Smartphone users in the world as an infographic

We cannot doubt the importance of the mobile trend but much will depend on the penetration of smartphones. Here is the latest trend as an infographic.


Infographic by-

LILAC 2012 part 2

For the full list of sessions at LILAC 2012 complete with most of the Powerpoints click here. 

I would like to draw your attention to a few of the sessions I attended which I found particularly interesting so here goes :

Mary Antonesa and Claire McAvinia (National University of Ireland Maynooth)

Information Literacy and the case of the “natives”

The concept of the Digital Native started with Marc Prensky et al and encouraged librarians to do new things in order to connect with them. There has been a lot of cold water poured on this over recent years and the general consensus is that it is much more complex than this!

This presentation based on research being done for a PhD at University of Sheffield is looking at IL and its evolving relationship with literacy, the learning environment and the creation of knowledge by students. This is very much the same ground that I was looking at it

our new book so I was eager to see if her findings based on focus groups of all concerned, student observation and interviews were going to chime with what I have written.

Emerging findings emphasised :

-the importance of the transition from school to HE and the intimidating nature of online material after the transition;

-the challenge of referencing and the lack of understanding of its value ;

-in terms of teaching  : dont tell us show us;  

-they may think they should know and therefore do not  ask.

-Library instruction is more about  knowledge construction.

-Literacy development is progressive not sequential.

-It is socially negotiated.

-It depends on context.

-Need to focus on the person’s interest.

-Cannot be learned once for all time.

Amen to all these!

The second study is on the use of vles by students.

This has begun with a survey of use of undergraduate  language students. The kind of use was disappointing to me (but not surprising!) L they saw it as a place to get lecture notes, the place to keep up to date with room changes etc. Lecturers were enthusiastic  and later beginning to use e-lng tools, aaaand also giving tasters of secondary sources that opened up reading lists.

This was one of the most interesting sessions and  more time was needed to follow up these interim conclusions.

 

Maria Savova (Claremont Colleges Library) Robin Canuel (McGill University)and Chad Crichton (University of Toronto)

Mobile Technology and Information Literacy instruction ; the McGill Library experience.

This was one of the most useful sessions I attended and is the kind of thing that all HE institutions should be tackling if not now, then soon!!

The workshop “McGill Library from the palm of your hand” was given to library staff first.It covered E- content issues ; whether to download or use online ; Issues of direct online ; direct download and can be used offline ; download to pc and transfer. Current catalogue records do not clarify which type it is and therefore users need to be aware of these format issues. Html versus pdf has issues for 6 inch screen. Digital rights management and the problems this raises. Full versus mobile library web sites.

How to manage e content on mobiles and on ipads

What application  will students use to download their stuff onto? This is a big area for development and becoming part of what it will mean to be information literate.

Andrew Walsh (University of Huddersfield)

Playing games and growing trees...not sucking lemons

How Lemon Tree, a social online game based on use of library resources has been developed at Huddersfield. Works rather like Foursquare.

Here is a link to Lemon Tree

Students register with Lemon Tree and are awarded points for use of library and comments. 

Started in Nov 2011 and already 500-600 signed up exceeding expectations!
For further details strongly recommend you look at  this article in the University repository. 

Gwnneth Price (Institute of Education)

Digital literacies as a postgraduate attribute

This very interesting project is part of the JISC "Developing digital literacies" band. see here.

Staring in July 2011 it runs for 2 years. It will describe what pg students  think about use of digital tool.Different groups will have different experiences.

The next stage is to give all students an ipod touch to use for making journal of how they study.

This sounds fascinating as I believe librarians should be assisting students to gather, manipulate, synthesise digitally across platforms and devices. This project will help us to understand what is already happening and how we can tackle this in the future.

Mobile delivery of Information Services

Char Booth has posted here about her recent survey for Council of Chief Librarians of California Community Colleges, which was partly about use of mobile technologies.
It showed most users were very or fairly likely to use mobile content, resarch and support.
She also linked mobile service to the kind of mobile support which can be offered by a no-frills vendor pushcart which can go between sites and be among our users. This is a fascinating post and the report below is important.

