Tapping Librarians for a Successful Technology Training Pilot

Cori Biddle

doi:10.5204/ssj.1797

Abstract

This text reports on the early success of a technology training program designed to introduce incoming first-year students to the basics of academic technologies they will use during their undergraduate career on a campus in a U.S institution. The training was built upon existing but independent programs. Their content was consolidated and redesigned for the remote learning environment of Summer and Fall 2020, leveraging the experience of librarians and library staff to facilitate its quick development. The content of this training, its implementation using the campus learning management system (LMS), and the initial assessment results are reviewed, along with thoughts on the next steps to extend the pilot to the Spring of 2021 and beyond.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education into a remote learning environment beginning in the second half of the Spring 20201
For the new online Tech Academy, the designers compared the content of the existing academic technology trainings to find common themes to include in the new version
PASSS students had been the original recipients of the in-person Tech Academy and, as they were a group already identified as benefiting from additional support, they were an ideal cohort for the first pilot of the online program

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education into a remote learning environment beginning in the second half of the Spring 20201. After identifying basic technology tasks that challenged students, Imler developed an in-person Tech Academy for PASSS (Pathway to Success: Summer Start) students at Penn State Altoona starting in 2016.

Results

Conclusion