JISC

With hundreds of thousands of users accessing them in over 60 subjects since their launch, Intute’s Virtual Training Suite tutorials have been a major success story. Free to access and taking around an hour to complete, the tutorials teach Internet research skills to students and staff in UK universities and colleges, introducing them to the key Web resources they need for their learning, teaching and research. 

Now a number of the most popular of the tutorials have been updated and revised by subject experts from UK universities. This is the first stage of a major programme to update and revise all the tutorials over the coming year. Updated tutorials include those in business studies, economics, law, education andarchaeology.

The Intute tutorials aim to encourage intelligent and discerning use of the Internet

The recommended lists of key Internet resources – one of the most important features of the acclaimed tutorials - are being completely updated. There is also new advice on Internet searching, with improved interactive exercises, as well as a new section called "Success Stories" illustrating how the Internet can be used effectively to support education and research. The tutorials are also being given a new look and feel to make them more graphical and visually appealing.

Manager of the JISC-funded Virtual Training Suite Emma Place said that Internet research and information skills are increasingly recognized as core skills for university and college courses: “Students frequently turn to the Internet to find information for coursework or assignments but they can be naive in the sources they choose. The press regularly relates academic horror stories of plagiarism and student reliance on content of dubious provenance. The Intute tutorials aim to encourage intelligent and discerning use of the Internet.  We know that lots of lecturers and librarians are using them in their courses now, and we’re pleased to be able to update the tutorials in line with their feedback, and with the help of a national network of authors who are writing new versions of all our tutorials over the coming year.”

For further information on the new tutorials, please go to: Virtual Training Suite