Talking tablets: piloting skills building through collaboration - Jennifer Wilson & Eric Howard

cademic Librarians at Leeds Beckett University were part of faculty teams, who successfully bid to be part of a University wide pilot giving a Nexus 7 tablet to staff and students. Teams attended an initial planning meeting; there was no pressure to use the tablet for any specific outcomes, rather the main aim was to enable staff and students to try them out, to feel comfortable using mobile devices as an educational tool, and assess the outcomes from a natural standpoint. Librarians used the tablet to evaluate how Library resources and teaching materials display on mobile devices, including documents and video; Libguides and Adobe Connect; and specialist apps like WestlawNext, FieldtripGB, and Blackboard. Librarians created apps pages for Libguides including generic study apps and subject specific apps. Flexible working opportunities included using the tablet in meetings to demonstrate resources, and using the tablet for drop-ins at less conventional places than the Library. Working with colleagues in Learning Resources and Technologies for Learning, Academic Librarians found new ways of using the tablets to support information literacy, including: using social media to promote key resources, conversations surrounding the ‘To App or Not to App’ debate and optimising the accessibility of our resources. This paper will concentrate on the experience of librarians from across the Service in learning to use new technologies and developing their own information skills, and how this technology unlocked opportunities to engage with our audience in the digital information literacy environment.