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Monday, June 30, 2014

New articles: Reference Services Review

Reference Services Review (priced journal) has, as usual, a good quota of information literacy articles in its latest issue (Volume 42 issue 2). Abstracts (plus articles for those with subscriptions) are at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0090-7324. They include:
- Teaching metaliteracy: a new paradigm in action: Donna Witek, Teresa Grettano
- Stages of instruction: theatre, pedagogy and information literacy: Julia Furay
- Authentic engagement: assessing the effects of authenticity on student engagement and information literacy in academic library instruction: Kevin Michael Klipfel
- Overcoming the barriers to information literacy programs: CALM Lab for English majors at Dickinson College: Christine Bombaro
- Evidence-based instruction integration: a syllabus analysis project: Katherine Boss, Emily Drabinski
- Crowdsourcing the curriculum: information literacy instruction in first-year writing: Jamie White-Farnham, Carolyn Caffrey Gardner
- Psychology guides and information literacy: the current landscape and a proposed framework for standards-based development: Kimberly Pendell, Annie R. Armstrong
- Using transaction log analysis to assess student search behavior in the library instruction classroom: Susan Avery, Daniel G. Tracy
- An assessment of academic librarians' instructional performance in Sri Lanka: a survey: Lalith Wickramanayake
Photo by Sheila Webber: Hydrangea, June 2014

Friday, June 27, 2014

Methodological Challenges in the 21st Century: 30 June; streaming #socmethods

Diversity and community is the next seminar in the University of Sheffield Social Sciences Faculty series: Social Science Research Questions and Methodological Challenges in the 21st Century. Each seminar is a couple of hours long: I and Marshall Dozier (University of Edinburgh) are presenting at the one in October.
If you happen to be in Sheffield you can join the seminar face to face (in ICOSS, University of Sheffield). Otherwise it should be streamed live, and a recording of the first session is available.
"The seminars will involve researchers discussing the kinds of research questions they are beginning to ask and looking at the methodological approaches and challenges that these questions pose."

- Information about the Diversity and community seminar, which takes place 1pm-3pm UK time on 30 June 2014,  is at http://methodologicalchallenges.group.shef.ac.uk/?page_id=196
 - There is a recording of the first seminar, held on 20 may 2014, Wellbeing and disadvantage on the page http://methodologicalchallenges.group.shef.ac.uk/?page_id=173
 - The next seminars are on 16 July (Vulnerabilities and risks) and 15 October (The relationship between social and digital worlds) and the series finishes with a roundtable event on 26 November.
Website at http://methodologicalchallenges.group.shef.ac.uk/
The picture is of me (right) and Marshall Dozier being diverse in Second Life

The importance of being digital: broadcast and webchat: 27 June

From the Open University Library The importance of being digital "is a live question and answer session (broadcast online) about the skills and approaches that can help you use digital and online tools and technologies during your studies, at work or in your personal life. After a short introduction you will be able to ask us questions using the live webchat, by tweeting us (@OU_Library) using #LibLive14 or by emailing Library-Services. We’ll do our best to answer your questions during the live broadcast but we'll also post all the answers on the library website after the broadcast." It takes place on 27 June (i.e. today) at 2pm UK time. Go to http://www.open.ac.uk/library/training-and-events/the-importance-of-being-digital for information and a link to the livestream
Photo by Sheila Webber, taken in Second Life: Something up there?

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Journal Club in Second Life: Adult returners: 1st July 2014

Join us in the virtual world Second Life for a one-hour discussion of an open-access article. Sheila Webber (Sheffield University iSchool, Sheila Yoshikawa in Second Life, i.e. me) leads a discussion on:
Anderson, A., Johnston, B., and McDonald, A. (2013). Information literacy in adult returners to higher education: Student experiences in a university pre-entry course in a UK university. Library and Information Research, 37(114), 55–73. http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/article/view/546
This paper has been listed by the American Library association as one of the top 20 information literacy articles of 2013.

