3rd Annual Indiana University Libraries Information Literacy Colloquium

There is a call for proposals for the 3rd Annual Indiana University Libraries Information Literacy Colloquium which takes place August 1 2014 in South Bend, Indiana. The conference theme is Metaliteracy: Seeking Connections and Challenging Traditions. "This year’s Colloquium invites you to investigate the implications metaliteracy has for library instruction theory and practice. Questions to consider include, but are not limited to: What do instruction librarians need to know about metaliteracy? What does metaliteracy look like, and what does it entail? How does it influence what we do in the library instruction classroom? How does this shape our learning outcomes and pedagogy? How do we assess metaliteracy?" Proposals for presentations or roundtable discussions should be no more than 250 words in length and should contain at least two learning outcomes. Submit proposals by May 16 at http://ius.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3meTvGpIhLHxiIZ. The conference website is at http://iusb.libguides.com/IULILC2014
Photo by Sheila Webber: feral cats, Thessaloniki, April 2014

Next blog-post journal club: 14 April on draft ACRL framework #acrlilrevisions #ilread

The next Information Literacy Journal Club blog-post discussion will be on 14 April 2014 at 8pm UK time (3pm US Eastern time), on the draft Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education which will update the Association of College and Research Libraries' Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (commonly called the ACRL information literacy standards). As previously blogged here, the first draft document contains the Introduction and three Threshold Concepts plus a glossary and bibliography, and the second draft document contains two additional threshold concepts. Go to the following page for more information and links to the two documents and information on how to contribute to the consultation. http://acrl.ala.org/ilstandards/?page_id=133
To participate in the discussion go to the following page, where you can join in via blog posts on the day (14 April), or add comments before or after the real-time interaction
http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.se/2014/04/next-blog-post-journal-club-14-april-on.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: Cherry blossom,Sheffield, April 2014

2nd part of ACRL draft framework published #ACRLILRevisions

The 2nd part of the ACRL's draft Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education has been published. It introduces two more Threshold Concepts, Authority is Constructed and Contextual and Search is Strategic. With both of them there is an introductory explanation, and lists of Knowledge Practices, Dispositions, Self-Assessments and Possible Assignments/Assessments. Comments on the draft have to be submitted by 15 April 2014. You can find both parts, and information on the consultation process, linked from http://acrl.ala.org/ilstandards/?page_id=133
Photo by Sheila Webber: Cherry blossom, Sheffield, April 2014

Show me your search strings!

A short article describes analysis of 20,000 searches of the federated system at the University of Tromsø, Norway. They found that "60% of all the searches ended up with no hits at all", with incorrect spelling and misuse of boolean (e.g. ANDing Norwegian and English versions of the same word) accounting for many of the problem. I'm not sure about the conclusions, though; don't the results show that you can't just rely on allegedly "user friendly" systems? The article concludes as follows: "Should the library provide the actual searching for the patrons, or is it simply more cost efficient to increase focus on user instruction? So far, the debate has leaned heavily on the second solution. With library systems becoming increasingly user friendly (we hope) it is quite difficult to see how we could persuade library patrons to learn more about searching. To justify spending a large part of the library budget on databases that users find difficult or even unnecessary requires us to sit down and properly discuss the library’s role in information searching and how to best assist students and staff in their research process."

Lokse, M. and Magnussen, M. (2013, November 14) Show me your search strings! Information today. http://www.infotoday.eu/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Show-me-your-search-strings!--93283.aspx
Photo by Sheila Webber: Cherry blossom, Sheffield, April 2014

Making Google Behave & The end of Google's supremacy?

Making Google Behave is a priced workshop from Karen Blakeman in London, UK, on 9 April 2014, organised bu UKEIG. "There are many tricks we can use to make Google give better results and this workshop will look in detail at the options that are currently available to us." More information at http://www.ukeig.org.uk/trainingevent/making-google-behave-karen-blakeman-0
Karen also just put up one of her excellent presentations, on Slideshare, How we really search: the end of Google's supremacy?, a presentation given at the AGM of CILIP Hants & Wight on 2 April 2014.

