scholarly journals Communication, Collaboration, and Enhancing the Learning Experience: Developing a Collaborative Virtual Enquiry Service in University Libraries in the North of England

2019 ◽  
pp. 70-85
Author(s):  
Liz Jolly ◽  
Sue White
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
The North

scholarly journals Success factors in the realization of large ice projects in education

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-12
Author(s):  
Arno Pronk ◽  
Peng Luo ◽  
Qingpeng Li ◽  
Fred Sanders ◽  
Marjolein overtoom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The North ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Good Learning ◽  
The University ◽  
Ice Shell ◽  
Motivation And Learning

There has been a long tradition in making ice structures, but the development of technical improvements for making ice buildings is a new field with just a handful of researchers. Most of the projects were realized by professors in cooperation with their students as part of their education in architecture and civil engineering. The following professors have realized ice projects in this setting: Heinz Isler realized some experiments since the 1950s; Tsutomu Kokawa created in the past three decades several ice domes in the north of Japan with a span up to 25 m; Lancelot Coar realized a number of fabric formed ice shell structures including fiberglass bars and hanging fabric as a mold for an ice shell in 2011 and in 2015 he produced an fabric-formed ice origami structure in cooperation with MIT (Caitlin Mueller) and VUB (Lars de Laet). Arno Pronk realized several ice projects such as the 2004 artificially cooled igloo, in 2014 and 2015 dome structures with an inflatable mold in Finland and in 2016–2019, an ice dome, several ice towers and a 3D printed gridshell of ice in Harbin (China) as a cooperation between the Universities of Eindhoven & Leuven (Pronk) and Harbin (Wu and Luo). In cooperation between the University of Alberta and Eindhoven two ice beams were realized during a workshop in 2020. In this paper we will present the motivation and learning experiences of students involved in learning-by-doing by realizing one large project in ice. The 2014–2016 projects were evaluated by Sanders and Overtoom; using questionnaires among the participants by mixed cultural teams under extreme conditions. By comparing the results in different situations and cultures we have found common rules for the success of those kinds of educational projects. In this paper we suggest that the synergy among students participating in one main project without a clear individual goal can be very large. The paper will present the success factors for projects to be perceived as a good learning experience.

scholarly journals Reflecting on Social Learning Tools to Enhance the Teaching-Learning Experience of Generation Z Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizelle Juanee Cilliers
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Urban And Regional Planning ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Generation Z ◽  
Social Media Tools ◽  
Teaching Learning

Limited research has considered social learning tools and preferences of the Generation Z learner from a higher educational perspective. This research is based on the educational theories of constructivism and social learning, in attempt to reflect on social learning tools employed in a third year Urban and Regional Planning module at the North-West University (South Africa). The empirical investigation was based on the reflections from Generation Z learners who were introduced to a range of social media tools. The paper aimed to investigate if social learning tools can positively impact the learner experience in the contemporary classroom based on longitudinal data. It identified the preferences of the Generation Z learners in terms of social media tools, and the trends thereof, during a 10-year period (2011–2020). Finally, the paper drew on the perspective of the educator, in reflecting on the challenges, but also scope, to include social learning tools as part of higher education teaching-learning.

Using LibQUAL Model for Improving the Level of Students’ Satisfaction from Quality of Services in Academic Libraries: A Case Study in North Khorasan Province, Iran

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 1650011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Pourahmad ◽  
Mehdi Neshat ◽  
Mohammad Reza Hasani
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Level ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Quality Level ◽  
Library Services ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Quality Estimation ◽  
The North ◽  
Students Satisfaction

The most important aim of the research is to evaluate and analyse the quality level of services of four different university libraries which are located in the North Khorasan province in Iran. The statistical populations included various students from different branches and they were chosen as samples. For collecting data, the survey method was applied; meanwhile, data collection tool, specific questionnaire were used since that each of the four components for quality estimation of services was calculated using LibQUAL tool. The mean total services for university libraries of North Khorasan were negative in terms of service fitness gap, which means that libraries were not capable of satisfying the minimum anticipation of their users. Interestingly, for all library services, gap was negative too. In other words, libraries are far from rewarding the expectations of students associated with the most desirable (maximum) level of services.