When: 1st July 2014 at 12 noon SL time, that's 8pm UK time, see http://tinyurl.com/mqo7gvk for times elsewhere

Where: Infolit iSchool, in the virtual world Second Life. You need a SL avatar and the Second Life browser installed on your computer. Go to http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Infolit%20iSchool/134/47/22

Everyone is welcome to join the one-hour discussion.

A Sheffield iSchool Centre for Information Literacy Research event.



Learner Experiences with MOOCs, and learning analytics

I don't think I blogged: Veletsianos, G. (2013). Learner Experiences with MOOCs and Open Online Learning. Hybrid Pedagogy.
which is a book made up of chapters authored by Veletsianos' students, detailing their perspective on early experience with MOOCs. Download in various formats at:
http://hybrid-pedagogy.github.io/LearnerExperiencesInMOOCs/

On a related theme, the latest Transforming Assessment webinar (which took place on 25th June) has been put on Youtube. The presenters were Belinda Tynan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) and Kevin Mayles, Open University, UK. "This session detailed the model and approach used by the Open University, UK to Learning Analytics. The outcomes derived from an organisational level approach to embedding analytics as students begin their journey, on a day-to-day basis and in reflection to support students in being successful in their learning journey were discussed." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mufg9vTi3cY
Photo by Sheila Webber: Two worlds (roses and Second Life), June 2014

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

PRIMO site-of-the-month: Research Therapy

The Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO) Committee of the Instruction Section of ACRL has posted a new Site of the Month, Research Therapy. This site has videos on topics such as searching evaluating etc. and a blog with a mixture of material e.g. the latest when I looked had a post about not stressing out at exam time, with a custom-made cartoon strip, links, advice etc. There is an interview with the authors, Laurie Borchard and Anna Fidgeon on the PRIMO site. The interview and links are at http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/is/iswebsite/projpubs/primo/site/2014may
Below is embedded the video about an "annotated bibliography".



Monday, June 23, 2014

New articles in Information Research; news seeking; refugees

The latest issue of Information Research (Volume 19 No 2 June, 2014) has the theme of e-books and also includes:
M. Asim Qayyum and Kirsty Williamson: The online information experiences of news-seeking young adults
M. Asim Qayyum, Kim M. Thompson, Mary Anne Kennan and Annemaree Lloyd: The provision and sharing of information between service providers and settling refugees
http://www.informationr.net/ir/19-2/infres192.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: white foxglove, Sheffield Botanics, June 2014.

cfp SEDA Conference

There is a call for papers for the 19th Annual SEDA Conference, Opportunities and challenges for academic development in a post-digital age, which will take place on 13-14 November 2014 in Nottingham, UK. SEDA is "the professional association for staff and educational developers in the UK". Proposals should be submitted by 11 July 2014. The theme would seem to include possibilities for submissions to do with information literacy: "We may now be entering a post-digital age, where the technology is so prevalent that it no longer can be considered as an add-on or luxury, but as embedded. We no longer talk about library-enhanced learning, although libraries and their successors are vital tools and environments for learning. As we move further in this direction, what are the implications for educational and curriculum development in higher education?" More info at http://www.seda.ac.uk/index.php?p=14_2&e=450&c=1
Photo by Sheila Webber: white rose, June 2014

