Information Literacy @ #uklibchat 7 February

The next #uklibchat (a regular 2 hour Twitter discussion) is on Information Literacy: state of the art, challenges and opportunities on 7 February 2017, 6.30pm –8.30pm UK time, which is 1.30-3.30pm US Eastern time, 10.30am-12.30 US Pacific time. To join in, all you have to do is follow and the the hashtag #uklibchat on Twitter
The introductory post is at https://uklibchat.wordpress.com/2017/01/24/feature-post-41-information-literacy-why-should-you-care/ and the chat agenda (questions to be discussed) is at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IIGDjO6Z-jeYih2GKMq6aEHKv1IF43a2oV5iw0O7pmA/edit

Blog post journal club 2 February: redesigning a research assignment handout #ILread

The next discussion of the information literacy blog post journal club is on 2nd February at 8pm-9pm UK time (3-4pm US Eastern time, 9-10pm Swedish time). The article that will be discussed is:

Hicks, A. (2016). Student perspectives: redesigning a research assignment handout through the academic literacies model. Journal of Information Literacy, 10(1) 30-43 http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/10.1.2049

Anyone can join this discussion! Participants aim to read at least some of the article in advance, then come along at start and join in the discussion by adding comments to a blog post of the journal club site. You can see how this works by looking at previous discussions (just scroll down the blog for previous posts).
Alison Hicks (pictured) has written an introduction to the discscussion and posed some questions! These can be found at http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/student-perspectives-redesigning.html which is where the discussion will take place.

Life Literacy in Canada

The 27 January was Canada's Family Literacy Day, and the resources about that are part of the ABC Life Literacy website: "ABC Life Literacy Canada® is a non-profit organization that inspires Canadians to increase their literacy skills". There are sections on Health-, Financial, Civic-, Family-, Workplace and Digial Literacies. http://abclifeliteracy.ca/

cfp Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Proposals are invited for the 2017 Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy in Savannah, GA, USA, in September 15-16, 2017. "The conference invites proposals from across disciplines for workshops and presentations that will consider, extend, or otherwise address information literacy in K-20 [i.e. tertiary education] settings. Types of Presentation include: Individual paper/presentation (20-minute presentation); Panel (1 hour and 15 minutes presentation for two or more presenters); Workshop (1 hour and 15 minutes interactive session); Poster Session (45 minutes). Topics include: Defining information literacy in a digital age; effective means of developing information literacy skills in learners; partnerships between librarians and classroom teachers to teach students research skills; information literacy across the disciplines; assessment of information literacy initiatives; intellectual property, copyright, and plagiarism in the digital age." Submission Deadline is March 1, 2017. Conference Website is at http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ce/conferences/infolit/
Photo by Sheila Webber: conference memory, January 2017

#LILAC17 awards nominations webinar

The CILIP Information Literacy Group is offering a webinar aimed at those who are thinking of nominatinf themselves or a colleague for one of the LILAC awards which will be awarded at the LILAC (information literacy) conference. It is on Monday 6 February 13.30-14.30 UK time. "Ever considered nominating colleagues or yourself for one of the 3 prestigious information literacy (IL) awards presented annually at the LILAC conference? If so, this informal webinar is for you! This year’s awards are open for business and we invite nominations for the IL Award, the Digital IL Award and Sponsored Student Place award. The webinar will aim to demystify the nomination process. We will hear from past winners and judges and get to the heart of what exactly we will be looking for in our 2017 nominees. The webinar will cover all three awards and offer plenty of handy hints and practical application tips. You will also find out exactly what will happen to your nomination after it has been submitted. This webinar will be presented by Nigel Morgan (University of Cardiff) with contributions from Rosie Jones (Open University) and Anna Theis (University of Manchester)."