California Community College Student Library & Technology Engagement Survey: 2011 Pilot, Final Report

View more documents from char booth

Libraries to go : mobile tech in libraries

Ellyssa Kroski has done it again! A great summary of how libraries are engaging with mobiles.Last year at the Online conference in London I was able to see her present and this latest update is really worth looking at.

Mobile Tech in Libraries

View more presentations from Ellyssa Kroski

QR codes and Information Literacy

I have been playing with QR codes for over a year now.Students have been slow to take to this new technology. Lauren Pressley has done a large presentation on QR codes, location based services and augmented realit, including a section on IL. I am sure this is an important and developing area.
At the moment it is still about experimentation. Some great slides. See here.

M-Libraries 2011 Summary

Alex Miller has done a great job summarising the M-Libraries Brisbane 2011 Conference in a Prezi

m-libraries 2011 summary on Prezi

It's just not the same : mobile information literacy

This is the presentation Andrew Walsh (University of Huddersfield) and I gave at M-Libraries in Brisbane.

This was the abstract :

"Libraries are increasingly developing services that take into account the massive effect of mobile devices upon our users. But what does this increase in use of mobile devices and related services mean for information literacy?
Some databases and library catalogues are delivered in mobile friendly formats, or cross platform search tools (such as Summon at University of Huddersfield). More of our users have the equipment to take advantage of these services each year, with mobile access to the internet soon expected to overtake fixed access. When a library user is as likely to search for information on a mobile phone, tablet or handheld
gaming device as on a fixed PC or in the physical library, will that change the concept of what it means to be information literate? How does mobile search change the discovery, evaluation and re-use of information?
We should consider how the concept of information literacy may be affected in this pervasive mobile context and whether we need to develop a new lens through which to view the literacies required by our clientele.
This paper will first consider the mobile context for information literacy. Then the presenters will compare and contrast their experiences in meeting and harnessing these devices in the delivery of Information Literacy in their own institutions, the University of Bedfordshire and University of Huddersfield in the UK."

You can see a pdf here

M-Libraries 2011 : Keynote: Stephen Abram

I have heard Stephen talk before but his was way the best : entertaining, challenging and in the end hard to keep up with! Here it is :

M libraries final

View more presentations from Stephen Abram

Back from Oz!

This has been the longest gap between posts-ever!
Most blogs which I follow are drying up a bit so I guess I am not unusual. However the main reason is that much of May I have been in Australia visiting and attending the RAILS seminar and M-Libraries Conference in Brisbane. I shall be posting about these as fast as I can.
The first presentation at M-Libraries I want to showcase was one I didnt even go to! It is by Sally Cummings, Julie Cartwright and others from Charles Darwin University, at Darwin. It is an excellent description of how they have used a treasure hunt to engage new users both on and off campus. The slides show uses of QR codes and how the treasure hunt helped to encourage the use of these. There are details of how effective they felt the hunt had been and pointers for the future.I particularly liked the plans for future use of QR codes there "Aim for high impact low cost.Linking physical spaces or items directly to associated electronic resources."A lot of the presentation resonated with our experience at University of Bedfordshire but there are some great tips which we can use too. Wish I had gone to this session and isnt Slideshare wonderful that we can all "attend" it now!

Exploring student engagement with mobile technologies at a regional university

View more presentations from Sally Cummings

Next is Now!

Another futuristic video which is useful as a discussion trigger.

They say
"Advancements in technology are quickly creating a mobile environment, and one that has students hooked. This isn't new news, but what's telling is that it's not stopping, or slowing down. The video you are about to see paints the real picture of how students are connecting more and more heavily with the digital world. They reap 24/7 access to all the information they could ever want, and enabling them to learn and absorb whatever information they choose. For education, what we fear we should prepare for is already here. In order to bring our students the information they need to take on unknown careers of the future, we have to discover now who they are, and what it is they are dealing with. We have to choose to participate, and openly share and collaborate with them. Yesterday was the day to be present, and this video will bring you more reason to believe that what is next is definitely now."

