Information Literacy Education as a 21st Century Survival Skill in Academia

There is a call for papers for the Information Literacy Education as a 21st Century Survival Skill in Academia conference, taking place December 23-24 2019 at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities Sais Fes, Morocco. The deadline for abstracts is 30 November 2019. I don't think there is a website (I received this information via my UNESCO contacts) so I am reproducing the call in full.
"Information literacy (IL) attempts to develop both the critical understanding and active participation at all levels of society. It empowers individuals with a set of abilities and critical thinking skills, which serve as indispensable keys for becoming independent lifelong learners.
"Information literacy education (ILE) has long been identified as fundamental for academic success by a range of professionals, including teachers, academics, librarians and researchers. A detailed examination of the range of views on this topic support the idea that ILE provides the framework for students and researchers to learn how to identify their information needs, locate and access the needed information, critically evaluate and use information in a variety of forms and in different contexts effectively and efficiently. ILE skills are a vital tool for effective learning, leading to positive outcomes in all areas of students’ lives.
"Yet, a close examination of Moroccan universities curricula and university courses shows that there is lack of IL skills in the educational agenda. Despite the reform undertaken by the ministry of education in 2009 to respond to the requirements of the digital age, IL is still in its infancy in Morocco. Education policy makers are required to integrate ILE in higher education to foster such critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, decision skills, effective and efficient use of information to meet the academic challenges of the twenty-first century requirements.
"The conference aims to bring together researchers, library and information services practitioners, university teachers, educators, policy makers, doctoral students, and other related stakeholders from Morocco and beyond for the purpose of exchanging knowledge, sparking ideas, and discussing current developments and challenges in the field of teaching and learning IL in both theory and practice. While the main focus will be on Information Literacy skills, their role in higher education and their impact on students’ success, the conference committee encourages contributions on a range of themes addressing the following topics: • Information literacy; • Information literacy education skills in higher education; • The state of art of information literacy education in Morocco and the Arab World; • The role of libraries and librarians in education; • Faculty-librarian collaboration to integrate information skills in education; • The role of libraries in students’ academic success; • Information literacy and ethical/social issues; • Information literacy and digital empowerment; • Information literacy and social change; • Information literacy across disciplines; • News literacy; • Fake news; • Digital literacy; • Critical thinking"
The deadlines are: Abstract Submission - November 30, 2019 (maximum length of abstracts 300 words); Notification of Acceptance - December 5, 2019; Submission of Final Papers Ready for Publication - March 15, 2020.
Manuscripts/abstracts should be submitted in WORD format; Times New Romans 12; Standard Page Format; 7000 words maximum for the final paper. The working Language is English.
Submissions of abstracts are to be done by e-mail to an.medialiteracyforum@gmail.com; cc: nfissichouit@gmail.com including your name, title (Dr., Prof., etc.) organisational affiliation, and e-mail address; Title of the paper; Short biography of each participant, including key publications. "Please note that applicants whose papers are accepted for presentation in the conference should take in charge their round ticket to Fez, Morocco and their accommodation, while the organizers will cater for lunch for two days."
For further details/enquiries, contact: Dr. Abdelhamid NFISSI, Coordinator an.medialiteracyforum@gmail.com
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn colour, November 2019

Embedding Library Services in an Engineering Research Group

Not a new report, but one I came across recently (the authors are at the University of Cambridge, UK): Lamb, K., & Tumelty, N. (2017). Embedding Library Services in an Engineering Research Group. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/266987

Bursaries for #LILAC20

Competitive bursaries for the UK's information literacy conference, LILAC (taking place April 6-8 2020 in Nottingham, UK) are on offer. Closing date for applications is 1st December 2019, 5pm UK time. There are "5 free places for librarians working in the following under-represented sectors/communities in the UK: BAME (sponsored by University of Sheffield Information School [i.e . my own department]); Schools; Further Education; Public; Health (e.g. NHS - please note; librarians working in Higher Education who support health subjects are not eligible to apply)." The bursary covers the conference fee for all sessions and social events, plus travel expenses up to UK £225. "To be eligible for a place you must be a librarian, volunteer or information professional working in the above mentioned sectors/communities in the UK. You will have to show your commitment to information literacy by writing a short personal statement explaining what benefits you would gain from attending the conference, and how you intend to use your conference experience in your work." Go to https://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-2020/bursaries

