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.

Latest Head and Eisenberg research

How college students use the Web to conduct everyday life research in First Monday, is the latest piece of research by Alison Head and Michael Eisenberg. (Project Information Literacy PIL).
Here is the abstract
"This paper reports on college students’ everyday life information–seeking behavior and is based on findings from 8,353 survey respondents on 25 U.S. college campuses. A large majority of respondents had looked for news and, to a slightly lesser extent, decision–making information about purchases and health and wellness within the previous six mont

Publish Post

hs. Almost all the respondents used search engines, though students planning to purchase something were more likely to use search engines, and those looking for spiritual information were least likely to use search engines. Despite the widespread use of search engines, the process of filtering relevant from non–relevant search results was reportedly the most difficult part of everyday life research. As a whole, these students used a hybrid information–seeking strategy for meeting their everyday life information needs, turning to search engines almost as much as they did to friends and family. A preliminary theory is introduced that describes the relationship between students’ evaluation practices and their risk–associated searches."

Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century

This occasional paper "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century" is by Henry Jenkins (MIT) and others. It is published by the MacArthur Foundation and springs from their major initiative in 2006 to investigate how young people are being affected by digital technologies to learn, play, socialise and participate in civic life.

It talks a lot about a participatory cultures.

To quote :

"Some have argued that children and youth acquire these key skills and competencies on their
own by interacting with popular culture.Three concerns, however, suggest the need for policy
and pedagogical interventions:
The Participation Gap — the unequal access to the opportunities, experiences, skills, and
knowledge that will prepare youth for full participation in the world of tomorrow.
The Transparency Problem — The challenges young people face in learning to see
clearly the ways that media shape perceptions of the world.
The Ethics Challenge — The breakdown of traditional forms of professional training and
socialization that might prepare young people for their increasingly public roles as media
makers and community participants."

It's a useful document for anyone researching how the present generation learn and for explaining the challenges we face in supporting them.

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."

John Palfrey: Rethinking Plagiarism in the Digital Age?

Plagiarism is such a hot topic and John Palfrey (co-author of Born Digital : understanding the first generation of Digital Natives.) features in an interview on the Project for Information Literacy (PIL) site here.

He says "we need to find ways to give students a finer-grained understanding of what plagiarism means in the information context in which they are growing up. My view is that we start with first principles."

It's quite a short but interesting read.

How the internet is altering your mind

John Harris wrote an interesting article in the Guardian (see here) recently following a look at a forthcoming book called "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr. Is the extensive use of the internet affecting our brans? Or our ability to think deeply? Worth having a read.
I tend to agree with comments from Professor Andrew Burn of University of London Institute of Education"Temporary synaptic rewiring happens whenever anybody learns anything," he says. "I'm learning a musical instrument at the moment, and I can feel my synapses rewiring themselves, but it's just a biological mechanism. " (Yes!! so that's why I am finding it so hard learning to play the organ at the moment reading two bass lines, one for feet and one for left hand...")

No link between social media and student grades

Predictors and Consequences of Differentiated Social Network Site Usage is a report by Eszter Hargittai and Yu-Li Patrick Hsieh, published in Information Communication and Society, 13(4) June 2010, 515-536.

There is a useful commentary of the report on Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning blog.
Here is the abstract :
"Applying a typology of social network site (SNS) usage that takes into consideration the intensity with which people use such sites, this piece offers an empirical investigation of how users' social practices on SNSs differ and whether different levels of engagement have consequences for academic performance. We rely on a unique survey-based data set representing a diverse group of young adults to answer these questions. We find, not surprisingly, that the more intense users of such sites engage in more social activities on SNSs than those who spend less time on them and only use one such site. This finding holds both in the realm of stronger-tie activities and weaker-tie activities, that is social practices involving one's close friends as well as less established ties. Our analyses suggest gender difference in level of engagement with SNS social practices. Women pursue more stronger-tie activities than men, such as interacting with existing friends. In contrast, women engage in fewer weaker-tie activities than men, such as developing new relationships on such sites. However, neither SNS usage intensity nor social practices performed on these sites are systematically related to students' academic performance, findings that challenge some previous claims to the contrary. "

