How Much Do Universities Care About Us

While there has been tremendous development and support in the use of learning management systems (LMS) such as Moodle, Canvas, and Blackboard by lecturers to enhance their teaching and learning interfaces in the university environment, there are significant ethical concerns associated with the adoption of new technologies in creating, changing, and sharing information with students during lectures. Many lecturers, in their bid to render teaching and learning services, continue to struggle with new LMS technologies introduced in universities without prior notice and preparation, due to the application of software and thinking skills (Snyder & Snyder, 2008) required by the lecturers. In the US and other parts of the world, many universities frequently introduce new LMS platforms, even when the existing ones are still functional, possibly due to changes in institutional policy. This practice has led to considerable frustration among lecturers, who feel the university does not care about their opinions. The lack of consultation and preparation for such changes leaves many lecturers feeling daunted and unsupported and struggling in silence, not knowing how to adapt or where to seek help, even when their complaints go unheard. This study demonstrates innovative ideas that the Library and Information Science (LIS) curricula could address to prepare future lecturers wishing to go into the librarianship profession. This ongoing study will apply ethnography and observation methods from interactions with lecturers (faculty members) to serve as a blueprint for library users and anticipated librarians who might want to consider a teaching position at the university.