To book a place on this free webinar, go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeiS4wtsvpKu5uhpcePdfLEN9EvFDeEKeEcNC5ySqCGAuliZw/viewform Information on the awards is at http://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-2017/awards

New articles: Law students' infolit skills; Gender difference in health information evaluation; Active vs. passive learning

Rowley, J., Johnson, F. and Sbaffi, L. (2017). Gender as an influencer of online health information-seeking and evaluation behavior. Journal of the Association of Information Science and Technology, 68(1), 36–47. doi:10.1002/asi.23597 (Priced publication) Open access preprint at http://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/616978/1/TrustGender05052015%20AAM.pdf "through the lens of trust judgments, it demonstrates that gender is a determinant of the information evaluation process. A questionnaire-based survey collected data from adults regarding the factors that influence their judgment of the trustworthiness of online health information. Both men and women identified credibility, recommendation, ease of use, and brand as being of importance in their trust judgments. However, women also take into account style, while men eschew this for familiarity. In addition, men appear to be more concerned with the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the information, the ease with which they can access it, and its familiarity, whereas women demonstrate greater interest in cognition, such as the ease with which they can read and understand the information. These gender differences are consistent with the demographic data, which suggest that: women consult more types of sources than men; men are more likely to be searching with respect to a long-standing health complaint; and, women are more likely than men to use tablets in their health information seeking."

Johnson, H. and Barrett, L. (2017). Your teaching strategy matters: how engagement impacts application in health information literacy instruction. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 105(1), 44–48. doi: 10.5195/jmla.2017.8 Open access at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5234460/ "The purpose of this study was to compare two pedagogical methods, active learning and passive instruction, to determine which is more useful in helping students to achieve the learning outcomes in a one-hour research skills instructional session.... We found that the active learning group scored more favorably in four assessment categories."

Balog, K.P. and Siber, L. (2016). Law Students’ Information Literacy Skills and Attitudes Towards Environmental Protection and Environmental Legislation. Libri,66(3), 201–212. (Priced publication) Issue contents page at https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/libr.2016.66.issue-3/issue-files/libr.2016.66.issue-3.xml
"The aim of the research was to ascertain the [Croatian] law students’ attitudes towards environmental protection and the level of their information literacy skills regarding e-environmental laws and regulations. The survey was conducted in March 2015 on a sample of 110 students. The results show that students are fairly concerned about the protection of the environment but do not feel adequately informed about the issue. Students also believe that Croatia has poor environmental laws and should improve the environmental legislation within the European legal framework."
Photo by Sheila Webber: police tape of Weston Park, January 2017

Media and Information Literacy Clearinghouse

The Media and Information Literacy Clearinghouse (UNESCO sponsored) lists a selection of events, organisations etc. You can register to add new ones, and at the moment there is a media literacy bias, so do get registering events and organisations that are relevant! http://milunesco.unaoc.org/
Photo by Sheila Webber: mist over Blackheath, January 2017

Learning Media for Digital Citizenship

The conference Learning Media for Digital Citizenship takes place April 6-7 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. "Media & Learning 2017 is all about inspiring, informing and sharing great ideas on what it means to be a digital citizen and how media fits into this process. Students nowadays are expected to play an active role online rather than simply being passive consumers of content, but what does it take to really instill them with the skills and competences to be effective, responsible and creative online? What’s the best way to ensure that students can be in the vanguard of taking back the Internet and using it as a tool for growth, harmony and positive development? How can our educational structures and players be part of such a development?"
Website at http://www.media-and-learning.eu/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Jiji watches an experimental film, January 2017

