The Students Are the Stars:

1. The Students Are the Stars: Making a (Subversively Instructional) Interactive Movie By: Ramona Islam & Leslie Porter

2. Let’s Watch • Let’s see what happens when people stop being library-centered and start getting real

3. Question: • Librarians, if you were making a video to promote your library, what would YOU highlight?

4. Librarians?

5. Question: • If your students were making a video to promote the library, what do you think THEY would highlight?

6. Students?

7. Library Intro: repackaged & remixed • Blend social experiences with technology • Repackage the same content we delivered as a lecture • The experience is customized by the user, like Jones Soda

8. Why remix? • Change perceptions of redundancy • Surprising • Not intimidating • Good first impression • More engaging

9. Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before… • How many of you teach freshmen library orientation sessions? • Ratio of bored vs. engaged? Image from Flickr user umjanedoa under Creative Commons license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

10. Put the class in the students’ hands • Lecture = students passive • Interaction = students active participants • Empowered + active = more engaged • Let the class do the work! Image from Flickr user Ollie-G under Creative Commons license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

11. How it works in the classroom • Clickers • Results screen

12. Enter audience as protagonist • “Choose your own adventure” format • Students are the stars • in the movie • in the classroom • Electronic voting devices empower the audience to select the path

13. How we did it: Making the movie • Funding • Assessment of existing program • Creative collaboration • Filming and post - production

14. Funding • Funds re-routed from library open house because of schedule change Image from Flickr user Tracy Olson under Creative Commons license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

15. Assessment of existing program • Interviews with graduating seniors about their experiences with library instruction over the course of 4 years Image from Flickr user Barbara Dieu under Creative Commons license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

16. Library as place • "There's times when I'm studying in the cafe late at night." • "I like the different spaces in the library, like the cushy chairs." How we integrated student feedback into the movie

17. Meeting up online • "In my research, I would say the library has maybe a minor role. You can do a lot of it from your room."

18. Laptop “rentals” • "My favorite part about research at the library is laptop renting."

19. Microfilm • "The most helpful was microfiche--it was a lot easier than using all my StagBucks to print out things."

20. Interlibrary Loan • "I love the interlibrary loan service for finding books."

21. Friends • "I liked when I could show my roommates how to research Sesame Street for our communications class. They were impressed."

22. Creative collaboration • Where do we begin? It was a long process! • Working with Media Center and two freshmen • Brainstorming • Writing the script • Coming up with the concept • A thousand failures…then,success!

23. It all came down to this:

24. Filming • 2 days over the summer • Casting • Directing • Shooting • Later • Screening • Post-production

25. Spotlight: Know Your Audience • Fairfield University is a small comprehensive Jesuit university located in a suburb 50 miles outside of New York City.  • Undergraduate students: 3941 • Full-time entering Freshmen: 842 • Sometimes known as “J. Crew U.” •  "The DiMenna-Nyselius Library turns into Club DiMenna on Sunday evenings - it might as well be the Grape on a Tuesday night, except they let underclassmen in (including the one that you're too embarrassed to tell your friends you have a crush on)." • Excerpt from the Fairfield Mirror, Fairfield’s student newspaper From the article, “The Right way to pop your collar” Fairfield Mirror, 2/1/07 http://media.www.fairfieldmirror.com/media/storage/paper148/news/2007/02/01/CampusLife/The-Right.Way.To.Pop.Your.Collar-2688626.shtml?reffeature=recentlycommentedstoriestab

26. Your Turn as Audience

27. Audience Vote: • Depending upon desired outcomes, can use of narrative enhance learning?

28. Assessment: Student Evaluation Form

29. Student Feedback • What they found surprising: • "The movie. I thought it was going to be stupid, but it was actually funny and pretty informative." • Entertainment value: • "I enjoyed the movie and liked how it was interactive and kept your focused." • "It was very good; I would like to see the segments that the class did not view." • The movie's impact on the students' experience of the library instruction class as a whole: • "I was surprised to learn how much easier it is to write a paper using the library." • "The session was more enjoyable and interactive than I thought it was going to be."

30. Educational value: • Student Quote: "The movie was really good and helped me realize what the library offered.” • Several students hadn't known they could "rent free laptops.“ • Two students expressed surprise that librarians may be contacted through instant messaging. Student responses to the question: The movie contributed to my awareness of library services and resources

31. Reactions • Librarians - “I think it was very successful. The students seemed to really like it, and I think it got them to pay attention in a way that they wouldn't have if it was just me talking.” - Fairfield U. Librarian • Faculty - “I'm conflicted about the usefulness of the film--except insofar as it enticed the students to use the library and made it 'sexy.'” – Fairfield U. Professor Faculty responses (regarding the movie) to the questions: Which aspects of the EN 11 Library Program were particularly valuable / less useful?

32. DO try this at home • Suggestions • Use your campus media center, film students, drama students • If you don’t have a campus media center, try to find another local school/college/community college that does • Paying for the professionals can be cost prohibitive • Get volunteer actors from the drama/theatre program if you have one - they can use the movie as part of their "reel." If you don't have a theater program, try local theater groups or even high school seniors. • Production and post-production - get students who edit media to help out • Graphic design students • digital media students • Free software

33. Choose the Ending! A) A walk on the Beach B) Three’s a Crowd C) An Unexpected Visitor

34. Questions? Photo from Flickr user alexanderdrachmann Used under the Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

35. Thank you! • Ramona Islam rislam@mail.fairfield.edu • Leslie Porter lporter@auctr.edu • View the entire movie online at http://faculty.fairfield.edu/mediacenter/library/ Photo from Flickr user Randy Son Of Robert Used under the Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en