LAMS, e-learning

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LAMS, e-learning Information Literacy
possibilities practicalities
Margaret Wright, Macquarie University Heather
Cooper, University of the Sunshine Coast
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What is LAMS?

• LAMS is a new tool for designing, managing and
• delivering online collaborative learning
  activities. It
• provides teachers with a highly intuitive visual
  authoring
• environment for creating sequences of learning
• activities. These activities can include a range
  of
• individual tasks, small group work and whole
  class
• activities based on both content and
  collaboration.
• Source http//lamsinternational.com/CD/

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LAMS also

• Purpose built for online teaching
• Supports student-centered learning
• Enables sustainability through sharing and reuse
  of sequences of learning activities
• Provides strong support ongoing product
  development

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Teaching Information Skills in EDUC261Previous
practice and outcomes

• Practice
• Teacher-centered approach - focused on covering
  content practicing skills
• Outcomes
• Limited opportunity for student collaboration
• Low levels of student contribution in class lt15
• Limited student engagement in the learning process

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Our objectives in using LAMS

• Explore the potential of LAMS as a tool to teach
  information skills
• Assess the implications for libraries and
  librarians in using LAMS

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EDUC261 LAMS tutorial

• Aim
• That students build a collective knowledge and
  understanding of the planning phase of the
  research process

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Designing the LAMS sequence

• Objective
• Develop a sequence that encouraged students to
  use higher order
• learning processes and engage in deep learning
  
• Supported by learning activities that
• ensured active participation and student
  engagement
• facilitated collaboration
• developed critical analysis, critical thinking
  and reflection
• Supported by assessment activities that
• were relevant to the learning

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LAMS sequence design author view
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Monitoring student progress
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Student evaluations

• Collaborative activities
• loved the forum activity where people gave
• opinions and it gave me definite/crucial point of
  
• view on how to do research
• The most useful thing I guess was that this is a
• good way to actually learn, you view info and are
  
• able to discuss your view with others

• I

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Student evaluations

• Instructions
• For most students the instructions were clear and
  well structured
• The instructions overall were clear and well
  structured. The
• activities were good especially the outside
  sources such as the
• encyclopedia
• A few students indicated that they were a little
  bit lost at times
• it took me (for) a while to understand (the)
  what the sequence is
• all about.

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Student evaluations

• Timing and content
• Many students commented that the content was just
  right
• Overall it was a good, clear lesson, without any
  redundant or
• irrelevant information given.
• I appreciated the ability of the sequence to
  actually give you
• appropriate skill without immersing you in nice
  to know
• information it cuts to the chase.
• A few disagreed
• the amount of info to digest is too much in the
  space of 1 hour.

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Student evaluations

• Accessibility
• A number of students commented on accessibility
• Most meaningful thing I learned was the
  importance of
• accessibility for all students ie the
  encyclopedia site
• was frustrating and caused a block in the middle
  of the
• learning/research process. Other things were
  forgotten
• and the focus became jus(t) getting into the
  site.

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Outcomes

• Despite the fact that some students did not
• have a good grasp of LAMS and were at different
  phases of their learning the sequence achieved
  the objective of engaging them in building a
  collective knowledge
• What we were trying to achieve was difficult but
  was a success in that students were able to
  participate in each step of the sequence

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Critical elements to success

• Ability to navigate LAMS effectively
• Aims objectives linked to curriculum outcomes
• Clear explicit aims objectives
• Clear explicit instructions
• Descriptive sequence titles to enable navigation
• Uninterrupted access to external resources
• Appropriate use of colours and fonts
• Appropriate match of tool activity
• Effective sequencing of activities

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Conclusions

• LAMS design and flexibility
• supports embedding Information Literacy into the
  context of the learning experience
• facilitates student engagement
• enables a sustainable IL solution

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Implications for libraries and librarians

• New skill sets for librarians
• LAMS program
• Learning design - principles and practice
• New ways of working
• Partnerships and collaboration
• Resourcing
• Training and development
• Staffing
• Library resources and LAMS
• Adaptability and Compatibility

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Final thoughts

• Limited research has been undertaken by the
  library community into the use of LAMS to teach
  Information Skills
• Further research and testing of LAMS is required
  to determine its full potential and application
  in teaching Information Skills