Presentations from the The Innovative Library Classroom conference 2019

Following on from my post earlier today, there are presentations from previous The Innovative Library Classroom conferences on their website. The 2019 conference included:
- Slides and transcript of the keynote Innovating Against a Brick Wall: Rebuilding the Structures That Shape Our Teaching (​Veronica Arellano Douglas​)
- Poster of Designing Effective Research Assignments: The Library Can Help! (Robert Miller and Cynthia Thomes, University of Maryland University College)
- Slides of Teaching Innovation: Three Methods for Encouraging Creative Problem Solving (Adam Rogers, Colin Nickels, & Emily Higgs, NC State University)
- Slides of Taking Back the One-Shot: Designing a Menu of Instruction to Connect Information Literacy with University Outcomes (Jennifer Castel, Kelly Faulkner, & Sarah Campbell | Johnson & Wales University)
- Slides of Sharing the Responsibility: Librarians and Faculty Developing an Information Literacy Community (Stephanie Crowe - UNC Wilmington and Meghan Wanucha Smith - East Carolina University)
For the 2019 conference go to http://theinnovativelibraryclassroom.weebly.com/2019-conference.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: Squash, Blackheath Farmer's market, November 2019

Call for proposals: Innovative Library Classroom

There is a call for proposals (deadline 25 November 2019) for the The Innovative Library Classroom (TILC) 2020, taking place June 4-5 June 2020 in Williamsburg, VA, USA. The theme is Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Are Not Synonyms. "Although the acronym EDI may imply that equity, diversity, and inclusion are one entity, each has value on its own. While equity, diversity, and inclusion inform each other, we need to understand and address each concept individually in order to create meaningful educational experiences that can benefit all of our students. DeEtta Jones summarizes the distinctions with this comparison, “[I]f your organization is a sports stadium, diversity would ask, ‘Who is at the game?’ Inclusion would ask, ‘Are everyone’s seats comfortable?’ Finally, equity would ask, ‘Has anyone been left out of the park? If so, why?’” You can propose posters, presentations, and 7-minute lightning talks. Full info at: http://theinnovativelibraryclassroom.weebly.com/
Photo by Sheila webber: Rudbeckia, Sheffield, November 2019

#Twitter and Media and Information Literacy #MILclicks

As part of Global Media and Information Literacy week, Twitter released an updated Teaching and Learning with Twitter Guide stating that the Guide "now has media and information literacy as its focus". It has collaborated with UNESCO on this. The main chapter topics are:
Media & Information Literacy and Global Citizenship Education; Media & Information Literacy and Digital Citizenship; Digital etiquette; Dealing with Cyberbullying; Nurturing your Digital Footprints through Media & Information Literacy Footprints; Controlling your Digital Footprint; Controlling your Experience on Twitter; Media & Information Literacy Skills in the Digital Space; UNESCO’s Five Laws of Media & Information Literacy; Learning Activities for Educators and Development Actors; Twitter - The Digital Staffroom; plus some examples.
The link is at https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-and-twitter-team-media-and-information-literacy and the direct download is https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/gmw2019_twitter_mil_guide.pdf

Online courses: SoTL; Student Engagement

Two courses running in February from Library Juice:
- Techniques for Student Engagement in Library Instruction, 3 February - 1 March 2020, taught by Kristin Ziska Strange, US $175. "How do we engage students in their own learning, especially in short, one-shot library instruction sessions? In this workshop we will examine a variety of student engagement techniques, focusing on Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning, problem solving, and metacognition. Over the course of four weeks we will examine up to 10 of these techniques and how they can be applied in traditional, blended, and online classes. We will especially uncover approaches that will work for one shot library sessions. In groups we will examine one or two student engagement techniques in detail, and explore how these might work in our own contexts. We will also develop a plan for applying a student engagement technique in our own practice. This will be a discussion intensive workshop in which it will be essential to follow a close schedule of information presentation, interaction, and assessment." http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/078-student-engagement.php

- An Introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 3 February - 1 March 2020, taught by Lauren Hays, US $175."The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a movement in higher education to study teaching and learning in order to improve both. Typically, SoTL scholars draw from their own disciplinary expertise when conducting research. Research findings are then shared publicly with the teaching and learning community. In this course, participants will learn about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and identify ways for involvement. Participants will also walk away with ideas for SoTL research." http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/179-SoTL.php
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield Botanic Gardens, November 2019

