Hybrid by Design: New Student Orientations and the Value of Asynchronicity
Presented by
- Abigail Morgan (Miami University)
- Stefanie Hilles (Miami University)
Description
Covid changed our lives, our campuses, and how we connect with students. In-person activities were replaced with virtual ones and library events had to be reimagined digitally. With vaccinations on the rise and universities hopeful for a more in-person fall, what did we learn from online events that we can apply in the future? This poster will present our experience transitioning the library’s annual graduate student orientation from in-person to virtual and hybrid events. First, we will discuss how we moved orientation online in 2020 and the challenges we faced, including teaching staff how to use new video conferencing software to record accessible videos, collaborating with campus partners, and how to best present the event with existing learning management platforms and the library website. Next, we will detail how we incorporated these lessons into a hybrid orientation in 2021 that will continue to use asynchronous recordings on an event landing page. Finally, we will discuss the benefits of asynchronous orientation elements and compare attendance outcomes from 2019 (in-person), 2020 (virtual), and 2021 (hybrid) to determine which format produces the most student engagement, answering the question, “Should we continue asynchronous opportunities at new student orientations when in-person learning fully resumes?”
About
Abigail Morgan is a Social Sciences Librarian at Miami University where she liaisons to the anthropology, business, economics, marketing, and teacher education departments, manages their collections, and instructs information literacy sessions. She holds an M.Ed. in Education from Ohio University and an M.L.I.S. from University of Maryland, College Park. She also serves as co-chair of the Library Gaming Knights planning committee. One of her favorite job duties is purchasing board games for the Libraries’ instructional materials collection.
Stefanie Hilles is the Arts and Humanities Librarian at Wertz Art and Architecture Library at Miami University, where she is the liaison to the art, architecture, and theater departments, manages their collections, and instructs information literacy sessions. She holds a M.A. in Art History from Case Western Reserve University and a M.L.I.S from Kent State University.