Friday, June 20, 2014

Pew Internet quiz: are you a library lover

The people at the Pew Research Internet Project have made a quiz using the categories of library use (or non user) that they discovered in their research (report released in March). As they say, it "is a condensed version of the questions asked in our nationally representative survey of 6,224 Americans ages 16 and older in September 2013." The categories are: Library Lovers, Information Omnivores, Solid Center, Print Traditionalists, Not for Me, Young and Restless, Rooted and Roadblocked, Distant Admirers, Off the Grid. http://www.pewinternet.org/quiz/library-typology/
The March 2014 report itself is, as usual, available in full online. On the home page they identify a few "surprises" e.g. "A common narrative is that Americans are turning away from libraries because of newer technology, but the data shows that most highly-engaged library users are also big technology users."
Also there is a quote from the report's main author: “A key theme in these survey findings is that many people see acquiring information as a highly social process in which trusted helpers matter ... One of the main resources that people tap when they have questions is the networks of expertise. Even some of the most self-sufficient information consumers in our sample find that libraries and librarians can be part of their networks when they have problems to solve or decisions to make.”
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/03/13/library-engagement-typology/
Photo by Sheila Webber: washed and twisted, June 2014

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Not much Media and Information Literacy in the Final WSIS Targets Review

I have had a superficial look at the newly-released (June 10) Final WSIS Targets Review: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward, launched at the [World Summit on the Information Society] WSIS+10 High Level Event, in Geneva, Switzerland, that just took place (to mark 10 years since the first summit). Specifically I was just hunting for references to information literacy and media literacy (so I will not be doing justice to other aspects of the document).
One's hopes are raised a little by the prominent quotation from Irina Bokova on the opening pages "Education stands at the heart of the global development agenda – it is also the focus of two of the 10 WSIS targets. At this time of change, when all societies are seeking new sources of dynamism, we must harness the power of new information and communication technologies to reach the unreached and to enhance the quality of learning, inside and outside the classroom and throughout life. Building inclusive knowledge societies requires crafting the right ecosystems for making the most of new technologies, through teacher training, through media literacy, and through a focus on new skills and competencies.”
Obviously I think that information literacy should be mentioned alongside media literacy. However, even media literacy does not get much of a look in for the rest of the report. The WSIS initiative has always been very focused on technology, rather than information, so this is not a surprise (and it is encouraging that the steady lobbying by library organisations (in particular IFLA) means that the role of libraries in providing access to ICTs is now recognised).
My usual rudimentary search for the word "literacy" shows that digital-, IT-, and e-literacy are mentioned quite frequently, but media and information literacy scarcely at all, not even in connection with the targets of giving everyone access to TV and radio, and the target concerned with adapting school curricula to meet the challenges of the information society.
Media and Information Literacy is mentioned briefly in the section on "Content" :
"The availability of relevant skills is also critical to individuals’ and organisations’ ability to make use of content. UNESCO has developed a set of largely qualitative indicators that can be used to monitor the extent of media and information literacy within different societies, including the quality of national ICT environments, content access, the availability of analytical capabilities and content generation." (p274, in a section about "content" in different languages) later in the same chapter "lack of media and information literacy skills" are seen as inhibiting the demand for local content (p315): a rather consumerist context for MIL, really. There is a further reference to MIL in a passage about Towards Knowledge Societies for Peace and Sustainable Development: Final Statement (UNESCO, 2013)
The Final WSIS Targets Review is at http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/wsistargets2014.aspx
Photos by Sheila Webber: some photos in which I combine Second Life and teh physical world: the first is "My second life phone is cuter than my real life phone" and the second "Coffee is important in both worlds" (June 2014).

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

ACRL releases #acrlilrevisions revised Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

There is a revised draft of the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Feedback is sought (via an online form https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WQB3NZ3)on the revised draft, with a deadline of July 15 2014. An in-person hearing is scheduled for June 28, at the 2014 American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Two additional online hearings will take place on Monday, July 7, and Friday, July 11, 2014. Sign-up for the July online hearings is available on the task force website. (They just came out today so I haven't had a chance to look at them yet!)
http://acrl.ala.org/ilstandards/?page_id=133
Photo by Sheila Webber: Foxglove, Weston Park, Sheffield, June 2014

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Information Literacy and Summon Day

