On 24 October my colleague Dr Pamela McKinney will talk about her research into The Information literacy of food and activity logging in three communities. Global MIL week is a UNESCO-sponsored annual celebration of media and Information Literacy, with events organised around the world. This year’s theme is Media and Information Literate Citizens: Informed, Engaged, Empowered and our Centre for Information Literacy Research (Information School, University of Sheffield) is responding with events and activities on this theme. You just need to join the webinars using the links below - you don't have to register, but in case you want easy reminders we've also created Eventbrite events for them. Here are more details:
Firstly at 11am-11.30am UK time, Thursday 24 October 2019 (check the time in your country at https://tinyurl.com/globalmila) Dr Pamela McKinney, will talk about research which aimed to discover what data is tracked by people in three communities (parkrunners, people with type 2 diabetes and people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome). She will also discuss why the data was tracked, and the barriers to safe and effective tracking, particularly in relation to information literacy. There is increasing interest in the use of mobile apps and devices to track aspects of diet, health and wellbeing activity, and research has shown that use of apps can motivate people to adopt healthy behaviours. Information literacy is crucial to the safe and effective use of tracked information in this landscape.
The survey for this project was distributed in early 2018. 143 responses were received from parkrunners; 140 from diabetes.co.uk and 45 from the IBS Network. There were differences in the logging practices of the three communities, and differences in motivations for tracking. The extent of sharing of tracked data also differed, for example parkrunners were the biggest sharers of data, whereas IBS and Diabetes respondents shared less data, and only with close family. Respondents were confident in their abilities to understand tracked data, and how this enabled them to achieve their health goals. However, critical to Information literacy is an understanding of the potential re-use and sharing of data by third parties, and respondents demonstrated much less awareness of this.
To join Pam's webinar go to https://tinyurl.com/globalmilabb just before the webinar start time. It uses Blackboard Collaborate (see here for details on how to use it). You do not have to register for the webinar in advance, but if you’d like to sign up via Eventbrite and get reminders that it is coming up, go to https://tinyurl.com/globalmilae
The following week, I (Sheila Webber) will be talking on Transformational Media and Information Literacy learning for adult citizens: “this street is full of heroes”, at 4pm-4.30pm UK time, Tuesday 29th October (check the time in your country at https://tinyurl.com/globalmilb )
I'll be outlining use of theories from adult education and information science to address the challenge of engaging adult citizens critically and transformationally with media and Information Literacy. As the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) concept matures, it is important to expand the MIL focus to the majority of the population who are not in formal education. The title quotation is from a poem by Benjamin Zephaniah (transformed to street art in Sheffield) which inspires us to think of each citizen as a potential MIL hero.
Firstly, Jack Mezirow’s Transformation Theory is proposed as way of framing MIL engagement with adult citizens. Transformation Theory posits meaning making as “becoming critically aware of one’s own tacit assumptions and expectations and those of others and assessing their relevance for making an interpretation” (Mazirow, 2000; p. 4). Sandlin, Wright & Clarke (2013) link Transformation Theory with the notion of “public pedagogy”: learning outside formal education, which may be mediated by popular culture, public spaces, dominant discourses, activism etc. These ideas are taken further by linking them to Information grounds (IG) theory (Fisher & Naumer, 2006). Sheila and Bill propose a strategy for developing MIL outside formal education: Transformation Theory provides a framework for learning goals and learning design; literature on public pedagogy provides examples of the public places and discourses that can be channels for learning, and IG theory provides a structure for thinking about which physical and virtual spaces are most likely to foster the reflective discourse (between citizens) and provide the supportive context which Mezirow identifies is key to transformational learning. This enables us to reflect on who could be the “MIL heroes” in this different spaces who can enable reflective discourses about MIL.
To join my webinar go to https://tinyurl.com/globalmilbbb just before the webinar start time. It uses Blackboard Collaborate (see here for details on how to use it). You do not have to register for the webinar in advance, but if you’d like to sign up and get reminders that it is coming up, go to https://tinyurl.com/globalmilbe
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