New articles: badges; #ACRLFramework ; Yik Yak

College and Research Libraries News (open access, short articles) for january 2017 (vol 78, no ) includes:
- Emily Ford: To badge or not to badge?: From “yes” to “never again”. Coll. res. libr. news January 2017 78:20-21
She tried badges and felt they weren't necessarily helping with learning and critical thinking "Moreover, the majority of students seemed to miss the point that the badges curriculum aspired to help them develop critical thinking, rather than presenting hoops through which they needed to jump in order to get a good grade in their class, and to move them toward graduation and getting a job. We thought badges would help students aspire to our goals, but they were more concerned with doing everything they needed to get a good letter grade, rather than developing critical thinking skills."
- Troy Swanson: Sharing the ACRL Framework with faculty: Opening campus conversations. Coll. res. libr. news January 2017 78:12-48
- Elizabeth Price and Rebecca Richardson: Eavesdropping on the user experience: Learning how students perceive the library through Yik Yak. Coll. res. libr. news January 2017 78:16-19
Contents page at http://crln.acrl.org/content/78/1.toc
Photo by Sheila Webber: Monkey king and vintage books about searching, January 2017

#Librarians and #Wikipedians

Two papers about libraries work with Wikipedia have been published on the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) website. One focuses on public libraries and the other on academic libraries. "The papers focus on Academic and Research Libraries and on Public Libraries and are an introduction to the many facets of interaction between libraries and the reference website. They encourage librarians world-wide to engage more with Wikipedia, guided by the examples outlined. But they are also a starting point for further IFLA work on the practical and policy issues raised by the rise in the number of people generating their own content online, not least through Wikipedia."
Opportunities for Academic and Research Libraries and Wikipedia and Opportunities for Public Libraries and Wikipedia can be downloaded here: http://www.ifla.org/node/11131
Wikipedia logo trademark Wikipedia

Webinar: information literacy training for incarcerated students

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has organised a free webinar, February 14 2017 at 10am Central US time (which is 4pm UK time), on integrating information literacy training to incarcerated students without access to the internet: No Internet, No Problem – Leveraging Offline Technology to Prepare Inmates for Success Outside the Walls. "Computer and information literacy are essential life skills that are difficult to teach in situations without access to computers, much less without the Internet. Until recently this was exactly the experience of the incarcerated students at Lee College Huntsville Center. Using grant funds, Jeannie Colson, Lee College Huntsville Center Librarian, was able to acquire Corrections Off-line Educational Platform (COEP) developed by WiderNet and provide an internet-like experience for her students to conduct independent research. In this webinar, Jeannie will discuss how she implemented the technology, the challenges she encountered (and overcame) along the way, what she envisions for the future and, most importantly, how she has integrated the technology into her teaching to provide information literacy and technology skills to her students." Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/869012588299659778
Photo by Sheila Webber: Moon and tree, January 2017

Did Media Literacy Backfire?

This is the title of a blog post by danah boyd earlier this month. The nub of it, that she highlights at the end is that "Media literacy asks people to raise questions and be wary of information that they’re receiving. People are. Unfortunately, that’s exactly why we’re talking past one another." Before that she talks, specifically in the context of the USA, of people having decreasing trust in doctors, the media, politicians, and experts, and preferring to believe friends, family and the "research" (usually a quick google) that they do themselves. Therefore "Addressing so-called fake news is going to require a lot more than labeling. It’s going to require a cultural change about how we make sense of information, whom we trust, and how we understand our own role in grappling with information."
She's talking about "media literacy" (and now I know more media literacy people I know it's not exactly the same as information literacy). However, I think on this topic, points she makes about media literacy education could also apply to some ways in which information literacy is taught. Indeed you still see librarians proposing labelling of sources as a counter to the "fake news" problem. I think that is in fact where a more holistic information literacy approach is more helpful, in that it should not be just focused on "media" sources but getting people to reflect on the full range of information that they use in their lives. "Other people" always emerge as key sources and informants in studies of everyday information behaviour and information literacy, and I think it's important to acknowledge this and bring them into the information literacy discussion. However, as boyd says, there are deeper cultural (and political, religious and social) issues at play. Engaging with these issues is challenging even for people who have more power over the whole curriculum than (normally) do librarians.

