Expanding our Reach: Integrating SoftChalk Modules to Impact Student Learning Outside of the Library

Librarians are passionate about sharing information literacy with a wide audience of students and faculty. However, information literacy departments often struggle with barriers like class size and distance when trying to expand their efforts. To address these obstacles, librarians at the University of Louisville have designed interactive learning modules using SoftChalk, an easy-to-use software program that embeds the modules into Blackboard course pages. These modules bring relevant information literacy skills outside of the library and into unique classroom settings, specifically those of distance education and large lecture halls. Librarians’ implementation of online learning modules has broadened over time from integrating modules on library catalog searching to distance education (Dennis & Broughton, 2000; Mulherrin, Kelley, Fishman, & Orr, 2004). Librarians are now also creating modules that are course-specific and embedded (Bravo, Lucia, & Martin, 2013; Foster, Shurtz, & Pepper, 2014; Gomes, Linton, & Abate, 2013). University of Louisville librarians are building on previous studies by creating and embedding modules in non-traditional classrooms to provide instruction on navigating library resources and introduce information evaluation through the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework. By presenting a case study whose projects seek to overcome instructional barriers faced by many librarians, the presenters hope to provide avenues for others to assess their own institutional context and brainstorm ways to expand their own online information literacy instruction to impact and provide online instructional offerings that promote the library while also fostering critical thinking skills. References Bravo, R., Lucia, L., & Martin, M. J. (2013). Assessing a web library program for information literacy learning. Reference Services Review, 41(4), 623-638. Dennis, S., & Broughton, K. (2000). FALCON: an interactive library instruction tutorial. Reference Services Review, 28(1), 31-38. Foster, M. J., Shurtz, S., & Pepper, C. (2014). Evaluation of best practices in the design of online evidence-based practice instructional modules. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 102(1), 31-40. Gomes, A. W., Linton, A., & Abate, L. (2013). Strengthening Our Collaborations: Building an Electronic Health Record Educational Module. Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 10(1), 1-10. Mulherrin, E., Kelley, K. B., Fishman, D., & Orr, G. J. (2004). Information Literacy and the Distant Student: One University\u27s Experience Developing, Delivering, and Maintaining an Online, Required Information Literacy Course. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 9(1/2), 21-36