Utilising enotebooks for teaching and research

Abstract

Abstract Ensuring digital literacy to prepare graduates for employment in a digital world is at the heart of higher education teaching and policy development in institutions globally. Additionally with advancements in technology, academics and students alike are able to connect with and collaborate with people outside of once traditional geographic boundaries. eNotebooks (formerly Electronic Lab Notebooks, or ELNs) provide a collaborative working tool suitable for both internal and external collaborators. eNotebooks can be used in any discipline and are a great option for storing and sharing working documents, procedures, observations, conclusions, lab notes, images and data files. As a teaching tool eNotebooks allow group learning, large scale data sharing and efficiencies in large class teaching and grading of student work. There are many commercially available eNotebook systems and many institutions may already be embracing them or creating customized systems. As just one example, LabArchives® is a secure cloud based eNotebook tool that was designed for the storage, organisation, sharing and publishing of research data. LabArchives can be deployed in two versions: Professional Edition and Classroom Edition. The Professional Edition provides a workflow tool to manage data and to protect the intellectual property rights of the institution. The Classroom Edition is built on the same core platform as the Professional version, with specialized instructional features and is being used by higher education institutions globally, including Australia. Objectives To develop participant awareness of the value of eNotebooks for teaching and research. To promote discussions among participants interested in utilising eNotebooks for teaching or research. Workshop description This will be a 1.5 hour workshop for 30 participants. Activities include: Discussion of current and emerging uses of eNotebooks in research and teaching at the participants institutions. Does your institution currently use an eNotebook system for teaching or research? Showcase of the use of an eNotebook for teaching and research – using LabArchives. Discussion of strategies for embedding eNotebooks in teaching and/or research. Biography of workshop leaders Dr. Tracey Kuit is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong’s School of Biological Sciences, where she coordinates large undergraduate subjects. Tracey is passionate about teaching and utilising technology to enhance and support student learning. Tracey recently embedded eNotebooks, using LabArchives® Classroom Edition, in a second year undergraduate biochemistry subject with 430 students. Associate Professor Gareth Denyer is the recently-appointed Sydney University Research Data Steward. Over the last three decades, he has been a thought leader in adoption of new technologies in all areas of University life. His most recent leadership role has been in the use of eNotebooks in both the teaching and research environments. He was on the selection committee that chose LabArchives as the institutional eNotebook and has published his work on bringing eNotebooks into the classroom, presenting at workshops across several institutions and National societies. Mr Paul Cremin is the market manager for Australia and New Zealand for LabArchives, LLC. He is an experienced specialist literature researcher, trainer and reference information specialist. Paul has had 20 years of high level research experience, across fields such as competitive intelligence, company research, medical literature searching and pharmacovigilance, market research, drug safety literature searching, intellectual property and finance.