Proceedings of the 2013 Information Literacy and Summon Day (Summon being a federated search service) are available. They includes:
Emma Coonan: Going beyond ‘find’: a Summon before-and-after snapshot
Tim Leonard: Information Skills at UCO using Summon
Sandy Buchanan: The platypus and the sausage: teaching Summon across diverse subjects at Sheffield Hallam University
plus several other papers.
Go to http://www.proquest.com/blog/2014/Teaching-not-Telling.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: ladies mantle leaf and spider, June 2014

Monday, June 16, 2014

New issue of Journal of Information Literacy

Volume 8 no. 1 of the open access Journal of Information Literacy is published. Articles include:
- Assessing information literacy programmes using information search tasks by Nikolas Leichner, Johannes Peter, Anne-Kathrin Mayer, Günter Krampen
- Bilingual workplaces: integrating cultural approaches to information literacy into foreign language educational practices by Alison Hicks
- The creation of a university library outreach programme to develop the information literacy of further education students: an interactive approach to support transition by Lisa Anderson, Stephen Bull
- Exploring the lived information-seeking experiences of mature students by Sarah Clark
- AMORES - Discovering a love for literature through digital collaboration and creativity by Geoff Walton
- Information literacy: a matter of course by Elizabeth Tilley
- Graduate information literacy in online education using the embedded librarian model by Lauryl A. Lefebvre, Martha C. Yancey
Plus conference reports and book reviews
Go to http://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JIL/issue/view/168
Photo by Sheila Webber: raindrops in June, Sheffield, 2014

Report from the #EAHIL2014 (health library) conference, in Second Life, 17 June 2014

What: Marshall Dozier, President of EAHIL (Edinburgh University, Pancha Enzyme in SL) and Vicki Cormie (St Andrews University, Ishbel Hartman in SL) provide a report on their personal highlights from the European Association for Health Information and Libraries' 2014 conference that took place in Rome, Italy last week http://www.iss.it/eahil2014/index.php?lang=2 All welcome! You need a Second Life avatar and the SL browser installed in your computer, to participate.

When
: At 12 noon Second Life Time, which is 8pm UK time, see http://tinyurl.com/nsuae36 for times elsewhere on Tuesday 17 June 2014

Where: Infolit iSchool, in the virtual world, Second Life http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Infolit%20iSchool/133/46/22

A Sheffield iSchool Centre for Information Literacy Research event

Friday, June 13, 2014

Information Literacy: in legal education/practice; in Inquiry Based Learning: new articles

If you have a subscription to Journal of Librarianship and Information Science you can access two new articles about infolit, one of them by my colleague here in the Sheffield iSchool, Pamela McKinney.

McKinney, P. (2014) Information literacy and inquiry-based learning: Evaluation of a five-year programme of curriculum development. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 46(2) 148–166.
"Inquiry-based learning describes a range of learner-centred pedagogies increasingly employed in higher education where students learn through engaging in open-ended research and inquiry. It is acknowledged that this type of pedagogical approach requires advanced information literacy capabilities in students, and that there is a need to support the development of information literacy in inquiry-based learning curricula. This paper reports on the evaluation of a selection of curriculum development projects undertaken at a UK university that implemented inquiry-based learning and information literacy development. Data was collected using a ‘Theory of Change’ evaluation methodology and analysed using a qualitative thematic approach. It was found that educators need to make explicit to students the need to develop information literacy to support their inquiries, and that dedicated approaches to facilitation from peers, librarians and academics are helpful when designing inquiry-based learning."

