Elisheva Berenstein, Librarian, School of Health Sciences
Where were you born?
I was born in Brooklyn, New York and actually attended Touro College in the mid 1990s.
Where else have you lived?
I have lived in Rochester, New York for over 25 years and have just moved back to the Far Rockaway area.
What languages do you speak?
While I am a native English speaker, I am proficient in Hebrew and can speak, read and write in it.
What fields have you studied and/or degrees have you earned?
I have an MLS in Library Science from State University of New York at Buffalo as well as NYS Teacher Certification in Library. I have a BS in Business Management from SUNY Empire State College. I am a certified Medical Transcriptionist as well. I have taught in the classroom, to grades ranging from kindergarten to college.
What is the part of your job that you enjoy the most?
Teaching students the research and information literacy skills that will help them be successful. Nowadays, you always need to figure things out. Once a student knows how to find the relevant information, there is no limit to how far they can go!
What do you think will be the most challenging part of your job?
Marketing and outreach! Having students realize what a great help libraries and librarians can be in helping them excel in their studies. From learning to how to find relevant information to citing research correctly, librarians and library are treasured resources that need good PR.
Your ideal vacation?
Taking my family touring in Europe (England, France & Italy) for a week and then going to Israel and living like a native in Jerusalem.
Any hobbies?
I like to dabble in many things, so I am concurrently working on a diamond art painting of an elephant and a paint by number of the Western Wall. I also like to keep my freezer well stocked with desserts, so I bake weekly. My favorite thing to make is lemon biscotti and grape sorbet.
Favorite food?
Anything with chocolate 😊
Tell us one thing about yourself that most of us probably don’t know.
I can juggle! I currently juggle with balls and am working on juggling with pins.
Image credits: portrait courtesy of the author. Librarian avatar by Bitmoji.
Contributed by Elisheva Berenstein, Librarian at the School of Health Sciences
For all of the talk about the treachery of moving to online teaching, there are some surprising benefits to teaching information literacy sessions online, too. In this post, Touro librarians Edlira Agalliu and Natasha Hollander share their experiences and offer tips for other instructors working online.
Edlira Agalliu (provided photo)
Edlira Agalliu, Chief Librarian, Avenue J
Are these sessions very different from what you offered in the classes face-to-face? What are the differences?
For me personally, the transition have been very smooth and I feel very comfortable with online teaching, since I have been involved in teaching online via Zoom for a few years now (mainly internationally). However, I still can point out some differences:
The interpersonal aspect of face-to-face teaching is very different and hard to replicate in online teaching
The social aspect of students gathering in library for orientations gives a sense of community and sense of place that an online platform attempts to replicate with a digital community. The geographical location now is replaced with a virtual one, and students are sometimes spread nationally and internationally and spread across different time zones
The psychological aspect of face-to-face teaching makes it easier for extroverted personalities (both students and instructors) to take center stage, but the online platform also gives introverts the opportunity to make their voices heard
Although in the literature there is a distinction between synchronous and asynchronous teaching, I always have included asynchronous elements in my face-to-face teaching, so there are no major changes pedagogically
Are there any advantages to the online classes?
There are many advantages to teaching online, including the ability to access the course 24/7 and the flexibility that provides. Instructors can utilize innovative methods and be creative, while students benefit from a different kind of social presence and increased participation for introverts. Instructions for activities can be prepared and saved on the computer as video or Powerpoint presentation, and chat and discussion boards in Canvas can be used to engage students.
What are the disadvantages or challenges?
There are some disadvantages and challenges as well, including self-discipline for students and teachers and the hurdle of using technology and learning new platforms for online teaching (Zoom, Canvas, WebEx, Google Classrooms etc.) It is hard to ensure that classes are accessible for students with disabilities (using closed captioning and adaptive technologies), although this is a problem in face-to-face teaching too.
Another challenge is taking into account the computer skills of different groups of students, especially the older students that are returning to classroom after years of being in workforce. We don’t have evidence to suggest that they are not involved at all in online learning, but it could be an argued that they might be underrepresented as a group of students and lead to a generation gap.
When teaching internationally or even with classes that have students outside of the eastern states, it is important to consider different time zones to accommodate students, so that might be another challenge. And, silence after asking a question is amplified in online teaching and creates an uncomfortable situation, but we can use it as a tool for critical thinking to reduce awkwardness.
What are some of the success stories you can share with us?
I would call it a success when students are engaged in the classroom and they ask questions — and when they interrupt you because they want to make sure they understand the steps. It also feels like a success when students share their appreciation for your efforts and are thankful for your work, and when they ask for a follow-up session with you to dig into the material more deeply.