boyd, d. (2017, January 5). Did Media Literacy Backfire? https://points.datasociety.net/did-media-literacy-backfire-7418c084d88d
By the way, the site, Points, says it is "an experimental collection of pieces from the Data & Society community: occasional extracts and essays — provocations — to manifest, complicate, and re-frame the relations between data, technology, and society" and is worth bookmarking.
Photo by Sheila webber: bags of lego at the iSchool's awayday yesterday

Wikipedia and #1lib1ref

Wikipedia is once more inviting librarians to participate in its #1lib1ref campaign. The idea is that you use your wizard librarianship skills to add references to Wikipedia that need them: however, if you have a class of students who you want to learn about evidencing information, citation practice etc. then this is also a reminder of how you can use Wikipedia for that.
Wikipedia says (and more information about these steps is given here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Participate#Cite_a_source_from_your_collection_or_research)

"1. Find an article that needs a citation. There are many ways to do this. Here are some strategies.
· Filling a "Citation Needed" using Citation Hunt
· Finding an article with sourcing problems
· Select an article while browsing
· Cite a source from your collection or research
"2. Find a reliable source that can support that article
"3. Add a citation using Wikipedia Style.
"4. Add the project hashtag #1Lib1Ref in the Wikipedia Edit Summary"
Step 5 is telling all your friends and acquaintancies via social media ;-)

There is a blog post about the initiative here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/01/15/1lib1ref-2017/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Freddy, January 2017

New articles about online learning and #MOOCs

The open-access peer-reviewed journal JIME launched a collection of articles on MOOC research at the end of last year:
- Editorial: Developing a Strategic Approach to MOOCs: Rebecca Ferguson, Eileen Scanlon, Lisa Harris
- Accessibility of MOOCs: Understanding the Provider Perspective: Francisco Iniesto, Patrick McAndrew, Shailey Minocha, Tim Coughlan
- Adapting a MOOC for Research: Lessons Learned from the First Presentation of Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing: Rachael Hodge
- Professional Development Through MOOCs in Higher Education Institutions: Challenges and Opportunities for PhD Students Working as Mentors: Manuel León Urrutia, Sarah Fielding, Su White
- Learning Designers in the ‘Third Space’: The Socio-Technical Construction of MOOCs and Their Relationship to Educator and Learning Designer Roles in HE: Steven White, Su White
http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/collections/special/researching-moocs76850/

The open access journal Online Learning has also published a new issue (volume 20 no. 4) at https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/issue/view/51/showToc. It includes, for example:
- Relationships Between Minority Students Online Learning Experiences and Academic Performance: Alex Kumi Yeboah, Patriann Smith
- Students' Perceptions of Learner-Learner Interactions that Weaken a Sense of Community in an Online Learning Environment: Krystle Phirange
Photo by Sheila Webber: spot the cat, January 2017

Congratulations to graduates @InfoSchoolSheff #phdsuccess

Today is graduation day for Masters and PhD students from the Information School at the University of Sheffield. I particularly want to congratulate my PhD student Dr Joseph Essel (pictured with me today) who completed his PhD thesis on Ghanaian trainee teachers' conceptions of the information literate teacher, using the phonomenographic approach.
Photo by Prof Peter Bath

Growing up digital

Published on 4 January was: Children's Commisioner for England. (2017). Growing up Digital: A report from the Children's Commissioner's Growing Up Digital Taskforce. London: Children's Commisioner for England. http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/publications/growing-digital
This short (23 page) report proposes 3 innovations: "creation of a digital citizenship programme, to be compulsory in every school [age] 4-14"; simplifying the Terms and Conditions that service providers present to children (there is an example of such a simplification of the Instagram T&C - 17 pages is boiled down to 1 dense page); and the introduction of a Children's Digital Ombudsman. There is no mention of information literacy.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Eliza, January 2017

cpd25: learning technologies; academic liaison

cpd25 (the professional development part of the M25 Consortium of libraries in the SE of England - for non-Brits the M25 is a major road encircling Greater London) has an ongoing programme of events. Forthcoming ones (priced, discounts for CPD25 members) include:
- Librarians and Learning Technologies, 10 May 2017 afternoon, City Business Library, London (UK): http://www.cpd25.ac.uk/events/librarians-learning-technologies-event-ref-tg1aspects/
- Current Trends in Academic Liaison, 28 February 2017 afternoon, De Morgan House, The London Mathematical Society (UK) http://www.cpd25.ac.uk/events/current-trends-academic-liaison-event-ref-tg1aspects/
The calendar is at http://www.cpd25.ac.uk/events/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Xmas wreaths of Sussex; December 2016