Lawal, V. et al. (2014) Information literacy-related practices in the legal workplace: The applicability of Kuhlthau's model to the legal profession. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science. [early online release)
"This article examines evidence of information literacy in the context of legal education and legal practice in Nigeria. It seeks to explore the application of Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process model as the dominant framework used in investigating issues of uncertainty and task complexity in a study conducted among graduate lawyers in Nigeria. The article provides an analysis of the empirical validity of the model in investigating the connection between learning, experience and the  development of expertise among novice practitioners in the legal workplace in Nigeria. Data were obtained using quantitative and qualitative approaches while a case study method was employed for the study. Based on the findings of the study, the article offers insight into the role of the cognitive and affective dimensions in information seeking and the implications they have on issues of curriculum design, teaching methods and learning experiences in the context of legal education and practice in Nigeria."
The home page of the journal is at: http://lis.sagepub.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Snails in the rain, 4, June 2014

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Latest on ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards #acrlilrevisions

There is a new short report from the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Task Force. The revised draft of the Framework will be published in the week beginning June 16. In this new brief report there is mostly information on the structure of the next draft. There will be an online "sandbox" for the examples and guidance that may date. the Framework will gain an introduction on How to Use This Framework and there "will also be separate guides for faculty members and administrators". It seems like the threshold concepts are being labelled as "frames" (not sure whether Christine Bruce et al. are an influence there!) You can download the new report from: http://connect.ala.org/node/223580
Just to remind you, the existing Framework drafts are on the website at http://acrl.ala.org/ilstandards/
Photo by Sheila webber: Snails in the rain, 3, June 2014

Michigan Instruction Exchange Conference

The second Michigan Instruction Exchange Conference is on 8 August 2014 at Grand Valley State University (USA). The theme is Working within your discipline(s). Go to http://www.gvsu.edu/library/mixconference/ for more details

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Information Literacy Commons

There is a section in the Digital Commons Network on Information Literacy. I think the Digital Commons is something I used to know about, but haven't checked out recently ... Anyway I noticed that the WILU presentations (mentioned a couple of days ago) were listed as being archived here, so I thought the Commons merited a separate post. It says that (at time of writing) there are 408 items archived under "Information Literacy", but I wouldn't actually class all of them information literacy, myself. Nevertheless, worth bookmarking as a resource.
On the Commons home page it says "The Digital Commons Network brings together free, full-text scholarly articles from hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide. Curated by university librarians and their supporting institutions, the Network includes a growing collection of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, conference proceedings, and other original scholarly work."
http://network.bepress.com/social-and-behavioral-sciences/library-and-information-science/information-literacy/
Photo by Sheila Webber: snails in the rain 2, June 2014

Short video about paraphrasing

Lehman College library recently put a short video, Just Because You Put It In Your Own Words..., reminding people about the need to acknowledge sources even when not directly quoting - I like the introductory conversation with the three students (where one person is "paraphrasing" another person's anecdote)

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Presentations from WILU 2014

The Canadian information literacy conference, WILU, has an archive of the presentations from the May 2014 conference. These include, for example
- Video tutorial reboot: Re-imagining the library workshop for 21st century students
- Beyond the database demo: Using discourse analysis to improve research and citation practices
- Head over Heels: Approaches to Flipped Teaching
Go to http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/wilu/wilu2014/Presentations/
Photo by Sheila Webber: snail after the rain 1, Blackheath, June 2014

Questionnaire about academic libraries' strategies

There is a questionnaire from the University of Waterloo Library, Canada, which is developing "an Instruction and Engagement Strategy that will align with the Library's Strategic Directions and the University's Strategic Plan". They would like to gather information about other academic libraries' plans and strategies as part of this exercise. The questionnaire closes on 27 June 2014 and is at http://fluidsurveys.com/s/uwaterloo-instruction-strategy/
They have also started a blog about this at http://blogs.lib.uwaterloo.ca/libraryinstructionandengagement/
Photo by Sheila Webber: hedge blossom, Hailsham, June 2014