How we really search: the end of Google's supremacy? from Karen Blakeman

Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth #cscy

Yesterday I attended a launch event for an exhibition put on by the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth here at Sheffield University. The pictures are from the research exhibition. The Centre's website is at http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cscy
There were short presentations about three interdisciplinary projects. Firstly, Kate Pahl talked about a project funded by the AHRC's Connected Communities programme, Communication wisdom: a study of the uses of fishing in youth work. Their aim is to consider the role of fishing in youth work. It is participatory research, including working with young people to make films and online texts to produce a "Compleat Angler 2.0". They identified that the calm and concentration experienced whilst fishing was helpful to the young people, and indeed to the adults working with them. There was also an intergenerational angle, in that older, experienced anglers were teaching the young people to fish.

The second project was Beyond Family Centred Care, which Penny Curtis introduced. This focuses on the care of children in hospital, where "family centred care" has been the approach for some time in the UK: in other words involving parents in care and decision making. However "parenting in public" like this can be stressful, and nurses can find it difficult to share decision making. Additionally, there is still a lot to be discovered in terms of what children want and how they experience the care.

The project aims to get three perspectives (children's, parents' and nurses') through an ethnographic study. From initial findings: there seems to be a division between clinical care (done by nurses) and everyday care (done by parents). The parents seem to feel that they should be, and they are expected to, look after their child in hospital 24/7, which can be very stressful when the parents cannot do this. The children perfer a parent to help with basic care, but if they are in hospital for longer, they would like more (different) company, which means they have to be proactive in finding someone. There is limited information given to parents and children when they're on the ward (it might be assumed by nurses that people would remember from a previous admission, but that's not necessarily so).

The final presentation was from Rosie Parnell, on Designing with Children, funded the Leverhulme Trust. The research question is: what do spatial designers learn from creative dialogue with children and what impact does this have on the design process? There is a nice website at http://designingwithchildren.net/ and are looking for more examples where designers have involved children in the design of spaces. If any blog reader knows of one (e.g. in designing a children's library or school library) do contact them! The researchers then follow up to find out how the children were involved and what the impact was on the designers and the ultimate design. Some early findings included: that designers valued the children's lack of attention to the conventions e.g. saying if they didn't like something, and being less constrained by issues of cost or social convention. They also felt that it, for example, gave the designers possibilities to be more playful in design.

Second Life Journal Club: 2nd April: Discussing Diehm & Lupton's Learning information literacy

Join us in the virtual world Second Life for a one-hour discussion of an open-access article. Led by Ridvan Ata (University of Sheffield, Ridvan Atolia in Second Life) we will be discussing:
Diehm. R. & Lupton, M (2012). Learning information literacy.  Information Research, 19(1) paper 607. http://InformationR.net/ir/19-1/paper607.html

When: 2 April 2014 12.00 noon SL time (which is 8.00pm UK time and the same as US pacific time)

Where: Infolit iSchool Journal Club room, in the virtual world Second Life, http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Infolit%20iSchool/106/209/31 You need a SL avatar and the Second Life browser installed on your computer. The picture shows last month's Journal Club.

Everyone is welcome to join the one-hour discussion.

A Sheffield iSchool Centre for Information Literacy Research event.

Environmental Scan of OERs, MOOCs, and Libraries

A couple of weeks ago a free pdf was published by ACRL:
Kazakoff-Lane, C. (2014) Environmental Scan of OERs, MOOCs, and Libraries: What Effectiveness and Sustainability Means for Libraries’ Impact on Open Education. ACRL.
The blurb says that "this research report introduces and provides background on the open educational resources (OER) and massive open online course (MOOC) movements and investigates the effectiveness and challenges to sustainability of each." There was some discussion on the ili-l list about the perspective taken on MOOCs and OERs, but it seems to me a fair summary of recent history and current perspectives. The only criticism I could have is that it doesn't really set them in the context of the research & practice of e-learning and blended overall, though that isn't exactly uncommon when discussing MOOCs.
http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/publications/whitepapers/Environmental%20Scan%20and%20Assessment.pdf
Photo by Sheila Webber: Industrial works, beside the Thames, Greenwich, March 2014

Faculty Information Literacy Resources

Mentioned recently on the discussion list ili, Adelphi University Library's libguide: Faculty Information Literacy Resources. It has explanations about information literacy, links to resources that academic staff might use in assignments or class exercises etc. http://libguides.adelphi.edu/content.php?pid=419853
Photo by Sheila Webber: blossom in Gilbert's Pit, March 2014

What does it Mean to be Literate in the Age of Google

Daniel Russell, research scientist at Google, gave a talk at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on March 5 2014. The title of the presentation was, Mindtools: What does it Mean to be Literate in the Age of Google? (it unsurprisingly involves Google; but some interesting points) http://vimeo.com/89737037
Photo by Sheila Webber: violets in the churchyard, March 2014

