Tag Archives: Resource Lists @ Edinburgh

Talis Aspire Resource List news: promoting resource lists to students

Univeristy of Ediburgh LogoUse the Resource List tool in Learn and Moodle to promote your Resource List to students.

We have found that academics responsible for each of the top ten most viewed lists use the Resource List Tool in Learn to promote their list(s) to students.

We recommend embedding your list in your Learn or Moodle course. This is very quick and easy to do using the Resource Lists Tool.

Adding the Resource List Tool in Learn and Moodle (PDF)

Top Ten Lists from Semester One 2014/15

  1. Sociology 1A (Susie Donnelly)
  2. American History 2 (Semester 1: Tutorial Reading Lists) (HCA)
  3. British Society, 1650 – c. 1880 (Social History 1.1) – Tutorial Readings (HCA)
  4. Social Anthropology 2 – (John Harries)
  5. British History 1 – Essay Readings 1 (HCA)
  6. British History 1 – Essay Readings 2 (HCA)
  7. British Society, 1650-1900 (Social History 1.1) – Essay (HCA)
  8. Greek World 1A: Essay Readings (HCA)
  9. British Society, 1650 – c. 1880 (Social History 1.1) – Assignment (HCA)
  10. Medieval Scottish History – Essay Readings (HCA)

If you would like any help adding the Resource List Tool or have any questions about the Resource List service, please get in touch: library.learning@ed.ac.uk

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

 

Getting the most out of your Resource List: Dashboard

Univeristy of Ediburgh LogoDid you know that Resource Lists @ Edinburgh (using Talis Aspire) includes a  Dashboard with feedback on how often your resource list is being used and which items on your list are popular with students?

Note: you will need to be signed in in order to view the ‘Dashboard’ button on your list.

To view the Dashboard for your resource list click on the green ‘Dashboard’ button at the top of the list.   A short tutorial on Dashboard statistics will be provided, you can choose to read through the tutorial or exit at any point.

Screenshot of where to find the Dashboard button on your resource list.

 

The dashboard statistics show the number of page views, clicks on the list and the number of annotations made by students (the actual annotations are private to the student). The dashboard also provides a metadata check and suggests where you can make improvements. You can also see if the edition on your list is the most recent and if the library has a copy.

Screenshot of Dashboard features: total page views, total item clicks, total clicks within sections, total clicks on individual items. Where to choose a date range, and rating of high, moderate, or low usage.

 

If the number of views and clicks are lower than expected you may need to promote the list to students or try embedding the list in your Learn or Moodle course using the resource lists tool:

Adding the Resource List Tool in Learn and Moodle (PDF)

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

FAQ – I often seem to trigger a library review of the list without knowing how that happens. How I can avoid that?

Univeristy of Ediburgh LogoQ. I notice that I often seem to trigger a library review of the list without knowing how that happens. How I can avoid that?

No, when a list is published (or republished) the resource list system (Talis Aspire) will automatically trigger a review of that list. The request to review the list is sent to the Library. The review process helps us check that links to resources are working as expected.

Updating a list

If you have made only minor changes to your list, we will do a quick check to make sure that the links on your list are working. We’ll let you know if we’ve had to amend anything. If your list is reviewed and everything is okay, you won’t hear from us.

New Lists

If a list is being published for the first time (and has not been created by Library staff) we will review the list and create a spreadsheet summarising availability and highlighting any queries about editions or number of copies held by the Library. A copy of the spreadsheet is emailed to the creator of the list and the relevant Academic Support Librarian.

Please be aware that we do not made any changes to the content of your list.

We may clean up metadata and fix broken web addresses where possible, otherwise the purpose of the review is only to check that links are all working, items are held by the Library, and to provide suggestions that may assist both you and your students in using the resource list.

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

Eight out of ten top Lists from School of History, Classics, and Archaeology

Univeristy of Ediburgh LogoStudents absolutely love it and are doing more reading because of the ease of access.

Academic staff have requested Resource Lists for their honours courses so that more students can benefit.

In semester one 2014/15, eight out of the ten most active Resource Lists were created and managed by the School of History Classics and Archaeology (HCA).

The move by HCA towards adopting resource lists as a tool began in 2013/14  when the School trialled Resource Lists @ Edinburgh on their British History 1 and Roman World 1B courses.

At the end of the 2013/14 semester the following questionnaire was sent out to the students of British History 1:

‘This year there were online reading lists for the British History 1 essays. How useful did you find these lists?’.

