Creating Engaging Information Literacy Tutorials

Academic and public librarians are increasingly recognizing the value of online tutorials as a means of providing patrons with the ability to learn information literacy concepts and explore library tools at their own pace and at the point of need. However, a static tutorial video cannot compete with the dynamic, engaging information content that patrons encounter in their everyday lives, and they often fail to produce lasting learning. Studies have shown that providing students with content that requires interaction and participation more successfully keeps their attention and ensures more permanent recall. This presentation will demonstrate several steps librarians can take in creating online tutorials to make them more engaging for patrons and, in turn, more useful. In addition to discussing various tutorial platforms and their capacity for engaging elements, I’ll also describe how to construct tutorials in an engaging way and assess tutorials based on direct student feedback. This presentation will be based on my own experiences creating and assessing tutorials at my university and will include examples of tutorial scripts, assessment activities, and links to the tutorials themselves