Friday, June 06, 2014

Top twenty articles chosen

The American Library Association's Library Instruction Round Table has just published its "2013 Top Twenty List" (of articles about information literacy).
I'll highlight in particular a"Top 20" article written by a British team, including my long-time information literacy collaborator, Bill Johnston. It is open access.
Anderson, A., Johnston, B., & McDonald, A. (2013). Information literacy in adult returners to higher education: Student experiences in a university pre-entry course in a UK university. Library and Information Research, 37(114), 55–73. http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/article/view/546
At the end of the abstract the LIRT committee noted "Of note are the authors’ backgrounds: none is a librarian. The research team is comprised of a curriculum developer, a lecturer in psychology, and a practitioner who runs the pre-entry course. Their study, which echoes previous calls for librarian participation in curriculum design, might help convey this call to a broader audience."
The full list of 20 articles, with abstracts, can be found at http://www.ala.org/lirt/sites/ala.org.lirt/files/content/archive/2014jun.pdf.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield Botanic gardens, June 2014 (with photoshop effect).

Library 2.014 call for papers

There is a call for presentations for the free, online Library 2.014 Worldwide Virtual Conference, to be held 8-9 October 2014. The themes are Digital Services, Preservation, and Access; Emerging Technologies and Trends; Learning Commons and Infinite Learning (where information literacy seems to fit); Management of Libraries and Information Centers in the 21st Century; User Centered Services and Models. More information at: http://www.library20.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Botanical gardens, Sheffield, June 2014.

Thursday, June 05, 2014

Technology for Flipping the Classroom

The latest in ACRL's series of 3 page Tips and trends briefings is:
Colmenares, A. (2014) Technology for Flipping the Classroom. Tips and trends. http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/is/iswebsite/projpubs/tipsandtrends

Wednesday, June 04, 2014

Singapore: SURE website and videos

SURE means Source Understand Research Evaluate and I have blogged previously how the National Library Board, Singapore, have got a very active information literacy campaign badged SURE. The website is at http://www.nlb.gov.sg/sure/ with news, some resources (e.g. infographics and sheets for teachers) and articles.

SURE day (last November) featured Carl Schooner ("Acclaimed author of ‘Portraits of the Mind’ and neurologist at Columbia University"), Anthony Chen ("First Singaporean filmmaker to be awarded the prestigious Camera d’Or") and Steven Chia ("Well-loved Channel News Asia producer and presenter"). There are several videos from the day, including the panel discussion. Other videos in their video stream include one from April 2014 in which a team of schoolgirls talk about using SURE as part of their Formula 1 project and several videos in the SURE Lok Hom ("Sherlock Holmes" for Singapore) series. I have embedded SURE Lok Hom & the Case of the Cosplay Showdown below. The video channel is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UANCf_h8f6c&list=UUUpPsXrrGvRKuuaoFN6Vd9Q

Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Survey for information literacy coordinators

Andrea Brooks has put out a request to complete an online survey, as she and a colleague at Northern Kentucky University, USA "are conducting research about the organizational structures of reference/instruction departments at academic libraries. ... If you are the Information Literacy Coordinator (i.e. the individual in charge of your library’s instruction/IL program) at an academic library, please take 10-15 minutes to complete this online survey." Go to https://nku.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_b3LzUvA3dO6xzo1

Monday, June 02, 2014

MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching: MOOCs articles

Vol 10, no. 1 of the open-access MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching has a focus on MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses), with some good contributions. Papers are:
Teacher Experiences and Academic Identity: The Missing Components of MOOC Pedagogy by Jen Ross, Christine Sinclair, Jeremy Knox, Siân Bayne, and Hamish Macleod
Challenges to Research in MOOCs by Helene Fournier, Rita Kop, and Guillaume Durand
Participants' Perceptions of Learning and Networking in Connectivist MOOCs by Mohsen Saadatmand and Kristiina Kumpulainen
MOOCs: Striking the Right Balance between Facilitation and Self-Determination by Tita Beaven, Mirjam Hauck, Anna Comas-Quinn, Tim Lewis, and Beatriz de los Arcos
MOOC Pedagogy: Gleaning Good Practice from Existing MOOCs by Maha Bali
http://jolt.merlot.org/currentissue.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: alium heads going to seed, Sheffield Botanics, June 2014