WILU registration open #wilu2014

Registration for WILU 2014 (the Canadian information literacy conference, taking place in London, Ontario, Canada form 21-23 May 2014) is now open. The theme is E-magine the Possibilities. There are a variety of session types, and keynotes from Craig Gibson (Ohio State University), Trudi Jacobson (University of Albany) and Megan Oakleaf (Syracuse). Go to http://lib.uwo.ca/wilu2014/program/index.html for full info
Photo by Sheila Webber: Albayzin district, morning, Granada, March 2014

Information literacy programmes best practices

The Association of College and Research Libraries' Information Literacy Best Practices Committee "is looking for information literacy programs that are exemplary in any of the categories outlined in Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline. Programs that are found by the Committee to be exemplary will be listed on the IS-ILBP website as exemplars for other programs seeking to follow best practices." The deadline for applications is April 30, 2014. There are 10 categories in the "best practice" guidelines (e.g. planning, staffing, pedagogy, outreach) and you have to describe how you think your institution is exemplary in each category in 500 words, including links to relevant evidence. It doesn't say on the website that you have to be in the USA to apply (but I haven't checked up on this otherwise). More info at http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/is/iswebsite/committees/bestpractices
Photo by Sheila Webber: Mosaic outside a house in the Albayzin district, Granada, March 2014

ACRL Immersion 2014 open for applications

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has opened application for its Immersion’14 Program, 19-22 November, to be held in Nashville, USA. You must apply by 2 May 2014. Both tracks are aimed at academic librarians with 5+ years of teaching experience. "The Assessment Track is intended for [those] ... who want to improve their knowledge and practice of both classroom and program assessment. Participants will emerge with a broader understanding of assessment and how to use assessment as an important tool to guide evidence-based classroom, curriculum and program development. Participants will develop a plan for their assessment activities that will form the basis for future engagement with these issues both individually and as a leader of IL initiatives at their institutions." "The Intentional Teaching Track ... facilitates the process of critical reflection through peer discussion, readings and personal reflection as a pathway to professional growth and renewal. The program offers a mixture of structured and co-constructed learning segments such as peer discussions, individual reading and reflection times and participant-led communities of practice."
Go to http://www.ala.org/acrl/immersionprogram for more information.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Balcony, Albayzín district, Granada, March 2014

Information Literacy at the Workplace: A Suggested Model for a Developing Country

A new article in the (priced) journal Libri.
Jimadu, I. and Kaur, K. (2014) Information Literacy at the Workplace: A Suggested Model for a Developing Country. Libri, 64(1).
The authors identify some information literacy models frequently mentioned in the literature and then critique them in relation to what they see as the Nigerian and workplace situation. They then propose their own alternative model of IL in the workplace with three stages: share knowledge, analyse task and execute task.
Just as a minor niggle since I noticed it: they did make a small mistake when citing one of my publications (saying we were studying Australian academics, rather than British ones), but I should really just be happy to be cited;-)
Contents page for the issue is at: http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/libr.2014.64.issue-1/issue-files/libr.2014.64.issue-1.xml
Photo by Sheila Webber: Lion court, Nazrid Palace, Granada, March 2014

#emoocs2014 conference presentations

There are presentations from the EMOOCs 2014 conference that took place in February at http://www.scribd.com/search-collections?query=EMOOCs+2014 You have to sign up with scribd (free) to get access to them. I haven't looked at many yet; some have not got enough text to be meaningful on their own, but definitely some are interesting (e.g. one about a mentoring app to help people who are not already academically qualified and find it harder to engage with mooc learning).
Photo by Sheila Webber: early blossom, Sheffield, March 2014.

