Faculty Services

Kirkwood librarians can support student learning in a number of different ways:

• A presentation or activity for your class on a specific topic. To name just a few possible topics: citing sources; searching library databases; searching Google effectively; critical evaluation of information; or quick analysis to scan for misleading, false, or "fake news". We are happy to collaborate with faculty on creating an effective activity or assignment to help students gain specific research skills relevant to your course. Read about even more ideas in a recent blog post!
• A set of online resources, activities, and/or tutorials designed and curated especially for your class needs.
• One-on-one research consultations with you or your students, using our online reservation form.
• Direct support in creating effective research assignments. Read more about this in a recent blog post. 

Please request library instruction by using the online form below, or by calling the Main Library or Iowa City Campus reference desk:

At the heart of the library's work and mission is the support of information literacy learning and teaching for our students and faculty. To learn more about information literacy, and for resources to support information literacy learning, see our Information Literacy guide, linked below:

Kirkwood Library Services provides excellent and professional reference service to students, faculty, and staff in a number of different ways:

• Stop by the Cedar Rapids or Iowa City Campus Libraries during our regular desk hours (until 9pm at the CR campus, until 8pm at the IC campus).
• Make an appointment with a librarian for an extended consultation about your research project.
• Use the "Ask a Librarian" chat function, available from the Library homepage, and from most of the LibGuides pages, for quick and timely help.

The page you're looking at right now was created using software called "LibGuides". It features flexible layout, easy updating, and reusable components. The content can also be embedded directly into your Talon courses. If you'd like a page with resources especially for your students, contact a librarian and we'll collaborate with you on locating the best resources for your particular assignments and in designing a page that fits your students' needs.

Examples of some customized pages for Kirkwood classes:

Global Perspectives in Interior Design

Agricultural Science

The page we create for your class can feature:

• Direct links to library resources such as the book catalog or any of the subscription databases
• Direct links to other online resources you want to direct your students to
• Pages or boxes from any of the library LibGuides pages, embedded directly into your page so your students know the resources are instructor-approved. For example, we could put a tab on your page called "MLA Style" that will include videos on MLA Citation as well as printable guides.
• Links that won't "go bad." Because they link directly into the library's pages, if we update a link to a database, the link on your page will automatically update as well
• Your LibGuides page can be embedded directly into many types of course sites, including Talon.

Contact a librarian for more details, or to get started on your own LibGuide. In Cedar Rapids contact Kate Cameron (x5605); in Iowa City contact David Strass (x3619)

We have preselected collections of readings, guides and tutorials on a selection of research topics for easy inclusion in your Talon courses. Select from the topics below, or suggest a topic you'd like to see in an upcoming playlist.

Topic 1: Evaluating information and dealing with misinformation/disinformation

Readings:

• Journal article: “Countering Misinformation and Fake News Through Inoculation and Prebunking” by Stephan Lewandowky & Sander van der Linden, in European Review of Social Psychology (2021). Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10463283.2021.1876983
• Opinion article: “Should (Can) Fake News Be Regulated?” in Foundation for Economic Education (2019). Link: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/WSVYKA314493751/OVIC?u=kcccedar&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=84b787a2
• News article: “How anti-Muslin content spreads on YouTube in India” on First Draft, firstdraftnews.org. Link: https://firstdraftnews.org/articles/tablighi-jamaat-blamed-for-covid-19-spread-on-india-youtube/
• Online article: “A guide to prebunking: a promising way to inoculate against misinformation” on First Draft. Link: https://firstdraftnews.org/articles/a-guide-to-prebunking-a-promising-way-to-inoculate-against-misinformation/

Guides:

• Evaluating Web Resources has a variety of guides to information evaluation https://guides.kirkwood.edu/evaluatingweb

Videos & Tutorials: 

Follow the hyperlinked title of each to preview, or use the "URL for embedding" to embed in Talon as an LTI External Resource link. See Faculty Libguide for instructions on embedding an LTI link.

• Tutorial: Evaluating Information  -- Simple tutorial introducing basic concepts around what to examine when evaluating a resource. Frames questions as Who, What, When, Why, How?
  URL for embedding in Talon: https://frame.credocourseware.com/lti_provider/courses/course-v1:Kirkwood-Community-College+IL-MOD+2018/block-v1:Kirkwood-Community-College+IL-MOD+2018+type@sequential+block@7bf9d9b68bee40c8b4af3b4788ffe701
• Tutorial: Evaluating Digital Sources Using Lateral Reading  -- Provides step by step directions on the lateral reading method of quickly determining the likely reliability of a given article or website. Includes example and walks the student through evaluating their own sample site.
  URL for embedding in Talon: https://frame.credocourseware.com/lti_provider/courses/course-v1:Kirkwood-Community-College+IL-MOD+2018/block-v1:Kirkwood-Community-College+IL-MOD+2018+type@sequential+block@aaaf06d6ea07403ab16248ddf5336efc
• Check, Please! Starter Course (no login required): Excellent free resource for teachers: “we show you how to fact and source-check in five easy lessons, taking about 30 minutes apiece. The entire curriculum is two and a half to three hours and is suitable homework for the first few weeks of a course if assigned with other discipline-focused homework”.
  https://www.notion.so/checkpleasecc/Check-Please-Starter-Course-ae34d043575e42828dc2964437ea4eed
• Go Viral! (no login required): This is a quick (5 minutes) fun game that teaches users misinformation tactics so that they can better spot them in real life social media posts, and know when they’re being manipulated. https://www.goviralgame.com/en