Exploring student engagement with mobile technologies at a regional university

Department Name00 Month 2010

Exploring student engagement with mobile technologies at a remote and regional university

Julie Cartwright, Sally Cummings, Bernadette Royal, Michelle Turner and JoAnne Witt

Where is CDU?

Photo credits: http://www.australia.com/destinations/states/nt.aspxhttp://amazingaustralia.com.auand Flickr-Creative Commons

Charles Darwin University LibraryCasuarina Campus

Challenges of Supporting Internal and External Students

Photo credits: http://www.eightacresofeden.com/2009/12/lighting-for-teenagers-deskstudy.html

Group Mascots

Online

On campusOn campus no phone

Online no phone

Orientation For All

Photo credits: Steve Boak (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jalbarragup_artworks/), Grant Williamson (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gjw/) and Sam Fraser-Smith (http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfrasersmith/). Cartoonified using BeFunky.

Thank you for the generous sponsorship of the CDU Library Treasure Hunt.

Enticements

Online StudentsLiaison Librarian Page Referencing Lib Guide

On Campus No Phone Posters

On Campus No PhonePosters

On Campus No PhonePostcard .

On Campus with Phone.

Posters

On Campus with PhonesPostcards

i-nigma

PercentMobile

Quickmark QR code reader for PC

Blabberize

Free Tools We Used

Lone Ranger or Social ?

Keeping it silly

Promote! Promote!

Promoting QR Codes

Linking the Physical to the Virtual

Note: The accompanying video is embedded in the following slide

Serious Art of Having Fun

Note: The accompanying video is embedded in the following slide

Collecting the Stats

Built in from the beginning!

• Treasure Hunt entries• Different phrases used to indicate

modes of entry• Treasure Hunt LibGuide stats• Bit.ly stats for URLs and QR codes• Feedback survey• Observations of mobile use in library

Differentiating Entry Modes

Four different phrases used to indicate modes of entry

• On campus, with phone(Achieve great results, live your dream use CDU library )

• On campus, no phone(Improve your marks by using the library resources)

• Online, with phone(Now you know your library)

• Online, no phone(Use CDU library to improve your results)

Treasure Hunt Entries

70 on campus (31%)

8 / 70 (11.4%)

used QR codes

223 entries

Comment: “A great way to familiarise my way around the CDU library site. Great fun too, a break from study!”

153 online (69%)

15 / 153 (9.8%)

used QR codes

Treasure Hunt Libguide

1205 visits in Feb & March

203 visits to the About QR codes tab

Bit.ly Stats for URLs and QR Codes

Note: The accompanying video is embedded in the following slide

Bit.ly Stats for URLs and QR Codes

Feedback Survey

Voluntary, no prizes offered

7 questions

How did Students Hear about the Treasure Hunt?

What did They Think of it?

Do Students Own Smartphones?

What is Their Experience with QR Codes?

Are Students Interested in Accessing Library Services via Mobile Devices?

What Worked

• Comprehensive planning, walk-throughs, building in evaluation measures

• Working with lecturers to bring student groups through or embed treasure hunt into information literacy classes

• LibGuide provided education role (learning about QR codes) as well as starting point of activity

• Incorporating multimedia where appropriate (eg. videos)

• Scheduled session times in the library had low uptake

• Difficult to reach students through CDU emails, both for promotion and contacting winners

• Promotion on-campus and online was difficult to do effectively

• On-campus students had less opportunity to learn about QR codes beforehand

What Didn’t Work(or could be improved)

What We Learnt

• Students motivated by fun as much as (if not more than) prizes

• 10% of participants used QR codes• Online activities had greater uptake than

on-campus activities• CDU librarians were upskilled in the use

of QR codes and mobile technology

Plans for QR Codes at CDU

Aim for high impact low cost. Don’t overinvest.

Linking physical spaces or items directly to associated electronic resources.

Print

room tut

orials

(print

resources room)

Distance services tut

orials

Borrowing tut

orials

(catalogue PC’s)

Short Term

Loan

(STL

Area)

and others

Help

Tutorials – Ask Us and Liaison Librarians

QR code links to video/text/images

instructions on how to print

Presentation Title | 00 Month 2010 | Slide 38

QR Code links to tutorial on how to add money to card using card machine and eftpos facility

QR code links to video/text/images of Library news, sites

and events

LCD screen in CDU Library foyer.

QR code copies call number to mobile

device/maps physical

location/more info

Wrap UpHow do we identify what aspects to adopt and promote?

Observations indicated high level of clients using mobile devices within the library. CDU Library policy will ensure mobile compatibility is considered in all future system and content purchasesStatistics collected indicate fun, instructional video clips worthy of adopting &promotingCDU Library QR Codes can be used in any promotional arena/campus wide/Territory wide

Are they worthy of our time and budget?

Yes, increasing library profile to external & internal clients through the use of free software tools such as Animoto & Blabberize clearly demonstrated high level of student engagement.

How to overcome difficulties for smaller Libraries who may lack staffing, expertise and resources?

We addressed these difficulties by sourcing freeware, self taught play time, drawing upon existing knowledge from within the team and the common goal of providing a fun learning experience for everyone involved.