Recent articles: improv; IL Framework; learning objects; financial literacy

Selected items from the last few issues of open access journal College & Research Libraries News:
- Hosier, A. (2019). I was once a world famous magician: Using improv to improve performance in the classroom. College & Research Libraries News, 80(8), 456. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.80.8.456
- Beech, V., & Kowalik, E. (2019). From cradle to grave: The life cycle of a digital learning object. College & Research Libraries News, 80(10), 560. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.80.10.560 "Most librarians have probably experienced finding that a website they liked has disappeared, perhaps a video on YouTube, a tutorial, or even just an informative webpage.  ... Since we also place links to some of these items on our library webpages, disappearing websites create broken links or “link rot.” Librarians are also creators of some of these disappearing websites."
- Collier, J. (2019). Pick your battles: Re-examining the Framework for community colleges. College & Research Libraries News, 80(9), 494. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.80.8.494 " ... reception of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education has been lukewarm among community college librarians. Many librarians who work in community colleges believe the Framework is meant for four-year schools and research-based institutions. By closely re-examining the Framework and recognizing student needs, community college librarians can use the Framework much more effectively."
- Magi, T. (2019). Why discovery tools and information literacy are not enough: Reconnecting with reference sources. College & Research Libraries News, 80(10), 573. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.80.10.573
- Mross, E., & Reiter, L. (2019). Partners in financial literacy: Outreach to student entrepreneurs. College & Research Libraries News, 80(10), 575. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.80.10.575 " ... universities and academic libraries are increasingly supporting student entrepreneurs through both curricular and extracurricular programming to help them develop new startups and small businesses. Though libraries are instrumental in providing access to business development information, they may miss a key service area for successful entrepreneurship—financial literacy programming."
Photo by Sheila Webber: hedge, Greenwich Park, October 2019

#MOOC: Information Literacy Online

The MOOC: Information Literacy Online has been released. The MOOC is available in: English, German, Catalan, Spanish, Croatian and Slovenian. There are six main modules:
Module 1: Orienting in an information landscape
Module 2: Research is a journey of inquiries
Module 3: The power of search
Module 4: Critical information appraisal
Module 5: Information use: the right and fair way
Module 6: Let’s create something new based on information and share it!
Additionally there are a couple subject-specific modules (in the English-language version, but only one in the German and Croatian versions and none in the Spanish). There is text and pictures, plus some videos and quizzes.
This is the outcome of a European project (articles etc. about the project here - this article gives an interesting and detailed account of the guiding principles and practicalities).
The content can also be re-used under a Creative Commons license.
Go to https://informationliteracy.eu/en

Fighting Fake News with Information Literacy eCourse

A priced online short course is the Fighting Fake News with Information Literacy eCourse, which runs 6 January to 2 February 2020. It is taught by Melissa Mallon and Megan Mallon and costs US $250 "In this four-week eCourse, you’ll learn how to develop and enhance students’ critical information and digital literacy skills. The instructors share techniques and strategies for teaching students how to analyze and critique news and media sources that can apply in a variety of settings. You'll also get an opportunity to make immediate connections between the course content and your own professional environment. You will leave this course with specific lesson plans, activities, and assessments that you can use to help your students become media literate in today’s digital society." More info at https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/fighting-fake-news-information-literacy-ecourse
Photo by Sheila Webber: walking dogs in Greenwich park, October 2019

Call for proposals #LOEX2020

There is a call for proposals for the The LOEX (US, Information Literacy) Conference , to be held in Ypsilanti, USA, May 7-9, 2020. Deadline for proposals is November 22 2019. You can propose a Presentation or an Interactive Workshops. there are 6 core themes: Assessment: Building in Quality Control; Innovation: Forging Ahead for 21st Century Learners; Leadership: Stepping Up to the Line; Failures and Problem-Solving: Retooling and Reinventing; and Collaboration and Outreach: Assembling Production Teams. For more info go to http://www.loexconference.org/breakout-sessions/

Teaching with Digital Primary Sources

A recent publication is: Gormly, B. et al (2019). Teaching with Digital Primary Sources: Literacies, Finding and Evaluating, Citing, Ethics, and Existing Models. https://dlfteach.pubpub.org/pub/digitalprimarysources "This white paper explores the opportunities and challenges of teaching with digital primary sources, including relevant literacies and issues in finding, evaluating, and citing digital primary sources, emphasizing ethical use and concluding with existing models for teaching." It "seeks to think through the limitations and affordances of teaching, researching, and otherwise working specifically with digital primary sources"
Photo by Sheila Webber, taken in Second Life (TM Linden Lab)

