Small group reflection on information literacy

[Jilly]

Hi,

Information literacy is an area of interest for me too -I think it’s central to enabling learning technologies to add value to learning. I am currently a full-time undergraduate  (mature!) student of social policy but recently completed an internship with my university’s technology enhanced learning support team and discovered a passion for TEL. My background is in basic skills and employability teaching in the lifelong learning sector, so I am familiar with and a strong advocate of the idea of promoting basic literacies to support higher learning. My main area of interest on this course is the ways in which learning technologies actually add value to more traditional teaching and learning practices, and digital and information literacy seems, to me, to be absolutely central to this. I look forward to some lively discussions!

[ElizabethECharl]

Welcome Jilly.

I too am very interested in how TEL can further enhance practice and best be used to deliver both F2F sessions as well as provide a pathway to support and advice for independent users.

[Roger Gardner]

Hi Jilly and Elizabeth

As an ex Librarian who has been working in TEL for the past 10 years I am also very interested in the area of digital literacies.  I have found the JISC Literacies development framework useful as a starting off point for conversations. If you haven’t come across it , it identifies access, skills, practices (ways of thinking and acting) and attributes as key elements when thinking about DLs. I would also add awareness to these four.   My role particularly involves supporting staff, and whilst it would appear straightforward to provide support for raising awareness, getting access and developing skills, it is more challenging to address practices and attributes.

So one of my “Big questions” would be “What are effective ways of developing staff practices and attributes with regard to digital literacies?”

[ElizabethECharl]

Hello Roger and welcome.

Your big question cuts to the core of the matter, it is much easier to get digital literacies embeddded into a course when the academics involved see it as being of importance and a key skill set.  For the majority of my working experience this has always been seen as a bolt-on to the main activity of teaching a  subject, with the assumption that everybody has the skill sets so why devote valuable teaching time to it.  As we are not involved in the development stages of a course module where these could be embedded it is finding the opportunity and ways to raise awareness of this and to get buy-in by both teaching and support staff.

[ElizabethECharl]

For source of further information on DL/IL see:

Jisc Design Studio –  a listing of pages tagged with ‘digital literacy’

Jisc Design Studio –  SCONUL 7 pillars of information literacy

Information Literacy.org – SCONUL seven pillars of information literacy (includes a lens for digital literacy)

Jisc Regional Support Centres on digital literacy

[sharon_bailey]

I would love to join this group. I’m an e-learning and liaison librarian at a university in Canada and I look forward to collaborating with you. I provide information literacy both in person and online using, among other tools, LibGuides, Blackboard, and Moodle.

[ElizabethECharl]

Welcome Sharon,

Great to have you join the group.

[dturner]

I would also love to join this group. I’m a librarian at a University in the UK. I have used technology for years in my information literacy teaching. As you say information literacy is often seen as bolt on rather than a core element of a programme and I think digital literacy has the same issue with staff assuming that students have these skills already. I’m currently involved in a project that aims to design CPD materials (for staff) to develop and share practice in digital literacy.
This is my first MOOC and so far I’ve felt a bit overwhelmed by all of the information but I’m really looking forward to experiencing this and trying to participate.

[Bryony Ramsden]

Hello everyone

I’ve not quite got started on the induction yet, but I’m making sure I add my name to this info lit group before I forget, if you’ll have me!  I’m a subject librarian for health at the University of Huddersfield (along with Kirsty Bower who is also enrolled on this course, I believe!), primarily looking after nursing students.  We’ve had big changes here made to the way teaching is delivered, so instead of running regular hands on training to specific areas of health practice, we now provide the same lecture twice in the first year to large groups of nurses, ODP, physio, midwifery etc (150-250 students per lecture).  We need to provide a lot of online materials now to try and compensation for the lack of hands on training, so hopefully this course will contribute to that.

I’ve studied distance learning (for my Masters) before so have been enrolled on online courses via VLEs, but not to this extent!  Is a little overwhelming so far, but good to see that information literacy teaching has representation on here

[ElizabethECharl]

Hi Bryony – welcome.

Take your time – that is what the first week is for.  I hope the information in the ‘Induction: activities’ provides you with the necessary structure to get started.

[ElizabethECharl]

Dear all,

We will need to decide which ‘venue’ will be our main communication space for discussion and collaboration:

Here
Google+
Elsewhere

[ElizabethECharl]

Welcome Bryony,

The first week if for finding your feet so take your time. So what is your big question re ocTEL?

[ElizabethECharl]

Welcome,

It can be very overwhelming had a similar experience when I participated in my first MOOC. Don’t try to do everything focus on one or two and it will become easier to manage (just).

Do have a look at the ‘Resources and more …’  in:

0. Induction: activities

 

[Andrew Chambers]

Thanks for the SCONUL reference Elizabeth. I teach study skills and part of that is information literacy (the other part being academic skills). If my existing workshop wasnt so full of content I think I would add something on this too!

[jimpettiward]

Hi!

I’d also like to join this group. My role is Blended Learning Facilitator at London Metropolitan University. I come from a teaching background and a key part of my role is to try to help staff use technology more effectively in their teaching and learning – my current focus is on digital literacies development although I also do a lot of resource and development work for our VLE (Blackboard 9.1). We’re currently developing an online resource for staff and aim to include a lot more about digital literacies in the future: http://www.celtelearning.org/

I think the OU dig lit framework is very useful, but I’ve been thinking about how it might be possible to start developing more discipline-specific frameworks. I’m also interested in the intersection between staff and student digital literacies.

Hope you don’t mind me joining your group! – I’m starting to work closely with library staff at my institution as the communication channels between us leave something to be desired, so I’ll  be really interested to hear some of your views and expertise.

Thanks,

Jim

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