Trust Online: Young Adults’ Evaluation of Web Content

Trust Online: Young Adults’ Evaluation of Web content by E.Hargitti, L.Fullerton, E.Menchen-Trevino and K.Y.Thomasi of Northwestern University, is an important article. Net Gen Skeptic blog comments on how this article draws upon user research at that University into how their students evaluate web content.It throws further doubt onto claims made by such as Tapscott and Prensky that the digital natives know instinctively how to assess what they find.They conclude :

"As our findings show, students are not always turning to the most relevant cues to determine the credibility of online content. Accordingly, initiatives that help educate
people in this domain – whether in formal or informal settings – could play an important role in achieving an informed Internet citizenry."

Web 2.0 in the classroom? Dilemmas and opportunities inherent in adolescent Web 2.0 engagement

Sandy Schuck, Peter Aubusson, and Matthew Kearney of the University of Technology, Sydney have written an interesting paper on Web 2.0 in the classroom and adolescent attitudes to engagement with Web 2.0.
"Young people are increasingly active Web 2.0 users, and their interactions through these technologies are altering their social identities, styles of learning, and exchanges with
others around the world. The paper argues for more research to
investigate this phenomenon through the use of virtual ethnography and
identifies the ethical challenges that lie therein. It raises questions for
school education and presents an argument for studying the area in
culturally sensitive ways that privilege adolescents’ voices."

Teaching Strategies for the Net Generation

This article by Ronald A. Berk of John Hopkins University is worth a read. The author acknowledges the limitations of a wide brush approach but still "acknowledging those limitations, I still think there is legitimacy to suggesting a set of characteristics and cultural trends derived from sound scientific research that can guide future teaching practices for faculty." When I was at London South Bank we had a Learning and Teaching Day and we had the pleasure of hearing Professor Berk speak. It was a name I could not forget.

Pic is of student group at Luton in our Library some years ago. I wonder how different they were?

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.

The Future of Publishing

Came across this really clever little video : its about what the Web Genaeration may or may not think about published stuff. Originally done for internal use by Dorling Kindersley Books. Glad they have shared it because it's a good conversation trigger.

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.

Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World

This JISC report from an Independent Committee of Inquiry into the impact on HE of students' widespread use of Web 2.0 is out. Here is the summary, and here is the full report.

As I expected they do not paint a uniform picture of the Web generation as multi gadget-owning and tech savvy. This kind of view went out with the CIBER report. There is still some evidence of digital divides in access to, engagement with, capability of the technology, as well as individual ability.

The importance of the learning experience at school keeps recurring. Methods of delivery encountered there are likely to be what is expected in HE. The report draws heavily on evidence from the JISC Great Expectations and Great Expectations of ICT studies. Present day students value face-to-face delivery and are not pushing for changes in traditional approaches. However if school practices do begin to change (use of Web 2.0 delivery) then this will present a challenge to HE, not just in continuing their experience from school to HE but also in providing challenge and development.

At present use of Web 2.0 is patchy in HE and tends to be driven from the bottom up. Web 2.0 technology has not yet been fully exploited for student learning yet. As this develops in HE it will challenge some students who expect traditional delivery. Surely the role of HE is to challenge and provide opportunities for adapting - that's what tomorrow's students will require. This is where the usefulness of Web 2.0 for supporting constructivist educational practice comes into play.

The report notes concerns about lack of systematic information searching; the user being impressed with speed of access, huge information available and power browsing. None of this is new to readers of the CIBER report and subsequent investigations at University College London. It is good to see this important report saying for prior experience of HE learners :
"Information literacies – including searching, retrieving and critically evaluating information from a range of appropriate sources and also attributing it – represent a significant and growing deficit area."
and finally recommends :
"HEIs, colleges and schools treat information literacies as a priority area and support all students so that they are able, amongst other things, to identify, search, locate, retrieve and, especially, critically evaluate information from the range of appropriate sources – web-based and other – and organise and use it effectively, attributed as necessary, in an appropriate medium".

This report supports what we are doing in HE but challenges us to improve what is done in schools and smooth the transition into higher education.

Is the web generation changing your world?

