The Public Accessible Knowledge of Walailak University: Free Libraries for All

10Oct 2024 by Kittipong Bunlear

Sustainability and Stewardship

The Center for Library Resources and Educational Media: Walailak University's Open Access Learning Hub for All

The Center for Library Resources and Educational Media at Walailak University plays a crucial role in supporting the academic community by serving as a hub for learning resources and information services, particularly within the library. It offers free access to information for students, staff, and the general public, providing books, publications, computers, and other essential equipment for research and lifelong learning. The center’s primary mission is to develop and maintain a wide range of educational resources, produce teaching materials, and offer academic support to the surrounding community. Additionally, it ensures accessibility for individuals with disabilities, offering wheelchair ramps and Braille books. In 2023, the center recorded visits including 394,521 visits to the libraries, 1,319,870 visits to WU-MOOC, and 3,107,545 visits to other lifelong learning of Walailak University.

The center provides a website that allows the public to independently access a variety of information resources. This includes the Union Catalog, facilitating book borrowing among educational institutions through a partnership between the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation, and Walailak University. Since 2017, the center has focused on various forms of distance education, offering online courses for open education and lifelong learning in collaboration with the Thailand Cyber University (TCU). It develops online courses and learning materials, accessible to the public under the name WUMOOC.

The facility offers spaces designed for educational activities aimed at improving learning skills. These include exhibition areas, training rooms, seminar rooms that can host 20 to 80 participants, and presentation areas equipped with projection capabilities. It is also outfitted with audiovisual tools and amenities to support various activities. Experienced staff are on hand to aid with event planning.

In 2023, the Center for Library Resources and Educational Media collaborated with the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and Ban Krabi Noi Municipal School 1 to promote the PEA Chorsaard program and surveyed the area to establish a green library at Ban Krabi Noi Municipal School 1 in Krabi Province. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the Anti Corruption Foundation to enhance integrity and transparency within the PEA under the “PEA Chorsaard program” for a period of three years (2022-2024).

The main concept of the “PEA Chorsaard program” is to address corruption issues in Thai society by fostering a moral community system. The goal is to create a strong, corruption-free community, eliminating patronage (cronyism and nepotism,) and promoting honesty and integrity within the community. The program emphasizes participation from youth and local communities, raising awareness about environmental issues, including global warming. Various activities are organized to support this initiative, such as the “Little Coin Savers” program, green library projects, volunteer network activities, the “One Subdistrict, One Electrician” program, and the PEA Safe Community Energy Program.

WUMOOC: Accessible Learning and Free Educational Resources for Everyone

Walailak University is creating online education programs designed for 21^st century learners, offering flexible course options and fostering a learning network for students, professionals, and diverse individuals. The university aims to strengthen learner-centered education and bridge learning gaps. These programs provide open access to learning materials, allowing users to study anytime, anywhere, at their own pace. Students can easily connect with instructors or teaching assistants and enjoy the flexibility to learn according to their schedules. The programs also integrate technology into both education and daily routines.

The Library and Media Center has transformed into a Living and Digital Library, utilizing an automatic free-accessed system called “Senayan” and focusing on five main areas: e-Resources, e-Services, e-Training, Digital Content, and Learning Space for public. These areas offer a range of information resources such as books, research papers, pamphlets, theses, e-books, and online databases to support teaching and research. Additionally, a Smart Classroom has been established to facilitate online teaching and active learning. Online courses and training programs have been enhanced to support various learning formats for students, faculty, and the public.

WU MOOC is an online learning platform integrated into the Thai MOOC Learning Management System (LMS), tailored to meet the growing demand for lifelong learning. It allows individuals to upskill and reskill at their convenience, offering a flexible, user-friendly system that can be accessed for free across multiple devices.

Thai MOOC, which stands for Thailand Massive Open Online Course, is a project under the Thailand Cyber University (TCU) initiative, supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESI) in collaboration with numerous universities, educational institutions, and organizations across Thailand, both public and private. Over 120 institutions, including Walailak University, participate in this effort. The goal of developing online courses is to complement traditional teaching methods, allowing students to complete their studies online and earn degrees. This model enables institutions to leverage their resources, share e-courseware for similar programs, and reduce costs, benefiting universities or institutions lacking faculty in certain fields by offering standardized online courses.