New articles: Gender and IL; Student Creativity; Information needs of survivors; PRIMO

The open-access journal College and Research Libraries (January 2017 vol 78 no 1) includes the following items:

- Arthur Taylor and Heather A. Dalal: Gender and Information Literacy: Evaluation of Gender Differences in a Student Survey of Information Sources (pp90-113; doi:10.5860/crl.78.1.90)
- Julia Skinner and Melissa Gross: The ISSAS Model: Understanding the Information Needs of Sexual Assault Survivors on College Campuses (pp23-34; doi:10.5860/crl.78.1.23)
- Mark Bieraugel and Stern Neill: Ascending Bloom’s Pyramid: Fostering Student Creativity and Innovation in Academic Library Spaces (pp35-52; doi:10.5860/crl.78.1.35)
- Wendi Kaspar, Jodie Borgerding, Megan Hodge, and Bill Marino: PRIMO: Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (pp2-7; doi:10.5860/crl.78.1.2) [This is explaining how they are in the process of revising criteria for inclusion in PRIMO]
http://crl.acrl.org/content/78/1.toc
Photo by Sheila Webber: Xmas wreaths of South London, 33; December 2016

Filmmaking and Animation in the Classroom

A 3 week MOOC (free online course), Filmmaking and Animation in the Classroom, is taught by people from Into Film and delivered by Futurelearn. It starts 23 January 2016 "Learn how to use simple filmmaking and animation to bring learning to life, and aid cross-curricular attainment and assessment." There is also a MOOC Teaching Literacy Through Film, starting 20 February. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/filmmaking-animation-classroom
Carrie Bradshaw's closet: created and taken in Second Life by Sheila Webber, December 2016

The Mini Book of Teaching Tips for Librarians

Newly published by Andy Walsh is:
Walsh, A. (2017). The Mini Book of Teaching Tips for Librarians ISBN 978-1-911500-00-1, £9.95. This is "a small (A6) sized, spiral bound book, printed on a heavy paper stock. It contains over 50 teaching tips and teaching ideas for librarians" and can be purchased at
http://innovativelibraries.org.uk/press/thebooks/ There is a bit more about it here http://gamesforlibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/expbooks.html
(cover art from publisher website)

Post-truth?

A BBC Radio 4 broadcast last week was Nothing but the truth, which discussed the meaning of "post-truth" and whether it really was a new thing. I have pasted the summary below. The podcast is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04m7zrs (43 minutes) and I think as it's radio it is available internationally. It (or extracts from it) would make good triggers for discussion about "truth", fake news etc. It is part of an interesting Radio 4 series The New World (the series is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04m77lm/episodes/downloads).
Blurb for the Nothing but the truth episode: "Are we really living in a post-truth world? It has been an extraordinary year for the concept of veracity. Brexit. Trump. Experts have taken a beating, facts have apparently taken second place to emotion and feeling. And what about truth? It seems like fewer and fewer people, whether voters or politicians, care what’s true anymore. Step forward the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of 2016: "post-truth". Is this just shorthand to help liberals make sense of a world they don't like? Or does it mark something more meaningful? Are we really no longer interested in truth or is our toxic political climate clouding our ability to agree on what the facts are? In a series of special programmes as 2017 begins, Radio 4 examines inflection points in the world around us. In the first programme, Jo Fidgen explores how our brains process facts when they become polluted by politics."
In a post-truth world perhaps I will just withdraw and cultivate my virtual garden (though I think a conclusion from the broadcast was that "post truth" was a modish label for longtime human behaviour): photo taken in the 3D virtual world Second Life

