Sunday, January 30, 2011
Discovering Information Literacy
Johnson, Anna Marie. “Library instruction and information literacy.” Reference Services Review. Vol. 31, Issue 4. Date: 2003 Pages: 385-418.
This article is a list, then a minuscule review of each, of all articles the author found that discuss information literacy. Her article is a singularly useful tool that categorizes articles and scholarly discourse by the type of library the work discussed. I chose to read about public libraries in New Zealand and then chose an article about special libraries, discovering that this article was about Australia. Apparently my post will have a very "Down Under" feel to it--unintentionally so, I promise.
Koning, A. (2001), “Information Literacy in New Zealand public libraries”, New Zealand Libraries, Vol.49 No.5, pp 174-9.
O’Sullivan, Carmel. “Is Information Literacy relevant in the real world?” Reference Services Review; 2002; 30, 1.
Both of these articles were written in 2001 and clearly, in the beginning of the new century, these librarians noted libraries were focused on information literacy (IL): how to define it, how to teach it, and to whom to teach it. Koning discusses the results of a survey of the majority of New Zealand public libraries that queried them about their IL practices. O'Sullivan takes the topic to a very practical place: outside the library's hallowed stacks. When the articles are read together, I discovered that the larger libraries have more programs in place to teach IL (big shock, right?) and that they were much more likely to have formed some kind of partnership with outside businesses. O'Sullivan firmly preaches that businesses could greatly benefit teaching their workers how to manage information effectively and search for it quickly; he contends that he and his fellow librarians should be the teachers because they are the most well-equipped resource in the public sphere to do so.
I was quite glad to see an article about learner or user education that took the context outside of libraries. My goal, as a public librarian, is not to teach the high school student how to navigate a database simply so he can get that dreadful term paper written. No, I think all of us, whether academic librarians, school media specialists or special librarians are to teach our patrons skills that contribute to their "life-long learning," a term used by both Koning and O'Sullivan.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
All About Online Modules, Designing Effective Workshops & My 2 Cents
After doing the readings, I felt primarily, that this is some good stuff! Finally, a class that teaches us practical applications for our libraries. (I know that it is the essential purpose of the class but 501 purported to teach us practical business tools too and...well you know.)
Back to the subject at hand: these readings were very practical. It sounded as though Yelinek et al (the grad students who developed an online tutorial for Missouri) actually applied the ADDIE design model while conducting their research, though they did not not name their research process explicitly as such. It is a very common-sense, pragmatic and useful model. I think that in terms of online modules, ADDIE could be used to design those as well as the "one-stop workshops."
My greatest experience with online modules comes from doing the GCN (Global Compliance Network) modules (on blood-borne pathogens, AIDS/HIV awareness, First Aid in Schools, allergy management, etc.) as the essential training to become a substitute teacher. These series of tutorials, combined with quizzes at the end to text your knowledge (and ensure you did the darn thing), were much more useful than spending the day or evening stuck in a training center learning how to properly wash one's hands over and over again. Like Johnston noted, one of the great benefits of online modules is that they allow the learner to proceed at his or her own pace. We all can probably recall a time when we either felt rushed through material or held back in a class or workshop as the teacher tried to assist learners at their pace, not yours.
While doing these readings and recalling my experiences, I started to wonder if online modules could be used to teach classroom discipline for substitute teachers -- something that is badly needed for most of us. However, upon further reflection, I decided in this case it would be best to have day-long instruction with scenarios or such for groups to work out and discuss with other teachers the best methods for different ages, etc. I don't think classroom discipline could be taught effectively via an online module.
Back to the subject at hand: these readings were very practical. It sounded as though Yelinek et al (the grad students who developed an online tutorial for Missouri) actually applied the ADDIE design model while conducting their research, though they did not not name their research process explicitly as such. It is a very common-sense, pragmatic and useful model. I think that in terms of online modules, ADDIE could be used to design those as well as the "one-stop workshops."
My greatest experience with online modules comes from doing the GCN (Global Compliance Network) modules (on blood-borne pathogens, AIDS/HIV awareness, First Aid in Schools, allergy management, etc.) as the essential training to become a substitute teacher. These series of tutorials, combined with quizzes at the end to text your knowledge (and ensure you did the darn thing), were much more useful than spending the day or evening stuck in a training center learning how to properly wash one's hands over and over again. Like Johnston noted, one of the great benefits of online modules is that they allow the learner to proceed at his or her own pace. We all can probably recall a time when we either felt rushed through material or held back in a class or workshop as the teacher tried to assist learners at their pace, not yours.
While doing these readings and recalling my experiences, I started to wonder if online modules could be used to teach classroom discipline for substitute teachers -- something that is badly needed for most of us. However, upon further reflection, I decided in this case it would be best to have day-long instruction with scenarios or such for groups to work out and discuss with other teachers the best methods for different ages, etc. I don't think classroom discipline could be taught effectively via an online module.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Thoughts on the readings for Week 1, Part II
How People Learn...
