Author: Zoe Fisher

  • What counts? Gender identity and library workers.

    What counts? Gender identity and library workers.

    Last week, I received an email inviting me to a webinar about transgender inclusion in libraries being offered by the Washington State Library, and I immediately signed up. I am always happy to learn more about supporting transgender and non-binary library workers and patrons. (Can’t make the webinar? If you’re…

  • To Lock or Not to Lock?

    To Lock or Not to Lock?

    Slides from IGNIS Webinar (4/26/18) Last fall, I was working as a part-time librarian at a community college when a student approached me at the reference desk and asked where she could take her test. She explained that she needed to download a software called Respondus that would lock down…

  • Who Succeeds in Higher Education? Questioning the Connection Between Academic Libraries & Student Success.

    Who Succeeds in Higher Education? Questioning the Connection Between Academic Libraries & Student Success.

    This is a rough transcript of the plenary session presented to the California Academic & Research Libraries conference on April 15, 2018. The full paper is available with the conference proceedings. All errors, typos, and misunderstandings are my own and do not represent the views of anyone else, including my…

  • Metacognition matters.

    This blog post supports my presentations at the Fourth Annual Reading Apprenticeship conference at Renton Technical College, March 9-10, 2018. Reading Apprenticeship and the Research Paper Assignment – Slides Reading for Success: How to Integrate RA Routines with Your College Success Course – Slides Use the Research Reading Log to…

  • To be a student parent at a community college in Washington State.

    To be a student parent at a community college in Washington State.

    What is it like to go to college while taking care of a family? I have the privilege of saying I don’t know. What I do know is that I love working with community college students, in part because they are always juggling multiple responsibilities: taking care of family, working…

  • Libraries & learning analytics: A brief history.

    Libraries & learning analytics: A brief history.

    March 5, 2018 — Revised and updated from the original post on November 10, 2017.   A slide deck from EDUCAUSE made the rounds on Twitter last week, with many folks expressing shock about libraries & their involvement (complicity) in learning analytics efforts on higher education campuses. But this isn’t…

  • Observe, Reflect, Learn: Developing a Peer Teaching Observation Program in Your Library

    Observe, Reflect, Learn: Developing a Peer Teaching Observation Program in Your Library

    This post corresponds with my presentation at the Canadian Library Assessment Workshop on Friday, October 27, 2017 in Victoria, British Columbia. Slides Scenario – Leave No Trace You are the Assessment Librarian at a large university with a team of a dozen instruction librarians. Everyone is excited to embark on…

  • Have we confused surveillance with assessment of student learning?

    Have we confused surveillance with assessment of student learning?

    Somehow I had been blissfully unaware of Respondus Lockdown Browser until last week, when several students came to the library asking if we had this software available on our computers. If you’re not familiar with this product, Respondus is one of several LMS-integrated cheating-prevention tools. In simple terms, it shuts…

  • Teacher identities, empathy, and the beginner’s mind: A conversation with Nicole Gustavsen.

    Teacher identities, empathy, and the beginner’s mind: A conversation with Nicole Gustavsen.

    Teaching is terrifying. It’s also exhilarating, fascinating, challenging, and deeply rewarding. Making the transition from being a student to being a teacher is a complex process, as evidenced by the questions raised by librarian Nicole Gustavsen on Twitter last week.   I asked Nicole if she would be interested in…

  • On the 10th anniversary of Communications in Information Literacy. (Day 100/100)

    On the 10th anniversary of Communications in Information Literacy. (Day 100/100)

    Did you know that tomorrow is the longest day of the year? I’m at my dining room table, reading articles about information literacy as lightning flickers across the sky. It’s hot this week and it feels like the whole world is sizzling, waiting. I got a phone call today that…