This little video on YouTube by Don Tapscott starts off with all the usual sterotypes that are often mentioned about the web generation (that they're only interested in MySpace and are dumbing things down).Then it leads on to his research, which shows a rather different picture and his book "Grown up digital". The video could be useful as a prompt for discussions.

New Pew Generations Report

Pew Generations online 2009 report
"Over half of the adult internet population is between 18 and 44 years old. But larger percentages of older generations are online now than in the past, and they are doing more activities online, according to surveys taken from 2006-2008.
Contrary to the image of Generation Y as the "Net Generation," internet users in their 20s do not dominate every aspect of online life. Generation X is the most likely group to bank, shop, and look for health information online. Boomers are just as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online. And even Silent Generation internet users are competitive when it comes to email (although teens might point out that this is proof that email is for old people)."

Pew Report on Generations online in 2009

Interesting stuff from latest Pew survey in the USA :

Over half of the adult internet population is between 18 and 44 years old. But larger percentages of older generations are online now than in the past, and they are doing more activities online, according to surveys taken from 2006-2008.
Contrary to the image of Generation Y as the "Net Generation," internet users in their 20s do not dominate every aspect of online life. Generation X is the most likely group to bank, shop, and look for health information online. Boomers are just as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online. And even Silent Generation internet users are competitive when it comes to email (although teens might point out that this is proof that email is for old people).

More myths about the digital native

Chris Betcher from Sydney, Australia has put an interesting critique of Marc Prensky's Digital Native and Immigrant idea on his blog Betchablog. He says :
"The Natives vs Immigrants concept serves as a neat, tidy metaphor that is useful on a basic level to help understand some of the differences between Gen-Y and those who grew up in the primitive pre-Google world. However, the problem with the metaphor is that while it’s neat and tidy, it is demonstrably wrong on so many levels."
He cites a class of 16-17 year olds "They know how to search Google … badly. They mostly use single words for searches and click on the first or second result on the first page of results, assuming that the top result must be what they were looking for. They are mostly unaware of any other search tool besides Google." He sees them having a functional literacy in a small set of popular online tools rather than being digital natives.
Of course, after using other examples, he suggests it is far more complex than just age.Maybe the really techie ones are the freaks!

He concludes "Perhaps we need a greater meeting of the minds. Instead of thinking in terms of us and them - natives and immigrants - maybe we need to value the qualities that both parties bring to the table - combining the fearless sense of exploration of our natives with the wisdom and experience of our immigrants - and work harder on teaching and learning from each other, regardless of age, so that we all live happily ever after in this shared digital land of ours."

A really thoughtful post.

Digital Consumer - Our Customers of the Future

This was the title of the CILIP ISG one day event at CILIP HQ in London on 13th November,where I was invited to speak. Ian Rowlands spoke first about the "Information Behaviour of the Researchers of the Future". Having quoted his work so many times it was great to hear him speak for over an hour about the findings of the research at University College London.I loved the analogies he made with eating radishes : are they really hot now, or have our perception of how hot they are changed? Was Len Hutton a better batsman than Geoff Boycott? How can we be objective when viewing different generations? I am sure that I have tended to overestimate the differences between generations, and the CIBER report has indeed pushed aside many myths about the "Google generation". So there is much more continuation with past generations and difference is more about individuals. There is a group in the Google generation age group who are digital dissidents. It was interesting to hear him say that libraries do not give clear enough maps of their e services, compared to a supermarket. He challenged me really to choose between redesigning the systems or redesigning the users.
I then presented "Using Web 2.0 to help the Millennials" which is on SlideShare.

Cilip08

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: information literacy)

In the afternoon Clive Izard and Roderic Parker from British Library updated us on initiatives taken there. I was particularly stunned by the quality and adaptability of the Online Gallery Turning the Pages versions of famous books.

Juanita Foster-Jones then told us about "Beyond Google" the new Information Literacy course TU120 at Open University. One of the lecturers there who took the course said " I refer to it constantly and have done all sorts with my students online and at day schools. That course changed my life! :-) and this is no exaggeration...All my students are delicious'ing away now".
I felt it was a very informative day and thanks should go to ISG for arranging it.