Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Digital Ethics
Attending a very informative session by Dr Jane Secker, LSE at Calderdale College today, which explores the impact of the internet/web 2.0 again on research habits of our current/future generation of learners. Using the Google reader facility, found a thought provoking document published by Global Kids Inc., Harvard University: Meeting of minds: cross-generational dialogue of the ethics of digital life. Avaliable from: http://www.globalkids.org/meetingofminds.pdf . Whilst the students questioned are secondary school level, there are some good discussions, particularly around how students assess and evaluate online information, intellectual property and managing the self in an online environment. Worth looking at.....
Monday, 5 July 2010
Digital Information Literacy
I recently attended the MEG-Lib annual conference in Birmingham, and one of the hot topics was the issue of (digital) information literacy. It was extremely beneficial to discuss with colleagues findings at their respective institutions and the strategies employed to begin the process of identifying both IT and information literacy 'deficiencies' with learners prior to their commencement on a course of study or suite of LIS tutorials.
There is some really good work going on in the FE/HE sector and I was particularly impressed by the work currently underway and Blackpool and the Fylde College and their work with academic staff to build-in tutorials to support learners within the academic framework. This is critical, often it is difficult to get academic staff to hand over contact time with learners to the Library/Learning Resource Centre, but if we are truly to embed the acquisition of digital information literacy/study skills, this is I feel the way to tackle this growing issue. Difficult when you consider the growing number of students on programmes of study, but is there a substitute for face to face dialogue with learners, at least during the early weeks/month of a course of study?
Does anyone have any thoughts that they would like to share with regard to this issue?
There is some really good work going on in the FE/HE sector and I was particularly impressed by the work currently underway and Blackpool and the Fylde College and their work with academic staff to build-in tutorials to support learners within the academic framework. This is critical, often it is difficult to get academic staff to hand over contact time with learners to the Library/Learning Resource Centre, but if we are truly to embed the acquisition of digital information literacy/study skills, this is I feel the way to tackle this growing issue. Difficult when you consider the growing number of students on programmes of study, but is there a substitute for face to face dialogue with learners, at least during the early weeks/month of a course of study?
Does anyone have any thoughts that they would like to share with regard to this issue?
Friday, 4 June 2010
Value of podcasts.....discuss.
At a recent day school for the MA that I am undertaking, we had a discussion around the merits of using podcasts to convey information. Whilst podcasting is a relatively new phenomenon, the use of audio is not. I can remember purchasing and cataloguing a variety of audio cassettes and accompanying print material to support students on a wide variety of programmes almost 20 years ago.
It could be argued that the pedagogical content of those early audio cassettes/CDs may not have enhanced the learning experience, nor could the content have reachced the diverse student population in a way that is possible now, especially with m-technologies.
Libraries are using vod/podcasts to convey instructional information to students, in small bite-size pieces, that can be accessed at a time/place that is specified by the learner, not the institution.
The increasing number of off-campus learners, and the need to think creatively about the delivery of content to students, given the recent announcement by the Universities Minister, will cause us all to radically rethink and develop content delivery across our institutions.
It could be argued that the pedagogical content of those early audio cassettes/CDs may not have enhanced the learning experience, nor could the content have reachced the diverse student population in a way that is possible now, especially with m-technologies.
Libraries are using vod/podcasts to convey instructional information to students, in small bite-size pieces, that can be accessed at a time/place that is specified by the learner, not the institution.
The increasing number of off-campus learners, and the need to think creatively about the delivery of content to students, given the recent announcement by the Universities Minister, will cause us all to radically rethink and develop content delivery across our institutions.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Plagiarism, referencing in the digital age and Turnitin. Are we policing or supporting our learners?
This is certainly a hot topic at the moment, particularly within HE institutions given the advent of electronic plagiarism detection services such as Turnitin, the system in operation here.
As College Administrator for Turnitin, I am heavily involved in instructing both staff and students on how to use the system. We've recently had a discussion within our own section on how we manage the teaching of referencing to both FE and HE learners as we are a mixed economy College, and that this needs to be done holistically, as part of the formative process as a supportive mechanism.
Indeed, our taught LIS sessions of referencing are changing incrementally to tackle the issue of electronic sources of information and the requirement to cite and reference these sources accurately.
It is a difficult balance, conveying the complexities of the Harvard system whilst at the same time supporting students in a non-punitive way. Allowing students access to the Originality Reports that are created based on their submissions has improved understanding as to what the issues associated with referencing e-resources are, but it is a shared responsibility and one that needs a consistent message from all areas of the organisation.
Any thoughts?
As College Administrator for Turnitin, I am heavily involved in instructing both staff and students on how to use the system. We've recently had a discussion within our own section on how we manage the teaching of referencing to both FE and HE learners as we are a mixed economy College, and that this needs to be done holistically, as part of the formative process as a supportive mechanism.
Indeed, our taught LIS sessions of referencing are changing incrementally to tackle the issue of electronic sources of information and the requirement to cite and reference these sources accurately.
