|
Project Development and Acknowledgements At The University of Texas at Austin, the Library Instruction and Information Literacy Services (LIILS) is responsible for library instruction and information literacy initiatives. In 1996 we began to develop an information literacy program. With a campus of approximately 50,000 students, we outlined a number of tiers for our program, focusing on students throughout their academic lives and within specific majors. Without any common campus-wide orientation or required course for all first-year students at UT, we chose to develop a web-based tutorial. Based upon the project summary, the UT System Digital Library and Macromedia gave financial support for the hardware and software required. TILT was designed for use at all sixteen component institutions: to ensure first-year students grasped basic research concepts, to best utilize librarians' expertise when in the classroom, and to provide basic information literacy skills accessible anytime and anywhere. The planning and initial development of TILT began in 1997 and included surveys, reviews, and usability tests. Before any content was written, each of the UT System schools were asked to participate in an informal survey about their campus' level of technology, library instruction program, and faculty interest in such a tutorial. Additionally, the LIILS Library Advisory Committee, consisting of sixteen public service librarians with subject specialties, collaborated to outline fundamental skills as first-year proficiencies. Four hundred students enrolled in the freshman rhetoric and composition course were also surveyed about their knowledge, use, and interests related to the Internet and online resources. This input guided the design and content of the site. The introduction and three modules of TILT were completed by October 1999. A small group of librarians, artists, programmers and students created all the design and content for TILT. The three primary developers of TILT are:
Elizabeth Dupuis, project manager and instructional designer Without the additional expertise of others, this site could not have been created: Ladd Hanson developed the registration database and manages the servers; Edward Smith, Erik Grostic, and Minnie Rangel assisted with quiz and statistics programming; and Henry Stokes created the fabulous illustrations. Throughout the process reviewers from the library, computing center, and writing center offered edits and suggestions. A special thanks for their time: Ralph Alberico, Hillary Barmantje, Victoria Beatty, Aaron Choate, Damon Jaggars, Elizabeth Piedmont-Marton, Ronda Rowe, Craig Schroer, Kathy Schmidt, and Aaron Winslow. See THE BUZZ for a list of the national organizations that have recognized TILT for its innovation, interactivity, and design. The following articles provide more information about the development and impact of TILT. If you have additional questions, use our form and let us know. "TILT: Planning and Development." Elizabeth A. Dupuis. UGLi Newsletter.
June 1999. "Avoiding Culture Shock: Strategies for Successful Partnerships in Library Instruction." Elizabeth A. Dupuis, Clara Fowler, and Brent Simpson. Proceedings from the Library Orientation and Exchange (LOEX) Conference in Houston, TX, March 11-13, 1999. In Press. “What Have We Done? TILT’s Impact On Our Instruction Program.” Clara Fowler and Elizabeth A. Dupuis. RSR: Reference Services Review, 28(4), 2000. |