We've launched our Android App !

University of Bedfordshire Learning Resources now have our own Android app to help students and staff access our services from anywhere 24/7. How this will affect access and help us to get our Information Literacy message across better we shall have to wait and see. I am very excited by it. It will suit some students and if it reaches those who ignore us at the present, this will be really good news.

It features :

• Links to the Learning Resources website and Library Catalogue with full search facilities
• A subscription link to the uoblibrary Twitter feed
• Listings all of our 'Just a Minute' Library videos which you can watch on the go
• GPS 'Find a campus' to guide you to any of our campuses from wherever you are
• E-mail through the auto-enquiry function or call us directly to renew items and more.
• Compatible with all Android phones running version 1.6 and above

New students require new librarians

Just found a really interesting video via Dean Giustini's Search Principle blog where four High schoolers discuss how they use technology for communication, problems they have with traditional education, and how they learn best.
They speak of the convenience of texting; e-mail is for corresponding with teachers or your aunt; used to multi-tasking ; bored with lectures ; texting with th ephone that is like an extension of your arm ; you can learn via mobiles, text Google for definitions and social media helps "like to give us independence and freedom to learn".

So much of this we have read in other places but like the thing that stood out to me was like it was WHY do they have keep saying LIKE all the time? There were 78 LIKES in 6 minutes 18 seconds!
There's been a lot said about the Web generation not being able to write (I do n't really accept this - twitter can be a great way of making us succinct) but it's the way that they express themselves which I notice. At that point my grumpiness will cease.
I do- like- recommend the video!

How do they (even) do that?

Pew Internet guide to teens, mobile phones and social media. Here is a presentation about this report by Amanda Lenhart.
Here are her Final Thoughts

• Cell phones leap frog connectivity roadblocks for low income, minority teens and adults

• Teens and young adults are not monolithic – so a multi-pronged approach is prudent

• Changes suggest a move towards mobile…

• … but teens and young adults do not always embrace the newest thing

• Young adults know that you are watching, and are increasingly taking steps to manage their online reputations

"How do [they] even do that? A Pew Internet guide to teens, young adults, mobile phones and social media

View more presentations from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

LRC induction using iPod Touch and quizzes

Ashton Sixth Form College made this little video of their LRC induction with a group of sixth formers. Instead of the usual tour or talk, they used iPod Touch with quizzes.

It can be viewed via this link.

Mobile Literacy at Computers in Libraries

Another Prezi presentation ! Mobile Literacy : competencies for mobile tech, by Joe Murphy, Yale Science Libraries. I heard him speak in an online Mobile conference last year. These are his latest thoughts on how mobiles are affecting our services.

CIL2010 Mobile Literacy on Prezi

Mobile Reference : what are the questions?

Joan Lippincott (of Coalition for Networked Information) has a prepint version of an article here for Reference Librarian on a most topical subject.Here is the abstract :

"While many libraries are already offering some types of reference services geared to
users of mobile devices, they generally focus on the reference transaction and not on
some of the broader aspects of service, including availability of content for mobile
devices and relationship of the library’s services to mobile initiatives on campus. Asking
the right questions during the planning process can assist librarians in clarifying their
goals for the service, identifying units to work with on campus, and determining whether
the service is successful. This is a rapidly developing area and flexibility is key."

She asks : What is the current state of deployment of mobiles in your institution? What are your goals for providing services and what is your strategy? Who should you work with to take mobile reference forward? How do you measure success? What is your strategy for the next 2-3 years?

As normal with Joan's articles this is both a thought-provoking and practical short article.

Pic shows our LRC where I work, on a sunny day (like today).

