Conference Agenda

Over the last twenty years, studies have shown that most university students prefer reading their academic texts in print format over electronic (e.g., Dilevko and Gottlieb, 2002; Liu, 2006; Li et.al., 2011; Mizrachi et al., 2021). But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, institutions worldwide were forced to close their campuses and move to remote learning. Libraries closed to the public and curtailed their services severely. Suddenly students had no reading format choice and had to use e-format. This study investigated how the COVID restrictions affected their reading format attitudes and behaviors. We addressed these research questions:

• What is the impact of forced remote learning on students’ academic reading format attitudes and preferences?

• Do students report changes in their reading and learning engagement strategies?

• How do students’ collective reading format preferences and behaviors compare to those documented before COVID?

We defined academic texts as textbooks, scholarly books, book chapters, and journal articles in different formats used for coursework or academic projects. Print format included texts originating on paper and printouts from an electronic source. Electronic reading was reading on any digital device.

The survey contained some original questions and others adapted from the previously validated ARFIS survey (Mizrachi, et.al, 2018). It was distributed to students at a North American research university in March 2021, at the height of the pandemic. 234 responses were received and analyzed. Descriptive analysis was generated with SPSS and Excel programs.

Results showed an increased dislike towards e-format, and that most students still believed print to be the best medium for focusing and remembering information. However, we cannot generalize that the increased dislike is a permanent condition. It may just be a temporary outcome of the exclusive remote learning mode during this unprecedented time. As students become more accustomed to digital learning, it is possible that comfort levels and confidence in their ability to learn using e-readings will increase; and as instructional modalities move back towards pre-pandemic norms, it is possible that students’ attitudes towards e-reading will become more favorable.

References

Dilevko, J., & Gottlieb, L. (2002). Print sources in an electronic age: A vital part of the research process for undergraduate students. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 28(6), 381–392.

Li, C., Poe, F., Potter, M., Quigley, B., & Wilson, J. (2011). UC Libraries academic e-book usage survey. Retrieved March 4, 2022 from https://escholarship.org/content/qt4vr6n902/qt4vr6n902.pdf

Liu, Z. (2006). Print vs. electronic resources: A study of user perceptions, preferences, and use. Information Processing & Management 42(2), 583¬–592.

Mizrachi, D., Salaz, A. M., Kurbanoglu, S., Boustany, J., & ARFIS Research Group. (2018). Academic reading format preferences and behaviors among university students worldwide: A comparative survey analysis. PloS one, 13(5), e0197444.

Mizrachi, D., Salaz, A. M., Kurbanoglu, S., & Boustany, J. (2021). The Academic Reading Format International Study (ARFIS): final results of a comparative survey analysis of 21,265 students in 33 countries. Reference Services Review, 49(3-4), 250–266. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-04-2021-0012

The consumption of online video keeps growing, especially during the Covid crisis and the “emergency remote education” time (Bozkurt et al., 2020) when pedagogical continuity had to be organized with the available means and resources online. The studies of primary school teachers’ information seeking behavior (ISB) and information literacy (IL) are still scarce (Virkus & Mathiesen, 2019) even though ISB and IL of teaching staff has been reported to have a strong impact on students’ information literacy (Godwin, 2005).

Objectives

The present study focuses on French elementary school teachers’ uses of online video resources. We define online video as an audiovisual resource that can be reached online asynchronously (possibly downloaded and/or modified by the user) and that was not necessarily initially designed for learning purposes. We focus here on 3 research questions: What is the place of online video in the participants’ information habits (Q1)? What learning potentialities do they attribute to online video (Q2)? What does it say about the IL of these teachers and the media and information literacy (MIL) they may provide (Q3)?

Methodology

We adopted a qualitative approach: 15 individual semi-directed interviews (6 men and 11 women, teaching from first to fifth grade in different schools). Inspired by Flanagan’s Critical Incident Technique (1954) relevant in the IL field (Cisek, 2016), each interview is based on a retrospective analysis by the teacher of a learning situation involving online video.

Outcomes

Q1: Our results show effective, albeit disparate, use of online video. Our participants locate videos mainly through other teachers’ blogs and thanks to textbooks. Their main motivation in selecting a video is that it fits their learning objectives. It seems that the primary source of a video makes no difference. The search for online videos has however an impact on their preparation work: the selection process is described as rather difficult and time-consuming.

Q2: Online video is part of these teachers’ information habits as one type of media among others. The learning objectives for using online videos in class are described in an ambivalent manner (a means to maintain students’ attention and the very reason why children’s attention fluctuates). Specific learning potentialities are associated with online video: mainly “to show”, to “emotionally impact” learners to improve their understanding and memorization. The fact that an online video can be watched at a desired pace is appreciated. As such, online video is mainly used to introduce or summarize a learning point. Q3: The videos used are tightly linked to school programs. The video rarely seems to be sought or even less studied in class for itself. Nor does it appear as an objective of MIL.

These findings inform recommendations for teacher training (to select and validate online audiovisual resources) as well as for designers and publishers of resources (for a design closer to teachers’ pedagogical needs and better visibility of resources).

References

Bozkurt, A., et al. (2020). A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 pandemic: Navigating in a time of uncertainty and crisis. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 1–126.

Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327–358.

Godwin, P. (2005). Making life easier for academics: How librarians can help staff weather the technological storm. Journal of Literacy, 2(2), 68–79.

Virkus, S., Mathiesen, M. (2019). Information seeking behavior of primary school teachers in Estonia: An exploratory study. In S. Kurbanoğlu et al. (Eds.), Information Literacy in Everyday Life, The Sixth European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL), Oulu, Finland, September 24-27, 2018,: Revised Selected Papers. CCIS 989 (pp. 317–328). Cham: Springer.