Lifewide magazine and e-book

Thanks to Bill Johnston for alerting me to the Lifewide magazine, which is a product of the Lifewide community "a social enterprise formed in 2011 to develop and support a community of interest formed around the ideas and educational practices that promote and support lifewide learning and personal development." In particular they encourage initiatives in universities that are extra- and co-curricular and develop understanding and skills relating to outside formal education. The magazine includes some short and interesting articles related to a conference they held. For example, Professor Marcia Baxter Magolda talks about The journey to self-authorship and a more meaningful life: "self authorship" refers to someone (in a longitudinal study she is engaging in) learning to work out what he really wants out of life and listen to his own voice, after having made initial choices about study and employment without thinking critically about them. Other examples are a student's account of how her approach to learning changed at university, and a summary of a major European Union project on Open Learning. The magazine is at http://www.calameo.com/read/003290434f7da3d703fed
The e-book is Lifewide Learning & Education in Universities and Colleges and its purpose is "to recognise and celebrate the many different ways in which universities are encouraging, supporting and recognising lifewide learning and personal development". There are freely downloadable chapters describing initiatives at various universities, in particular where there are awards for extra curricular activities e.g. "The Ulster EDGE Award: Supporting the Development of Student Employability" and (about Sheffield Hallam University) "Towards the Devolution of Lifewide Learning Awards through Verifiable Digital Badges". The e-book is at http://www.learninglives.co.uk/e-book.html
Photo taken from the webcam operated by Sheffield University: the peregrines are nesting again at Sheffield! 2 eggs so far: http://efm.dept.shef.ac.uk/peregrine/

Invasion of the MOOCs: The Promises and Perils of Massive Open Online Courses

A new book, with a free pdf version or priced: Krause, S. and Lowe, C. (Eds) (2014) Invasion of the MOOCs: The Promises and Perils of Massive Open Online Courses. Parlor Press. ISBN 978-1-60235-533-0
Many interesting contributions including: "The Hidden Costs of MOOCs" by Karen Head; "MOOC Feedback: Pleasing All the People?" by Jeremy Knox, Jen Ross, Christine Sinclair, Hamish Macleod, and Siân Bayne; "Learning How to Teach … Differently: Extracts from a MOOC Instructor’s Journal" by Denise K. Comer; "MOOC as Threat and Promise" by Edward M. White
The free PDF format is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. The paperback version is $30 (US) and the hardback $60.
http://www.parlorpress.com/invasion_of_the_moocs
Photo by Sheila Webber: Mosaic, Casa Morisca, Granada, March 2014

New video: Visitors and Residents: Credibility

Uploaded on 10 March, "David White of the University of Oxford explains how the Web is changing academic practice and challenging traditional notions of credibility and authority. In part 2 of this series, he considers how the Visitors and Residents model helps understand what this means for individuals and institutions." I blogged about this research before http://information-literacy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/digital-visitors-digital-residents.html The first video (Part 1) is here http://youtu.be/sPOG3iThmRI

Innovative and Alternative Instruction: From the Flipped Classroom to Peer Teaching

There is a one-day conference in Oakland, USA, on 18 April 2014: Innovative and Alternative Instruction: From the Flipped Classroom to Peer Teaching: the California Conference on Library Instruction. "This spring, California Conference on Library Instruction (one(CCLI) invites you to participate in a one--day conference on innovative and alternative instruction models. The conference will explore programs such as the flipped classroom (moving lecture to the home environment and bringing homework into the classroom through active learning), active learning communities (a group of people who share commonalities and are actively engaged in learning together), and the emerging Library Research Assistant Technicians positions (specially trained students who provide peer research support)." Keynote speaker is April Cunningham (Instruction Coordinator Librarian at Palomar College in San Marcos, CA.) Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/innovative-and-alternative-instruction-from-the-flipped-classroom-to-peer-teaching-tickets-5335089396
Photo by Sheila webber: Balcony at dusk, Granada, March 2014

Online discussions on ACRL draft information literacy framework #ACRLILRevisions

There are two online meetings, on April 4 11am Pacific time/2pm US Eastern time/7pm UK time or 17 April at 8am Pacific time/ 11am Eastern time/ 4pm UK time to discuss the draft ACRL Information Literacy revised framework. Register to attend one of these free events by noon the day prior, as login details will be emailed the afternoon prior to forum date. Registration is limited to 500 slots for each forum. Links to the recorded forums will be posted afterwards on the task force website. You register here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080C44ABAC2F4-online1
The working group encourage feedback on both parts of the initial draft (at the moment just the first part is there) by 5pm on Tuesday, April 15, 2014, via an online form. You can find the draft at http://acrl.ala.org/ilstandards/?page_id=133
"A second, revised draft of the Framework, incorporating comments received on the initial draft and including additional elements, will be released in June 2014, followed by hearings at the 2014 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas and online."
Photo by Sheila Webber: statue "El instante preciso", Granada, March 2014. This statue has a Flickr group