Providing Links to Online Resources for Students. EDNER (Formative Evaluation of the Distributed National Electronic Resource) Project. Issues Paper.

This issues paper, the fourth in a series of eight, is intended to distill formative evaluation questions on topics that are central to the development of the higher and further education information environment in the United Kingdom. As the online environment becomes a feature of teaching and learning, it offers lecturers the opportunity to provide their students with active links that will take them direct to learning resources. Preliminary evidence suggests that the context in which this linking is done is not always as helpful as it might be. This paper highlights some of the pitfalls encountered so far in providing links to online resources for students. The need to provide context is apparent. Effective resources for students are organized, with headings that explain their use and explanations that make the purpose of the link clear to the student. It is important to maintain links, and to be sure that URLs have not disappeared or changed ownership. Some sources of help in creating links to online resources include libraries and librarians, Web resource persons, and other members of the teaching or learning unit. (SLD)