LILAC 2012 part 1

This year our annual UK Information Literacy Conference LILAC was in Glasgow. Having been to Glasgow (the former 2nd city of the Empire) twice for conferences already, I knew that this would be a cracker and so it proved. Over 120 of the 350 delegates were international : a great sign of the success of this Conference.
The keynotes Megan Oakleaf (Syracuse University), Lord Puttnam, and Tara Brabazon (University of Ontario, Institute of Technolgy) were all inspiring and so all totally different in style. I shall not attempt to summarise in deatil, but just offer a few comments and try to give  the flavour.

Megan Oakleaf 
believes that we can show evidence of our library impact on studemt learning., correlate library interactions with other student success measures, and define the library's role in achieving strategic institutional goals.

How do we show our value?

What can we do differently?

Could we impact with students before they start?

Here is link to a free version of an article by Megan Oakleaf: "Are They Learning? Are We? Learning Outcomes and the Academic Library." The Library Quarterly, 81 (1), 61-82. http://www.meganoakleaf.info/aretheylearningoakleaf.pdf

Lord David Puttnam
spoke brilliantly (no powerpoints). I remember particularly :

The Far East are well ahead.streaming of video. This  can be done easily seamlessly in education and distance learning.

Voice recognition is going to big.The iPad 3 has voice recognition instilled.

Keyboards will be  less important in future. T

Oracy needs to be in the teachers ' curriculum.This means kids will need to  be better speakers, orators. Importance of social skills.

Compare a surgeon and teacher of 1912 operating now....The surgeon could not begin to cope  but the teacher would ......

If we are just using digital technologies to deliver the  same curriculum then its a waste of possibilities which are there. 

We need to learn about student ways of operating.

 Librarians are part of this imaginative change.

Teachers and librarians are the infantry for change!

Education can provide the means to survive, and provide social security and health systems required.

But our assessment processes are way way behind.

Librarians have a brand issue. It is like a millstone round our neck. The public doesn't understand our role. We are seen as custodians.....treasure keepers.

Companies have the same problems. 

But Dame Lynne Brindley  has succeeded brilliantly with the British Library.

Tara Brabazon

Using some Powerpoints, sound and her usual flambouyant acting style...

She spoke of the need for a Digital Detox. 

Google is like the McDonalds of information management.

We dont put words into Google that we dont know and we are too easily satisfied.

(As I have said so many times : they dont know what they dont know : or with incoming students they often think they do know how to search)

She suggests digital dieting which in practical terms could mean :

Pushing students away from Google toward Google Scholar (YES!!!!)

Reduce their speed pf search by putting in intellectua; obstacles like asking for annotated bibilograhphies.

Reduce use of textbooks.

Improve and widen their vocabulary.

Help them to know what they dont know by using the curriculum. 

More about LILAC in next post.