ECAR Study 2009

The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and IT 2009 has been released.This longitudinal study is an important gauge of how student opinion and practice in the US.Based on responses from 115 instututions and 30,616 responses this year it has some credibility! There was an emphasis on handheld devices this year too.
They note that some sets of student beliefs and adoption patterns re. technology remain the same, even as technology races forward. They adopt technology at varying speeds, which means that the technology leaders "can provide a glimpse into what higher education can expect".
Use of Social networking sites (SNS)and texting has surged and instant messaging has declined.
Use of SNS 2006-2009 has trebled for the 30-39s and quadrupled for 40+
Use of Web 2.0 technologies, as in previous years, is not necessarily for academic reasons.
80% rate themselves very confident in their abaility to search the internet effectively and efficiently.Lower figures for evaluating reliability and credibility and ethical and legal issues, but still high. Technology innovators and early adopters rank their IL skills higher than other students.
51.2% had an internet capable handheld device, but 35.4% of these said they never use the feature.
Only 11.3% said they used mobiles for course-related work.
There is evidence of a revolution in progress as a quarter of respondents this year say they are using mobiles weekly or more to access the internet. As access costs come down this could increased dramatically . EDUCAUSE article The revolution no one noticed : mobile phones and multimobile services in HE by Alan Livingstone is well worth reading.
Despite all this there is a clear demand for personal interaction "real books and people" and this supports the agument that librarians should concentrate on personal branding and personal service.

Handheld Librarian Online Conference

This is my day off but last night I attended my first remote Conference and it was truly memorable. This is a holding post as I hope to post in more detail some time next week. I beleieve this was a historic conference not only because of the content but the means by which it was conducted.

With 477 attendees and so many twittering it featured as a trend on twitter!! The recent ALA Conference with thousands of attendees never managed that!! There were technical problems. I and some others couldn,t get a connection at the start of Gerry McKiernan's keynote. Half an hour of frustration! I sent a tweet about it and through this got the new URL and got in! All power to twitter again! As for following the Conference the discussion via twitter was awesome (not a word I usually employ!) and Tweetdeck was wonderful to follow it with. If you want to get samples of the discussion it is #hhlib on twitter.

It's hard to know where to start as there were so many interesting ideas and possible pointers to the future. When I post again I must remember that my focus is with IL and that may keep my enthusiasm under control!

I come away with a sense that mobiles are going to be essential for libraries to become involved with. Public libraries have a huge opportunity with e-books abd connecting with their users, but academia cannot ignore texting services.

Informal communication via mobiles has fuelled their mass adoption - question is how do libraries muscle in on this?

Tom Peters' main thrust was that we may be about to rethink our concept of place. We won't need to move around so much anymore (or "lug our guts around" as he calls it!)-which is just as well in the economic gloom. Ironically as we become less nomadic and cosmopolitan in our physical movements our local information and experience will be still global through the power of mobile devices.

I need some time out to think all this through and to catch up on the other presentations which I missed - that was another lesson - 6.5 hours of presentations with only tiny gaps in between is not good for anyone - staring at a screen, tweeting etc. - what about food and drink??

M-Libraries Conference, Vancouver, 23-24 June 2009

Many congratulations to the organisers of this second m-Libraries Conference. It was in many ways the best Conference I have ever attended. Over 120 delegates from all over the world in a stunning venue at University of British Columbia were treated to fine keynotes, a large array of parallel sessions, and excellent social events.

The opening keynote session (Lorcan Dempsey) and following plenaries on the first morning were held in the First Nation Hall with long tables - good for laptops, munching cookies and socialising. I am not going to give a long summary of these but only draw attention to points which interested me and I trust may interest you!

Lorcan Dempsey Vice-President and OCLC Research andChief Strategist, USA"Concentration, Connection, Diffusion:Mobilizing Library Services"

There will be greater investment in the economy in consumer space than in education which will mean users will be used to sophisticated services there and this will challenge us.

There will be a tension between personal learning environments and University VLEs.

Formerly we could expect student work to be around the library, because of our physical materials ; with an abundance of material online how do our sources fit into their learning and communication?

He thinks mobile communbication is more about communicxation than about mobility.

Mentioned the Nokia strapline "Our promise is to help people feel close to what is important to them".