How did you collaborate with faculty?
We had scheduled face-to-face orientation sessions before switching to online teaching because of the stay-at-home orders, so I had everything scheduled in my calendar and it was just a matter of reaching out to faculty to set up those instruction sessions online via Zoom. Some others were scheduled via email knowing their classes and interest from previous years.
How do you make it interactive/engage with students?
I try to ask questions during my teaching to make sure that students are following along and that they understand the process, and to make sure I am not going too fast. These might be questions about citations and citation styles, dealing with primary sources, or other research process questions. I also make sure that I reserve some quite time for critical thinking, so that students who need time can formulate their thoughts.
Natasha Hollander (provided photo)
Natasha Hollander, Librarian, Lander College for Women; Adjunct Instructor, School for Lifelong Education
Are these sessions very different from what you offered in the classes face-to-face?
The sessions that I give during my Zoom are a bit different than what I give face-to-face because of the coronavirus. My students are in an area that is very affected by the pandemic, so the classes being offered reflect that.
What are the differences?
I changed the work expectations for my students to better reflect their situations. Now, they are only expected to complete their homework worksheets, a proposal for their final paper, their literature reviews, and a final paper. Normally, I would include a presentation as well, but that would just overwhelm them more. Also, it helped to focus my Zoom classes on a final goal, which I think made it easier for my students.
Are there any advantages to the online classes?
I think that teaching online during this time is nothing but an advantage to my students. My students seem to take more accountability for their own work and have more access to me as their professor online, in terms of asking questions or expressing confusion. I also found that, explaining concepts to the class using the shared screen feature felt more personal than being in our regular classroom, where it is sometimes hard for students to see the one screen. Additionally, the students seem to be a little bit more engaged in class discussions which makes the class feel more actively involved.
What are the disadvantages?
I do not really see disadvantages to teaching this class via Zoom. I am a big advocate of utilizing Zoom to teach classes and reach out to students during this time of social distancing.
What are some of the success stories you can share with us?
In one of my classes, my students opened up over Zoom and started asking me a lot of questions about graduate school and how their work can be improved to benefit them in their future education and careers.
How did you get the opportunity to teach a class?
I got the opportunity to teach this class when I was filling in last summer for the librarian at the Borough Park campus. After discussing my background, my experience, and responsibilities at LCW with the Director of SLE, she offered me the chance to teach this class — and I had to accept.
How do you make it interactive/engage with students?
I engage with my students every time we have class, and even more often now that we are not meeting physically, because when they have a question, they can also schedule a one-on-one meeting with me. This is beneficial to them and shows that the students are taking initiative and taking their learning into their own hands.
Note: this information was originally presented in a staff development webinar to other Touro College librarians in May 2020. These responses have been condensed and edited for clarity.
This post is originally from 2014. It continues our tribute to Rita Hilu, who passed away last weekend. Rita was an incredibly important member of the Touro College Libraries staff, and we want to remind everyone of what made her so special to students, faculty, and staff.
The Fall 2009 issue of the Starrett City campus newsletter Touro Times featured a glowing profile on one of Touro’s most beloved information professionals, Rita Hilu.
National Library Week is being celebrated this week, from April 10-16th. This year’s theme is “Libraries transform.” Libraries, and the knowledge and people within them, have the potential to transform people’s lives in many different ways. At Touro College Libraries, we strive to play a part in our students transformations into successful college graduates. We provide information, assistance, and a comfortable place to study, but it’s our instructional services that are at the heart of our education efforts. Continue reading →
The Fall 2009 issue of the Starrett City campus newsletter Touro Times featured a glowing profile on one of Touro’s most beloved information professionals, Rita Hilu.
There are many new strategies being implemented in colleges and universities to try to improve higher education. One of these ideas is called the Flipped Classroom. In most traditional classrooms, the instructor spends the class time giving a lecture, then assigns work to be done by the students at home. In a Flipped Classroom, students are assigned to watch video lectures before coming to class and then during the class time, students and instructors actively work together on projects and assignments. The idea is for the students to do a relatively passive activity (listen to a lecture) on their own, and to utilize classroom time in a more interactive way. The increased interaction with the instructor and other students is believed to enhance learning. This is now possible because of technological innovations which make it easy and inexpensive to provide video lectures to students through online course management systems.
Marian Stoltz-Loike, vice president of online education for Touro College and dean of Lander College for Women discusses online education in this article.
TU Library Blog 