Call for nominations for awards at #LILAC17

Nominations are sought for awards relating to the LILAC (UK information literacy) conference (which takes place at Swansea University, Wales, 10-12 April 2017). The 3 categories are:
- Information Literacy Award http://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-2017/awards/information-literacy-award (open to those in the UK, deadline March 3 2017)
- Credo Digital Award http://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-2017/awards/credo-digital-award (for a UK-based individual or group who develop the best new digital educational resource for promoting Information Literacy; deadline March 3 2017)
- Student Sponsored Places http://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-2017/awards/student-sponsored-places (open to students studying in the UK; deadline February 17 2017)
Photo by Sheila Webber: lilac

New articles: Infiltrating faculty; ADDIE model; Health sciences; Threshold concepts of Writing Studies; and more

The latest issue (vol 10 no 2) of the open-access journal Communications in Information Literacy has been published. It contains the following articles, plus book reviews and an editorial celebrating 10 years of CIL.
- Beyond the Hyperbole: Information Literacy Reconsidered by Heidi Julien
- Accommodating Faculty Requests and Staying True to Your Pedagogical Ideals in the 1-Shot Information Literacy Session by Rachel Elizabeth Scott
- Don’t Use a Hammer When You Need a Screwdriver: How to Use the Right Tools to Create Assessment That Matters by Dominique Turnbow, Annie Zeidman-Karpinski
- Changing Our Aim: Infiltrating Faculty with Information Literacy by Sandra Cowan, Nicole C. Eva
- Reading for Integration, Identifying Complementary Threshold Concepts: The ACRL Framework in Conversation with Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies by Brittney Johnson, I. Moriah McCracken
- Do People Overestimate Their Information Literacy Skills? A Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence on the Dunning-Kruger Effect by Khalid Mahmood
- Information Literacy Integration as Quality Enhancement of Undergraduate Curriculum by Philip A. Smith
- Merging Information Literacy and Evidence-Based Practice in an Undergraduate Health Sciences Curriculum Map by Susan Franzen, Colleen Bannon
- Designing for Engagement: Using the ADDIE Model to Integrate High-Impact Practices into an Online Information Literacy Course by Amanda Nichols Hess, Katie Greer
Issue page at http://www.comminfolit.org/index.php?journal=cil&page=issue&op=view&path%5B%5D=20&path%5B%5D=showToc

New Year reading: refugees; data literacy; inquiry based learning

Lloyd, A. (2017). Researching fractured (information) landscapes: Implications for library and information science researchers undertaking research with refugees and forced migration studies. Journal of Documentation, 73(1), 35-47. Priced article, abstract at http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JD-03-2016-0032

Wolff, A., Gooch, D., Cavero Montaner, J., Rashid, U. and Kortuem, G. (2017). Creating an Understanding of Data Literacy for a Data-driven Society. Journal of Community Informatics, 12(3) (In press). "This paper explores the different perspectives currently offered on both data and statistical literacy and then critically examines to what extent these address the data literacy needs of citizens in today’s society. We survey existing approaches to teaching data literacy in schools, to identify how data literacy is interpreted in practice. Based on these analyses, we propose a definition of data literacy that is focused on employing an inquiry-based approach to using data to understand real world phenomena. " Open access preprint at http://oro.open.ac.uk/47779/

and another expensive book from Springer:
Chu, s. etal. (2017). 21st Century Skills Development Through Inquiry-Based Learning: from theory to practice. Springer. ISBN: 978-981-10-2479-5 (Print) 978-981-10-2481-8 (Online) Table of contents and preview http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-10-2481-8
Photo by Sheila Webber: Xmas wreaths of South London, 29; December 2016