Library news

The new Course Readings service is now available. If you used the Library’s eReadings Service in 2018 or you'll be making digitised book excerpts, chapters or journal articles available to students in 2019, the information below is important.

What is happening?
The former eReadings Service has been upgraded via eReservePLUS software to a new service and is now officially known as Course Readings.   Any reading lists that were available via Equella in 2018 have been moved to the new Course Readings repository and from there, new lists can be created directly in Moodle.

Why is it happening?
The benefits of the new service are that:

• Teaching staff can add a Course Readings list to multiple Moodle courses to cater for groups of students studying at different campuses or in different study modes.
• Teaching staff can link an individual Course Readings resource (e.g. Journal Article, Book Chapter) from their Moodle course, anywhere the Moodle editing toolbar is available (e.g. Moodle Books, Lessons, Labels etc).
• Students will be able to see the full citation of a Course Readings resource in the preferred referencing style e.g. APA 6^th, providing them with examples and helping them to reference appropriately.
• The University will be able to manage its copyright legislative requirements more efficiently and effectively.
• Teaching staff are not permitted to upload scans of published items directly to Moodle. Legislation mandates that such items be included in the Course Readings repository and made available from this source.

When will I see the changes?
As soon as the Semester 1, 2019 Moodle teaching shells are created AND you have been enrolled in your Moodle course as a lecturer, a new Moodle activity called ‘Course Readings’ will be available for you to add readings.

What do I need to do?
Create your 2019 Course Readings list as soon as you are ready.  There are two options –

1. To re-use your 2018 list, go into the Moodle activity, Course Readings, and you will find it migrated there under your Course Code [instructions]
2. To load a new reading list for 2019, contact the Library’s Course Readings team with your list of readings, via the online submission form or email coursereadings@federation.edu.au.

To begin using Course Readings in Moodle:

1. Enable the Course Readings tool in your Moodle course.
In your Moodle course, turn editing on, click on “add an activity or resource” and select the “Course Readings” activity. We recommend leaving the title of this Moodle activity as “Course Readings” (the default) for ease of identification by students.

2. Select your Course Readings list.
Select your rolled-over 2018 Course Readings list
OR create a Course Readings list based on readings from a similar course
OR create a list from scratch.
In each case, email the Course Readings library service team coursereadings@federation.edu.au for assistance.

3. Place links to individual Course Readings resources throughout your Moodle course.
Link to an individual Course Readings resource (e.g. Journal Article, Book Chapter) from your Moodle course anywhere the Moodle editing toolbar is available (e.g. Moodle Books, Lessons, Labels etc). Contact your for assistance, as part of overall course learning design support.

For more detailed instructions, see the Course Readings Library Guide.

Where/How can I get more assistance?

1. On Friday 8 Feb 2019, the Course Readings Library Service staff will send an email offering support to approximately 100 FedUni teaching staff who made an eReadings request last year.
2. Email your query to the Course Readings library service team coursereadings@federation.edu.au and they will provide assistance.
3. Staff training sessions/workshops are available to groups, on request.

The transition to Course Readings has been a joint project between FedUni Library, CLIPP and ITS.

Sue Owen, Director Library and Learning Spaces
Tulsa Andrews, Acting Director Centre for Learning Innovation and Professional Practice