I remember saying that all the time in high school many years ago.

Anyway, my university’s IDT people hosted an E-Learning Institute here last week. I wasn’t sure what I’d actually get out of it since I’m not currently teaching any online courses. But some things actually are relevant even in face-to-face instruction. Like responsiveness and making the course content relevant.

However, the best thing I got out of it had nothing to do with the Institute itself. It was also a good time to network with other university faculty. And I had the chance to talk with one of my communication dept. faculty members about being an embedded librarian in the capstone class she is teaching in the fall.

It’s a research intensive course, which is exactly what I was looking for to try this out. I’ve heard about other librarians who have done similar things and I’m excited to see if this will improve the level of research conducted and their final papers. I don’t know if she plans to have an online component as well, but if there is, I’ve got some ideas for that. I’m going to put together a plan of what I’d like to offer beyond just my physical presence to see what she thinks. Like perhaps making it a requirement for them to schedule an individual research consultation with me mid-semester. I would also be willing to help grade annotated bibliographies. I see this type of thing as being a great way to build collaboration and increase students’ research skills.