Mobiles can be a good fit for Web generation ways of communication. They provide a sfaety net, and allow incremental social contact (e.g.husband ringing from supermarket for instructions...)

The idea of the institutional web site being prime model of delivery and browser as primary consumption environment is increasingly partial.

Content is being atomised - able to be cut up, tailored and consumed. (eg BBC has invested much into this with RSS feeds to parts of its output.)

Atomisation also means use of snippets, ringtones, tags, ratings, feeds and abstracts.

To get the attention of groups a site needs to rate, relate, recommend. He thinks people are action-oriented and want to vote and give opinions.

Importance of time-shifting - in a survey at University of Bristol great support for ability to timeshift lectures so could use later.

On the use of space he mentioned a recent Economist article that said there was a "rise in demand for semi-public spaces that can be informally appropriated to ad hoc work spaces" (Take note libraries)

Challenge to libraries is to make themselves invisible, by delivering services into user workflows in a networked environment. Yet we need to be more visible. FBk and Twitter show importance of people to follow.

Libraries and persons working there need to have a signed network presence and not hide people. Libraries dont advertise their expertise enough! Our network presence is too anonymous. Put pics on Twitter, have Top Recommendations as part of a site.

Ken Banks Founder of kiwanja.net, UK, "Where Books Are Few: The Role of Mobile Phones in the Developing World"

An inspirational speaker who drew attention to the potential role of mobiles in the 3rd World. Users here need short bursts of actionable information, rather than the Web to browse.

Carie Page Programme Coordinator forthe EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, USA "Anytime, Anywhere: Reaching the Always-On Generation through Mobility"

This was a high energy presentation which I struggled to keep up with. E-mail is for old people apparently(!!) She believed students want to create their own information environments - do we help them or let them get on with it?

Great supporter of Twitter - idea of using timed tweets - same time each week.

Rent out Kindles.

Use vokis on your site - this was a new one for me - which I must follow up.

It is good to help convergence of tools like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube if we want to keep the attention of our users.

She mentioned some myths

"If you ban our technology, we'll simply stop using it" (they'll get round it)

"If we build it, we will come" (need to bring them in)

"We're a bunch of techno-geeks" (much more mixed)

"We want to be your friend on Facebook" (try and see)

Paul Nelson NHS Choices, Department ofHealth, UK - "Partnerships for Community Health Improvement Through MobileDevices"

NHS Choices has the ability to inform, signpost and empower individually.Most who use it come via Google rather than the front door of the site. It is a strong and trusted brand. Mobile usage is desirable because mobiles are ubiquitous. They want to change behaviour, improve knowledge and self perception.

NHS Choices drnk less is an example of an iPhone app.

Joan Lippincott Associate Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information, USA - "Why m-Libraries? Making the Case for Innovation"

To make the case in our libraries we have to make mobiles a higher priority. We have to :

1.Respond to our user community's work style. See mobiles as information devices ; many Univs now on iTunesU ; researchers use mobiles for data collection ; Nielsen shows 52% increase in mobile subscribers using video on a mobile 2008-9 ; ECAR 66% of students have internet capable phones, but most dont use it yet for this.THis will change and depends on the pay structure.

2. Extend what we've always done into new areas for mobiles :

Google Bk Search, OCLC Cat search

Duke University image collection

IL podcasts ; QR codes for IL tutorials ; West Illinois University University Text me services on YouTube.

3. Get a seat at the table re. policy in the University.

In decisions like which platform, who decides, who does technical support, who selects licences.

The m-Libraries Conference site will soon have all the presentations for these and the parallel sessions.

Mobiles are everywhere

While going round the remarkable Banksy exhibition which is on at the Bristol Museum this weekend I came upon this wonderful spoof! I shall have to use it in presentations. For those who haven't come across the work of this anonymous iconoclastic grafitti artist : he may come from Bristol, has travelled all over the world and produced street art and much else. The exhibition at Bristol, which is free contains paintings, drawings, sculpture (some of which are mobile!)