It is a difficult balance, conveying the complexities of the Harvard system whilst at the same time supporting students in a non-punitive way. Allowing students access to the Originality Reports that are created based on their submissions has improved understanding as to what the issues associated with referencing e-resources are, but it is a shared responsibility and one that needs a consistent message from all areas of the organisation.
Any thoughts?
Monday, 26 April 2010
Immediacy of access vs. quality of content
Taught LIS (Library & Information Skills) sessions have changed beyond all recognition, certainly since I entered the profession almost 20 years ago. It is interesting however, as we seem almost to have come full circle in some respects, and spend a good deal of our time discussing the importance of using 'trusted' sources of Web-based information as we are finding that students prefer quick wins within their research, immediacy of access for example, and often this can be at the expense of 'quality' in terms of the resources used. Investing time in research is another area where we are discussing at length with our learners, the need to use full-text databases and subject gateways as a starting point for research, not a general purpose search engine.
With Web 2.0 has come the belief, albeit a misguided one, that all information can be found using a general purpose search engine. Whilst they have their place, they have given rise to this belief that all information can be found therein, and this makes it much more difficult to impress upon our learners the need to invest time in their research.
With this in mind, we have implemented a LIS session which looks at 'deep web' searching and outlines the limitations of general purpose search engines. It also introduces students to alerts/contents page services and resources such as COPAC. New resources such as the JISC FE e-Book collection has certainly helped to coax students away from Google et al., and the implementation of a federated search tool has also received positive feedback from students as they can search all of the LRCs e-resource simultaneously from a relatively user-friendly interface. That said, we are constantly seeking new and innovative ways of delivering information and our services to learners and teaching staff. This is definately a work in progress and we can't become complacent, given the new and emerging technologies that are on the horizon and the speed with which they are adopted by current and next generation learners.
As noted by Williams et al. (2008):
many librarians have started to experiment with social software in an attempt to get closer to their users. They have a problem. Although research libraries spend millions of pounds providing seamless desktop access to expensive copyrighted electronic content - journals, books and monographs - much of this is news to their users. Either they do not know that the library provides this material, or they get it, possibly via Google, and assume it is 'free' (p. 177).
It is clear that there is work to be done if we are to ensure that the current and next generation of learners leave our educational establishments with the necessary digital information literacy skills required to naviagate sources of good quality electronic information.
References
Williams, P., Rowlands, I. and Fieldhouse, M. (2008) The 'Google Generation' - myths and realities about young people's digital information behaviour. In: Nicholas, D. and Rowlands, I. (eds.) Digital consumers: reshaping the information professional. London: Facet.
With Web 2.0 has come the belief, albeit a misguided one, that all information can be found using a general purpose search engine. Whilst they have their place, they have given rise to this belief that all information can be found therein, and this makes it much more difficult to impress upon our learners the need to invest time in their research.
With this in mind, we have implemented a LIS session which looks at 'deep web' searching and outlines the limitations of general purpose search engines. It also introduces students to alerts/contents page services and resources such as COPAC. New resources such as the JISC FE e-Book collection has certainly helped to coax students away from Google et al., and the implementation of a federated search tool has also received positive feedback from students as they can search all of the LRCs e-resource simultaneously from a relatively user-friendly interface. That said, we are constantly seeking new and innovative ways of delivering information and our services to learners and teaching staff. This is definately a work in progress and we can't become complacent, given the new and emerging technologies that are on the horizon and the speed with which they are adopted by current and next generation learners.
As noted by Williams et al. (2008):
many librarians have started to experiment with social software in an attempt to get closer to their users. They have a problem. Although research libraries spend millions of pounds providing seamless desktop access to expensive copyrighted electronic content - journals, books and monographs - much of this is news to their users. Either they do not know that the library provides this material, or they get it, possibly via Google, and assume it is 'free' (p. 177).
It is clear that there is work to be done if we are to ensure that the current and next generation of learners leave our educational establishments with the necessary digital information literacy skills required to naviagate sources of good quality electronic information.
References
Williams, P., Rowlands, I. and Fieldhouse, M. (2008) The 'Google Generation' - myths and realities about young people's digital information behaviour. In: Nicholas, D. and Rowlands, I. (eds.) Digital consumers: reshaping the information professional. London: Facet.
Do Web 2.0 technologies widen or hinder participation?
Web 2.0 technologies have raised expectations. Today’s learners are no longer passive consumers of content, they also actively create content, be it in the form of a blog; wiki; entry on a social networking site or the uploading of a video to YouTube. This co-creation and re-use of knowledge has significant implications for further and higher education and how these technologies could/should be deployed to support formal learning and encourage greater participation within it. Students are finding new ways to create and share knowledge, and this activity is no longer confined to a physical place or space. How does the technological dimension of the widening participation debate impact upon individuals and what opportunities are there to close the gap and ensure that there is technological parity, both in terms of access and use?
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