In 2023, the university expanded its offerings by developing 24 courses as part of the Thai MOOC program, covering a broad spectrum of topics. These courses saw a significant rise in enrollment, with 1,319,870 participants, compared to 825,640 in the previous year. Below is the list of the courses provided:

Alongside the 24 courses available through Thai MOOC, 48 additional training programs have been designed to enhance learning. These programs have been held 154 times, engaging 1,422 participants. Moreover, the university provides the following 48 training courses:

1. 1. Turnitin Plagiarism Check for Instructors
  2. Turnitin Plagiarism Check for Students
  3. Basic EndNote 20 Usage
  4. Advanced EndNote 20 for Research
  5. Convenient Bibliography Management with Zotero
  6. Online Resources + Basic EndNote
  7. Using Electronic Databases in Science and Technology
  8. Using Electronic Databases in Health Sciences
  9. Using Electronic Databases in Social Sciences and Humanities
  10. Easy–peasy Online Book Reading via the Library Website
  11. Simple APA7 Style Citation and Bibliography Writing
  12. Google Search Techniques: Making Life Easier by Finding What You Need!
  13. How to Seek Information on the Library Website
  14. Sourcing Thai Information for Academic Works
  15. Using Technology for Teaching in the Smart Classroom (Lecture Building 6)
  16. Using Group Presentation Technology (4 Screens) in the Intermediate Smart Classroom (Architecture Building)
  17. Recording Teaching in Classroom with AverMedia and OBS Studio
  18. Simple Self–recording with Swivl Robot
  19. Script Writing Techniques for Creating Online Educational Media
  20. Preparing to Develop Online Courses on the Thai MOOC System
  21. Easily Creating Online Assessments with Socrative
  22. Presentation & Animation Creation with PowerPoint
  23. Using ClassPoint for Teaching, Presenting, and Creating Online Quizzes with PowerPoint
  24. Infographic Creation with PowerPoint
  25. Easy Video Editing on Mobile with the VLLO App and Uploading to YouTube
  26. Basic Design and Infographic Creation with Canva
  27. Simple Editing with KineMaster at Your Fingertips
  28. Using Zoom for Teaching and Meetings
  29. Using Microsoft Teams for Online Teaching and Meetings
  30. Using Cisco Webex for Online Teaching
  31. Learning Design Tools with Adobe Illustrator
  32. Basic Graphic Design with Adobe Illustrator
  33. Design and Create Cover Template by Yourself
  34. Learning Design Tools with Freeware Photo Pea
  35. Basic Graphic Design with Freeware Photo Pea
  36. Understanding Adobe Photoshop for Custom Image Editing
  37. Flawless Success with Flowcharts
  38. Deep Dive into Data Analysis Skills with Excel
  39. Presenting Complex Data Simply with Excel
  40. Learning Basic Techniques for Formatting Operations Manuals with Microsoft Word
  41. Creating Operations Manuals with Automatic Table of Contents in Microsoft Word
  42. Using Electronic Book Databases
  43. Image Retouch & Dicut Techniques
  44. Citation and Bibliography Writing for Academic/Professional Work
  45. Time–saving Ideas with Excel
  46. Using Microsoft Word for Documents: Formatting and Layout Techniques
  47. Creating Online Classrooms with Google Classroom
  48. Smart Classroom for English

Other lifelong learning

WU provides a global multidisciplinary database that compiles academic journals, magazines, publications, and videos across all fields of study. These learning materials are available to the public at no cost. The resources cover a wide range of disciplines, including engineering, astronomy, anthropology, biomedical sciences, health, law, mathematics, pharmacology, education, women’s studies, animal sciences, and many more, with over 5,000 titles. E-BOOKS DATABASE: A Thai electronic book database that provides books in the form of “e-books,” allowing readers to easily access and read books through various devices such as iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Android. Walailak University members can read for free at any time by logging in through the system.

E-JOURNALS: The exemples of central electronic journal database that contains all the journals from every branch of knowledge.

E-THESIS (TDC): The exemples of WU’s thesis database that provides access to full-text electronic documents, including theses, research papers, and journal articles.

In 2023, it was found that Walailak University recorded a high number of users accessing our free-for-public library and various learning resources, including:

- - Library usage statistics: 394,521 visits
  - Access statistics for WU-MOOC learning resources: 1,319,870 instances
  - Access statistics for Other lifelong learning resources: 3,107,545 instances