If this tutorial will be assigned as part of your course:
Work through the tutorial yourself so you know what students will encounter.
Note any problems or frustration or triumphs you experience as a possible in-class discussion point for later.
The tutorial is designed to be a stand-alone homework experience.
At the end, students receive two e-mails: a certificate which will be evidence of completion, and a list of their answers. Require students to forward both of these to you to get a grade.
Work with your librarian to decide if this will be graded.
Grades should be at least Pass/Fail and be assigned a meaningful number of points toward the final grade. It’s up to you whether you want to have a finer grade scale for the tutorial.
Seeing your students' answers will allow you to insure they typed reasoned responses rather than gibberish.
Assign the tutorial at an appropriate place in the semester.
Tie the tutorial to another graded assignment, such as turning in a preliminary bibliography, or the final version of the research proposal. The tutorial is not busy work; it helps students gain a skill that is immediately put to use in the assignment due a few days later.
Clarify that learning to do research in subject databases is an important skill needed for success on this assignment and in the field.
Extending the lesson plan:
We would be pleased to hear from you about how well this worked for you and your students. Please contact your subject librarian with any feedback to help us improve.