Analyses of Awareness, Perception and Attitude towards Embedded Librarianship among Librarians in North-Eastern Universities, Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-43
Author(s):  
Augustine Uzoma Madu ◽  
Emmanuel M. K. Dawha
Keyword(s):  
Current Trend ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library Services ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
New Research ◽  
High Level

Innovations in library services and need for professional development among librarians with growth in research have brought to bear on the concept of embedded librarianship as a new research area in librarianship. It is expected that librarians in Nigeria must do all to move with the current trend in the discipline. This study aims to under the roles of awareness, attitude and perception of academic librarians in North-east Nigeria towards embedded librarianship practice. A survey of 11 university libraries in the region was undertaken with 356 conveniently selected samples. The descriptive result indicates a high level of awareness while attitude and perception recorded significant agreement to answer the research questions. The null hypothesis of non-significant effect of awareness, perception and attitude on embedded librarianship among academic librarians in university libraries in the north-east, Nigeria was rejected at F(3: 352) =2376.807, P<.0005, R2 =.953 and was replaced with the alternate hypothesis. The study concludes that academic librarians in the study area have a high awareness level, positive attitude and perception about embedded librarianship. However, the actual practice of the term is still low from the practical assessment.

scholarly journals ReprohackNL 2019: how libraries can promote research reproducibility through community engagement

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Kristina Hettne ◽  
Ricarda Proppert ◽  
Linda Nab ◽  
L. Paloma Rojas-Saunero ◽  
Daniela Gawehns
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Research Community ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Digital Scholarship ◽  
Grass Root

University Libraries play a crucial role in moving towards Open Science, contributing to more transparent, reproducible and reusable research. The Center for Digital Scholarship (CDS) at Leiden University (LU) library is a scholarly lab that promotes open science literacy among Leiden’s scholars by two complementary strategies: existing top-down structures are used to provide training and services, while bottom-up initiatives from the research community are actively supported by offering the CDS’s expertise and facilities. An example of how bottom-up initiatives can blossom with the help of library structures such as the CDS is ReproHack. ReproHack – a reproducibility hackathon – is a grass-root initiative by young scholars with the goal of improving research reproducibility in three ways. First, hackathon attendees learn about reproducibility tools and challenges by reproducing published results and providing feedback to authors on their attempt. Second, authors can nominate their work and receive feedback on their reproducibility efforts. Third, the collaborative atmosphere helps building a community interested in making their own research reproducible. A first ReproHack in the Netherlands took place on November 30th, 2019, co-organised by the CDS at the LU Library with 44 participants from the fields of psychology, engineering, biomedicine, and computer science. For 19 papers, 24 feedback forms were returned and five papers were reported as successfully reproduced. Besides the researchers’ learning experience, the event led to recommendations on how to enhance research reproducibility. The ReproHack format therefore provides an opportunity for libraries to improve scientific reproducibility through community engagement.

The utilisation of library spaces by postgraduate students at a university in an African country

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 289-309
Author(s):  
Siviwe Bangani ◽  
Mathew Moyo ◽  
Dina Mokgadi Mashiyane
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Value Added ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the use of library spaces by postgraduate students at the North-West University in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach A survey research methodology was used in which both online and print questionnaires were used to gather data. Findings The major findings of the study were that postgraduate students frequently visited the libraries to make use of the quite study spaces, which include the research commons and the study carrels. The study further found out that postgraduate students rarely visited the libraries for the purpose of consulting librarians regarding their studies. Challenges expressed by the students include insufficient workstations, poor internet and Wi-Fi connectivity and limited seating capacity. The benefit of the study is that it will help librarians and the university administrators to better understand the postgraduate students space needs, as well as the challenges being encountered. Research limitations/implications This biggest limitation of this study was a lack or low response rate by certain faculties, which mitigated against comparing the use of spaces by faculty. Practical implications The results of this study re-affirm the need for postgraduate spaces. University libraries that seek to build postgraduate spaces in the future need to ensure that an adequate number of computer workstations are supplied and Wi-Fi and bandwidth are improved. University libraries that already have postgraduate spaces should consider adding more workstations and improving bandwidth and Wi-Fi connectivity in those spaces. These results further point to a need for libraries in Africa and elsewhere to consider having more quiet study spaces for postgraduate students while reducing the number of group study spaces. Social implications The results of this study point to a need for libraries and university authorities to periodically review library spaces as a way to ensure their continued optimal usage. They also point to a need for more funds to further enhance the library spaces for postgraduate students’ use. Originality/value South African libraries are faced with challenges including the addition of 15 per cent value added tax to print and online resources. In this environment, libraries are expected by university authorities to demonstrate return on investment. This study, therefore, is located within the realm of determining return on investment for the funds spent by universities to build dedicated postgraduate library spaces. This study will further benefit librarians and the university administrators by helping them to better understand the postgraduate students space needs, as well as the challenges being encountered.

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