Of the 87 students who responded, the vast majority found the list to be helpful with 45 responding that lists were excellent, 20 that it was very good, and 13 that it was good.

Feedback for Roman World 1B was obtained via a class representative. Sandra Bingham, Senior Teaching Fellow in Classics, advised that the class rep. was full of praise for the system and that “the students absolutely love it and are doing more reading because of the ease of access”.

Following on from the successful trials HCA decided to roll out this library service to as many pre-honours courses as possible in 2014/15. Two interns were hired over summer to assist with creation of their lists. HCA also made use of the interns employed by the wider HSS by submitting additional lists for creation.

Margaret Forrest, Academic Support Librarian for HCA, advises that feedback from staff and students in 2014/15 has again been very positive and several academic staff have requested Resource Lists for their honours courses so that more students can benefit.

Margaret’s response on receiving the news that HCA had eight of the top ten most active lists for semester one?

“I’m delighted!”.

The eight lists from HCA to make the top ten were:

– American History 2 (Semester 1: Tutorial Reading Lists)
– British Society, 1650 – c. 1880 (Social History 1.1) – Tutorial Readings
– British History 1 – Essay Readings 1
– British History 1 – Essay Readings 2
– British Society, 1650-1900 (Social History 1.1) – Essay
– Greek World 1A: Essay Readings
– British Society, 1650 – c. 1880 (Social History 1.1) – Assignment
– Medieval Scottish History – Essay Readings

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

Sociology 1A – Students and Tutors

Univeristy of Ediburgh LogoWhen Sociology 1A came in as the top active list for semester one we asked list owner Susie Donnelly, co-convenor of the course, for some feedback. In addition to her own experience using Resource Lists @ Edinburgh, Susie also asked her fellow co-convenor, the tutorial representatives, and the students (via the course Facebook group).

“The Resource Lists sync with the library better, especially for books – I might go as far as to say it encourages students to use the library more.” Angus Bancroft – Co-convener of Sociology 1A

Tutorial Reps:

  • Great e-resource for the readings.
  • Resource list – organised and easy to use.
  • The resources on Learn are brilliant.
  • Resource List was a great tool, everything was so accessible to students.

Feedback on the Sociology 1A Facebook group
(lots of “likes”!)

It’s great that everything is so accessible. While it is important that students still learn how to use the library, a resource list like this makes things a lot less stressful, particularly as a lot of the books that contain the readings will be in high demand and there may not be a lot of copies. I particularly like being able to download the readings as PDFs so that I can highlight and make notes on them on my laptop … I think that more courses should adopt a resource list like this. – Emma McFarlane, Sociology 1A student.

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

Sociology 1A Takes Top Spot

Univeristy of Ediburgh LogoAveraging 67.3 visits per student, Sociology 1A took the top spot for most active Resource List in semester one 2014/15.

We asked course organiser Susie Donnelly how the experience of using Resource Lists @ Edinburgh has benefited the class:

I spent less time this semester dealing with issues to do with access to readings.

Particularly helpful for first year students who are getting to grips with university life.

Students have reported that they are very happy with this tool.

The Resource List has certainly made life a lot easier. Sociology 1A is an extremely large course, with approx. 480 students and the numbers are growing each year. This places a significant demand on us to provide the required material for students in an accessible, reliable and responsive way. The Resource List has helped in this regard and once the list was up and running, I believe I spent less time this semester dealing with issues to do with access to readings.

While the initial set-up took some investment of time and energy, I was supported with training and support from staff in the Library Learning Services.

In the Resource List, students are shown multiple ways to access readings and the interface is very straightforward – this is particularly helpful for first year students who are getting to grips with university life.

As the semester progressed I was able to add new and up-to-date resources and material (rather than being limited by what has been published in the course handbook at the start of the semester). In particular, around the assessment period I was able to respond to requests from students for more academic writing support.

However, I should also mention that the use of these kinds of tools raises questions about independent learning and the extent to which library and research skills are being displaced.

For the moment though, the students have reported that they are very happy with this tool…and if the students are happy then I am happy!

Susie Donnelly – Co-convener of Sociology 1A

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

 

Action required: Update your bookmark tool

Univeristy of Ediburgh Logo

 

Talis Aspire have launched an updated bookmark tool that will work with both HTTP and HTTPS websites.

Background

In reaction to a number of security issues that occurred last year, many websites have slowly been changing from a HTTP address to a HTTPS address. Moving websites to a HTTPS address increases security by adding a ‘secure certificate’ to the site.

