Distributing TILT via an Open Publication License allows interested individuals and institutions to collectively improve the tutorial for the benefit of all. Rather than each school having to develop content, interfaces, programming, and assignments from scratch, together we can share ideas which will elevate the quality of product we may all use in our instructional initiatives. A number of interesting possibilities for future developments and improvements are being discussed:
Quizzes
Quizzes within TILT are designed to specifically test the skills outlined at the beginning of each module. With additional programming, a variety of questions could be designed so the quiz asks different question each time.
Statistics
Statistics pages within TILT are functional but basic. Improvements could be made to make monitoring of statistics less time-consuming and comparison over time easier.
Interactions
Interactions are most effective when they are personalized to an individual's level of knowledge and interests. Ideas for improvements are welcome.
Assignment Site
Librarians and instructors contribute all types of activities, assignments, and related exercises to a shared assignment site. Resources gathered might be organized by the skill, audience, and/or discipline to which they relate.
Individually Generated Tutorial
Students take an online pre-test which assesses their level of knowledge on all aspects of basic first-year student competencies. Based upon their responses, a tutorial is generated specifically for them with appropriate levels of content for each topic.
3-D Concept Map
Designed in a less linear manner, the tutorial would be developed along the lines of a concept map. Students are shown various concepts and the connections between them, but select for themselves the order in which to pursue learning.
Additional Skill Modules
Information literacy is a more complex idea than the basic skills covered within TILT. For example, additional modules can be developed to cover aspects of information creation and dissemination.
Discipline-Specific Modules
TILT covers generic skills and concepts applicable to any first-year student. Additional modules can be designed to cover resources and skills appropriate to specific disciplines or fields, such as business, psychology, medicine, literature, or engineering.
Translations
Libraries from a variety of countries have proposed translating TILT into different languages, offering some interesting possibilities for new international collaborations.
Research
With many institutions using the same or similar tutorial, there are opportunities to study how online tutorials impact instructional programs and student learning and compare findings in a variety of research studies.
