Google "Research" Tool

First off, let me have a slight panic moment: why is Google trying to make librarians obsolete? Since they don't necessarily even understand what we do?

Having said that, let me tell you a little bit about a new "research" tool on Google. I read an interesting (depressing) review on the Chronicle's ProfHacker blog about Google docs' addition of a Research Tool (official language). Basically, users can highlight select portions of text in a Google doc, click on the Tools menu, and have Google try to find a matching citation on the web. Recent changes to the feature allow users to limit to Google Scholar and make citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago. I will also state that at least two people in the comment fields had written reviews earlier in the week only to have Google update the Research Tool, thus rendering their reviews obsolete. So as you read this post, keep in mind some of the features may have changed.

The research tool has pros and cons.

Pro	Con
Students really struggle with citation. Having a tool to show them how to do it will help	Will students actually learn the citation style for their discipline? And how important is that?
Students will have help doing research with tools that are familiar to them.	Information literacy is an important component of an academic library. Using this tool is no proof that students actually understand the concepts of information literacy.
Students can limit their search to academic resources.	What guarantee is there that the students will read more than the abstract if they can't access the article?
Might help cut down on plagiarism	But will students do the research themselves and then write the paper? Or will they write the paper and then try to find sources that fit what they wrote?

I'm sure there are more pros and cons than what I listed.

What I found most shocking were the comments from the faculty members at the bottom of the page. I felt as though none of them addressed the possible pitfalls of the tool. Granted none of them were librarians, and perhaps I am being reactionary.

Thoughts?

throw me a bone

When I teach students how to search, I typically ask the class to tell me what I should search for. This serves two purposes:

1. It's an attempt to engage the class. This is an opportunity for them to be creative, funny, and maybe, just maybe, smart (they almost never have me search for a topic related to their assignment or class...)

2. I get to show them what happens when they search using too broad of terms.

For example, yesterday I taught 4 classes. In 2 of them I asked the class to tell me what to search for during my demonstration of LexisNexis' Search the News. In the first class a kid said "dogs" then I showed them what happens when you just type in dogs. I asked for a narrower search. His answer? "Dog bones."

2nd class: A kid has me search for "partying." I ask him to be more specific. What ABOUT partying does he want to know about? "BEER!" "GAMES!" At least with this one I got to show them "beer and games not liquor."

So, sometimes these attempts to make class "exciting" DO work out. Other times it just becomes awkward for everyone involved.

On this day in history...

On November 2, 1815, George Boole was born, the English mathematician from whom we got Boolean operators. I teach Boolean operators by elaborating on this joke that I read somewhere in my first semester of library school:

If you send a librarian (or a database, as I tell students) to the store with a shopping list for sugar and flour and butter and chocolate chips, the librarian (or the database) will come back from the store with a cookie.

Sure, it's a nerdy joke, but it's a good jumping-off point and involves lots of pictures of delicious baked goods (flour AND chocolate = brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate croissants). I find this particularly effective when the class is right before dinner.

So, thank you, George Boole, and happy birthday! Read more about him here.

Soundtrack to Instruction

Have any of you ever tried playing music before or during instruction sessions? Today was the second time I tried it out and students and the professor seem to like it. I suggest putting on Pandora before class starts as the students are coming in, muting it during the instruction session, and then unmuting for the hands-on work time. My favorite channel on Pandora for this is Vampire Weekend but I've also been known to switch it up a bit and put on the Passion Pit or MGMT channels. These channels give a wide variety of music that is upbeat/fun (I wouldn't recommend like the Bright Eyes channel!)

Pandora provides a good variety of background noise while students work. This morning the students knew the bands (Beatles, Miike Snow, Feist) and seemed to enjoy the laid-back environment this type of music creates. If you think about it, putting on music sort of recreates students' relaxed study environment (dorm room, apartment) and takes away the traditional classroom feel. It just takes the edge off of everything and students seem to relax a bit while still staying on task. I recommend trying it out one day! I find the morning classes (8am, 9am) really appreciate it.

I also want people to think I'm cool. And it's totally working. The professor today called me a young, hip librarian. I can go home now because I've achieved my ultimate goal!

"ENG100"

Does anyone else get super excited for students/patrons when you see the assignment they will be working on? I do. And I have a feeling I am super nerdy for it. At the university I work at all freshmen have to take a ENG100-type class. The assignment that we do research instruction for is called the Argumentative Synthesis Assignment. Students get to pick topics which can be a movie, an album by a particular artist/music group, a TV show, or a controversial topic in their field/major. They then have to find two articles that discuss the topic and synthesize the views in the articles with their own views. Isn't that COOL?

The examples I use in my instruction sessions are Twilight, Jersey Shore, and Britney Spears "Oops I Did It Again." Obvi I just got a little excited about the assignment so I used examples that I personally would use if given the assignment. I also chose them because I can highlight phrase searching ("jersey shore") and of course those Boolean operators. I tell them to think of their search for reviews as a formula: "Topic" AND review. We have them use Academic Search Complete which has some pretty stellar features.

Screenshot of my handout (upper portion)

Yesterday I observed a session done by my supervisor. This particular class was designated as one that had a tutor, which I assumed meant the students might be less engaged or have more trouble with the material. In fact, the students were super energetic, knew what was going on, and actually seemed excited about their topics. One student was going to do the movie Juno and discuss a possible pro life stance of the film (oh, did I mention I work at a Catholic university?) Another student was going to do The Godfather and it's depiction of the Italian family unit. I probably freaked them out a bit because I sort of hovered because I was intrigued. A previous class of mine had students that wanted to do movies like The Hangover, Billy Madison, and Pineapple Express... which is fine, but they weren't really thinking about the scholarly approach like this class was. Lesson learned: don't judge a class by a label created by the registrar/university. The class dynamics could actually be really awesome and make for a really great instruction session. Oh, and a chance to really geek out about combining scholarly research and pop culture makes work really fun.