| By Nicole Rakozy |
As program manager for classroom solutions, I am deeply passionate about connecting users to the outstanding content available in the Gale collections. Previously, I worked as an editor collaborating with hundreds of esteemed faculty members at distinguished universities to develop eBooks for GVRL. Many of these resources push the boundaries of traditional reference.
In terms of scholarship, we published works that are now thought to be seminal texts in a particular field of study. Take the Encyclopedia of Bioethics or the Gender Studies archive, for example, these resources often go beyond reference by incorporating pedagogical elements such as discussion questions, thematic outlines, and activities intended to support instruction. The origins of many of these resources swelled from classroom challenges.
For example, Opposing Viewpoints In Context was built to teach the principle that one does not truly understand their perspective until you understand your opponents. The ability to consider a variety of perspectives, to think beyond false dichotomies and consider the framework of a debate, are the foundations of critical thinking and are essential to participating in scholarship as discourse.
Taken in aggregate, the Gale collection holds a myriad of materials – from scholarly viewpoints to exclusive primary sources to interactive models – offering an incredibly deep wealth of content and context to support faculty who want to refresh, revise or even replace course material.
Knowing the pearls within the Gale collection is what has me most excited about our recent work to make our products interoperable with leading LMS vendors such as Canvas, Blackboard, Schoology, and Moodle. These integrations allow libraries to physically extend the value of their Gale collection to meet classroom needs. What’s more, utilizing library materials in classroom instruction can help foster student engagement as well as support textbook affordability initiatives.
Our integration supports deep linking which means that in systems such as Canvas, the Gale resources can also appear in the toolset for generating assignments, discussions, and quizzes. Once opened, the instructor can select an item to be linked or embedded within their course with a single click.
Libraries concerned about the discovery of resources can use our integration to increase the visibility of their collection as well as support the classroom with direct access to quality materials right within the student’s workflow.
Together with schools, libraries, and centers of teaching and learning, Gale seeks to empower student success. We’re excited to offer LMS interoperability as part of that mission.
Get more information on our new LMS integration, here.Air Force 1 Sage Low