Dr Chris Khoo attended the World Library and Information Congress: 76th IFLA General Conference and Assembly  from 13-15 Aug 2010, in Gothenburg, Sweden.

I met many old friends from around the world, including several librarians from NTU and the National Library Board! I had a reunion with Dr Abdus Sattar Chaudhry, who is doing very well at the U. of Kuwait, and Dr Cheryl Cordeiro (a.k.a. Miss Singapore), a graduate of our MSc Information Studies program who has now settled in Sweden. (See picture below)

I presented a paper on a collaborative project with three other information schools in Asia (abstract below). Nurhazman Abdul Aziz, a recent Information Studies graduate and a librarian at NTU, presented a paper on social web applications, co-authored with NTU librarians Mr Chia Yew Boon and Mrs Hazel Loh. Well-done, Hazman!

Paper abstract and pictures below.

Factors Affecting Re-Usability of Learning Objects Across National Boundaries: An Exploratory Study of Information Organization and Knowledge Management 
     By Christopher Khoo (NTU, Singapore), Abdus Sattar Chaudhry (U. of Kuwait), Sujin Butdisuwan (Mahasarakham U., Thailand), Joyce Chen (National Taiwan Normal U.)

Abstract. This paper reports an exploratory study of the factors likely to affect the re-usability of lecture slides across different LIS schools. The study was carried out in the context of a collaborative project to develop a regional repository of learning objects in LIS. Existing lecture slides on topics in Information Organization and Knowledge Management from four schools were compared to identify common content that suggest reusability of the content, as well as unusual, innovative or well-developed content that can be reused to enhance another instructor’s lecture presentation.

Lecture content on practical topics or that cover international standards and specifications tend to be similar across LIS schools and are likely to reusable with little modification, except for language translation. Lectures that provide a general introduction to a topic or address an abstract topic tend to be quite different because the instructor can address the topic from different perspectives and select different types of information. Introductory/superficial treatments of a topic are more likely to reused across different courses. The type of information on a lecture slide may affect its reusability. Core concepts and frameworks, and quotes from experts tend to recur across the schools. Well-developed examples, illustrations, diagrams and images can be reused by other instructors to enhance their lectures. Different countries have different strengths, and lecture material from a particular country may have more in-depth treatment of particular topics. A repository of lecture slides from different countries will be enormously useful both for instructors teaching a course for the first time, as well as instructors seeking to improve a lecture presentation.

Chris, Cheryl & Abdus at Gothenburg, Sweden

Hazman presenting at IFLA Annual General Meeting 2010