Webinar: Social Media in the Age of Misinformation

The Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) has a webinar which is free to members and US $25 to non-members. It is on 12 November 2019 at 11-12 US Eastern time (which is, e.g. 4pm-5pm UK time): Social Media in the Age of Misinformation. "YouTube is one of the most important platforms for the networked public sphere. The site is a search engine, social network, repository, and alternative to television. Its algorithms also contribute to the formation of filter bubbles and the spread of misinformation. In this talk, "Misinformation in the Networked Public Sphere: The Case of YouTube," Jonas Kaiser [Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and Associate Researcher at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet & Society] will talk about his research on YouTube in Germany, the United States, and Brazil. Based on the example of videos about the Zika virus, Kaiser will highlight the risks of algorithms in the context of misinformation. Learning Objectives: - Participants will learn about filter bubbles on YouTube. - Participants will learn about the case study of health misinformation in Brazilian YouTube - Participants will learn about the risks of recommendation algorithms - Participants will develop a more critical understanding of misinformation in the networked public sphere"
Go to https://www.asist.org/meetings-events/webinars/social-media-in-the-age-of-misinformation-part-1/ for more info
Photo by Sheila Webber: National Maritime Museum, October 2019

Searching with pubmed

There's a recording of a webinar held in June 2019 on Searching with pubmed. It has presentations: How to search PubMed: The easy way (Margaret Vugrin); Searching PubMed Like an Expert: The Evolution (Nancy Adams, Marie C. Cirelli); Teaching PubMed Basics: An Active, Flipped Pedagogical Approach (Virginia Desouky); The Amazing Research Race: PubMed Edition (Annie Zeidman-Karpinski). Go to https://acrl.libguides.com/c.php?g=519489&p=6027142 for the recording and the powerpoints.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield, October 2019

Information Literacy as part of deterrence against "emerging forms of warfare"

This morning I was excited to hear information literacy mentioned as a way of combating disinformation: nothing new to readers of this blog, but it was on a discussion on the BBC Radio 4 news programme Today, and mentioned by a non-library person. It was Elisabeth Braw, director of RUSI's (Royal United Services Institute), Modern Deterrence Project, who felt that we all have a responsibility to check before we share information. She identified that the country that "is most resilient with disinformation is Finland where disinformation ... information literacy is taught in schools." and she went on to say how important it was to teach information literacy in the curriculum.
I have been discussing disinformation with students here in the information school and we have noted how this has become a broader political issue, but it is interesting to see information literacy and social resilience placed firmly within the scope of a project looking at ways of deterring against "emerging forms of warfare", noting that "Together with the armed forces’ capabilities, such societal resilience can function as a crucial deterrent."
The recording of the radio programme is here (right at the end of the 3 hour broadcast, at about 2 hrs 55 minutes- someone from the Oxford Internet Institute was also part of the segment) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0009z6s and the Modern Deterrence Project is here https://rusi.org/projects/modern-deterrence
Photo by sheila Webber: plane over Greenwich Observatory, October 2019

Featured Teaching Librarian @Earth2Brooke

Brooke Duffy (Coordinator of Instruction Librarian at Seton Hall University) is the Featured Teaching Librarian on the ACRL blog: read more about her ideas and experience here:
https://acrl.ala.org/IS/ftl-brooke-duffy/

Towards an information literate society; IL as a catalyst for educational change #GlobalMILweek

As Global Media and Information Literacy week draws towards a close, I thought I would recall one of the publications that I think is particularly important: The Prague declaration "towards an information literate society" which was a product of the first strategic international and cross-sectoral meeting on Information Literacy, in 2003. The document is only one page, but has one of my favourite definitions of information literacy:
"Information Literacy encompasses knowledge of one’s information concerns and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the Information Society, and is part of the basic human right of life long learning." http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/PragueDeclaration.pdf The meeting report is also interesting.

I was hoping to link to the proceedings of one of the influential International Lifelong learning conferences (held between 2000 and 2008), which had a rich mix of papers about information literacy and lifelong/adult learning, strong on critical and social justice perspectives. Unfortunately the institutional repository they used to be in seems to be no more (though fortunately for me, I have the printed copies). However, I identified a 2004 keynote from Christine Bruce in a different repository. This discusses themes which are still with us.:
Bruce, C. (2004) Information Literacy as a Catalyst for Educational Change. A Background Paper . In Danaher, P. et al. (Eds.) Proceedings “Lifelong Learning: Whose responsibility and what is your contribution?”, the 3rd International Lifelong Learning Conference. (pp. 8-19). Central Queensland University. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/4977/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Beech in autumn, October 2019