However, the addition of this secure certificate has been clashing with the Talis Aspire bookmark tool and may have been preventing it from working on some of the sites that you regularly use. (The bookmark tool is the button that appears on your browser bookmarks bar which is used for adding resources to lists).

What do I have to do?

When Talis Aspire detects that it is being used on a HTTPS website a pop-up window will let you know that a newer version of the bookmarklet is available and provide instructions on how to install it. Please install the newer version of the bookmark tool when prompted.

The current bookmarklet will still work on HTTP websites; however, we would recommend you update the bookmarklet tool. Talis Aspire have made it even easier to do this.

Adding or updating the bookmarklet tool is a quick process. Go to http://resourcelists.ed.ac.uk/ and then to the ‘My bookmarks’ tab. On the right of the page is an ‘install bookmark button’, click on this and Talis Aspire will detect which browser you’re using and walk you through adding the bookmark tool.

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

What makes a good Resource List?

Univeristy of Ediburgh Logo

The content is important, but what about the style and structure? What about length? Can a list be too long? Or too short? In what ways can a resource list interact and engage with students?

A great feature of Resource Lists @ Edinburgh is the flexibility. We have lists created by academics across the University across a wide variety of schools and subjects, each using resource lists in their own specific way.

CertAVP Equine Dentistry by Sharon Boyd at the Royal Dick Veterinary School

Sharon’s list contains just seven items and provides clear instructions on reading expectations for the class. It also advises where to go find additional abstracts and sources. The Vet Schools’ ‘Instructions for using this Reading List’ is extremely useful and has been adapted by Library Learning Services and is used on many of the lists we create for course organisers.

The sources of knowledge: Understanding and analysing research literature by Dr Peter Allison at the School of Education

Featured as one of our ‘Great Lists’ last year, this continues to be an excellent list. What initially caught our attention was Peter’s note at the top of the list encouraging students to contact the course organiser with any materials that may be particularly useful in particular web pages or YouTube clips. These have been collected towards the bottom of the list in the section ‘Useful Websites’ and, by the number of resources in this section, it looks to have been quite successful in promoting self-study and engagement with students.

Peter also uses the list to encourage skill learning. In ‘Session One’  a resource link is provided to the University Library Catalogue and then in the notes students are directed to search for and locate a specific article. Details are also provided on where to find additional guidance via the information skills module in Learn.  

Social History 2.2 The Making of the Modern Body – History, Classics, and Archaeology

History reading lists tend to be quite large as the format of their lists are to provide a wide range of options from which students are encouraged to self select and prioritise.

To help make this large volume of reading options easier to navigate, Social History 2.2 has been split into three separate lists. One for Lecture and Tutorial readings (226 items), one for the Essay Title readings (141), and one for the Group Project readings (62 items).

 

If you would like to create a resource list but are unsure how to best format a list for your course please get in touch, we’re more than happy to sit down with you and come up with a solution together.

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

How to use Resource Lists @ Edinburgh – A guide for students

Univeristy of Ediburgh LogoWe now have around 300 published resource lists for courses across the university and as this number steadily grows so too does the number of students now accessing readings and resources via Resource Lists @ Edinburgh.

To provide more information about the service and the many ways it can benefit students we have included an ‘Information for students’ section on our website and created a short guide with some hints, tips and tricks on how to get the most out of this service.

The new page is now live on the Resource Lists @ Edinburgh using Talis Aspire website and includes a link to the Resource Lists @ Edinburgh using Talis Aspire: A Guide for Students (PDF).

Please feel free to point students towards either the webpage or the pdf document. Both can easily be found by linking directly or by using the search function on the University website.

More information on how to make the most of Resource Lists can be found on the Resource Lists using Talis Aspire webpage and the ResourceLists@Edinburgh Blog.

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Stephanie Farley

Library Learning Services Assistant

Semester Two resource lists

Approximately 200 resource lists were published using Talis Aspire in time for the start of Semester One. Library staff now have a number of resource lists to create for Semester Two.

If you would like us to create a resource list for your course, and then hand it over to you for ongoing maintenance, please send your reading lists to IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk by 28th November.

Please provide the course code (s), indicate how many students are expected and, if possible, prioritise the items on your list(s).

Please only send us lists you intend to publish for Semester Two classes. We will issue a request for reading lists for Session 2015/16 in the New Year.

As always, Library Learning Services is available for demos, training sessions and 1-2-1s.

If you’d like access to Resource list@ Edinburgh (using Talis Aspire) please email IS.helpline@ed.ac.uk