resources and Services on Student’s Homepage   GALILEO   Institution’s GIL Library Catalog   GIL Union Catalog   Institution’s library website   Online Library Learning Center Tutorial   Citation style guide   Request for assistance with research (research conference request or Ask a Librarian request )

Examples of Linked Resources for Courses and Assignments   articles on electronic reserve for the course   articles in websites, ejournals, electronic reserves, online databases   books in OPAC or online   bibliographies with links to books and articles   subject search results in OPAC   subject guide with pathfinders to related subject content on websites, ejournals, and online databases   subject metasearch results from multiple resources   learning objects such as simulations and tutorials

Authentication Issues   Working towards a single sign-on environment for users across all campus services from a single place (portal and or course management)   Most licensed library resources require IP authentication or separate user name and password

Linking Issues   Access to linked library resources should be as seamless as possible   Links to library resources need to be durable over time so that as things change, they stay current   Changes to links need to be easy to manage

Solutions?   Proxy products such as EZProxy ensure that links to IP-authenticated resources are seamlessly available to users   Open URL link resolvers ensure that links are durable and easy to manage   Content integration products provide ways for libraries and faculty to collaborate in use of library resources within online course management systems

The Future? My My Portfolio My WebCT My News My Student Information My Library My Course My Assignment My Course GIL EReserves GALILEO Links to Library Systems and Services Links to EReserves, Ejournals, Pathfinders Link Resolver Ask a Librarian Links to Articles, Learning Objects My Campus Portal

Additional Reading  Libraries and the Enhancement of E-learning, OCLC E- Learning Task Force White Paper, October 2003  Reflections on a Privilege - Becoming Part of the Course Through a Collaboration in Blackboard, Kara l. Giles, College and Research Libraries News, May 2004, p , 268.