My initial reaction to this reading was honestly: "I'm not an education major and I don't plan on being the type of librarian (whatever that type is) that constantly teaches children so why on earth am I reading this?"
However, upon continued reading I suppose that learning how people learn, for students come in all ages and sizes, as do patrons, is good for librarians. We are supposed to assess the needs of the community and we couldn't do that without being aware of what they want to learn. If we learn tools that help us determine what it is that our patrons want and need to learn, plus tools that can help us determine the the best way to teach them how to discover the knowledge or information they are seeking, then we will be very good librarians indeed.
As a young student I cannot recall when I was instructed using a "meta-cognitive approach" until my undergraduate days, aside from 3 Advanced Placement classes in high school. If this approach was introduced gradually from, say, 6th grade on across all subjects, I think today's schools would have a much higher rate of graduates attending college. The idea of monitoring your own thinking as you learn and experiment in school is taken for granted at the college level, but not elsewhere, which is a shame.
The last technology class I was enrolled in was, no surprise here, SI 502. The focus was definitely on novice-level growth; we were told several times we weren't expected to master Python or HTML but to have a basic grasp of the core concepts. Professor Chuck promoted expert-level growth by engaging our interest in all things computer-related, from the Internet to making computer programs look "pretty." His enthusiasm for his discipline can be infectious. Also, he shamelessly plugs his higher-level courses, which helps promote interest in attaining expert-level knowledge.
To connect the section on "Adaptive Expertise" with my experiences in SI 501, I shall have to put aside my negative reactions to the instruction I received in that class. In terms of working with clients, we were definitely novices and we accepted the problem as stated by the client, and, to an extent, even considered solutions recommended by the client. Approaching the class, confident that we were novices and definitely not experts allowed us the freedom to ask questions and challenge ourselves more than if we had assumed we would come up with the right answers directly at the beginning.
The best part of these readings was the concept stated at the end of Chapter 2: "In short, students need to develop the ability to teach themselves." I wholeheartedly agree with that statement and think our role as librarians, ought to supplement what educators teach in all schools for all ages, and help those students discover the best methods of finding the information they are seeking.
My initial reaction to this reading was honestly: "I'm not an education major and I don't plan on being the type of librarian (whatever that type is) that constantly teaches children so why on earth am I reading this?"
However, upon continued reading I suppose that learning how people learn, for students come in all ages and sizes, as do patrons, is good for librarians. We are supposed to assess the needs of the community and we couldn't do that without being aware of what they want to learn. If we learn tools that help us determine what it is that our patrons want and need to learn, plus tools that can help us determine the the best way to teach them how to discover the knowledge or information they are seeking, then we will be very good librarians indeed.
As a young student I cannot recall when I was instructed using a "meta-cognitive approach" until my undergraduate days, aside from 3 Advanced Placement classes in high school. If this approach was introduced gradually from, say, 6th grade on across all subjects, I think today's schools would have a much higher rate of graduates attending college. The idea of monitoring your own thinking as you learn and experiment in school is taken for granted at the college level, but not elsewhere, which is a shame.
The last technology class I was enrolled in was, no surprise here, SI 502. The focus was definitely on novice-level growth; we were told several times we weren't expected to master Python or HTML but to have a basic grasp of the core concepts. Professor Chuck promoted expert-level growth by engaging our interest in all things computer-related, from the Internet to making computer programs look "pretty." His enthusiasm for his discipline can be infectious. Also, he shamelessly plugs his higher-level courses, which helps promote interest in attaining expert-level knowledge.
To connect the section on "Adaptive Expertise" with my experiences in SI 501, I shall have to put aside my negative reactions to the instruction I received in that class. In terms of working with clients, we were definitely novices and we accepted the problem as stated by the client, and, to an extent, even considered solutions recommended by the client. Approaching the class, confident that we were novices and definitely not experts allowed us the freedom to ask questions and challenge ourselves more than if we had assumed we would come up with the right answers directly at the beginning.
The best part of these readings was the concept stated at the end of Chapter 2: "In short, students need to develop the ability to teach themselves." I wholeheartedly agree with that statement and think our role as librarians, ought to supplement what educators teach in all schools for all ages, and help those students discover the best methods of finding the information they are seeking.
Thoughts on the readings for Week 1, Part I
ALA's Core Competencies of Librarianship
http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/corecompetences/finalcorecompstat09.pdf
Two areas I felt should be of utmost priority for today's librarians were the section "Continuing Education & Lifelong Learning" and a corollary under the section "Administration & Management" that reads as follows: "The concepts behind, and methods for, developing partnerships, collaborations, networks, and other structures with all stakeholders and within communities served."
I firmly believe the librarians should attend conferences, seminars, workshops, etc to continue their professional education and broaden the depth of their knowledge in this field. Too often, I have encountered public librarians who do not know how to access a particular website, search engine, or the like on the computer or that have never heard of social media resources. These are a few of the latest advances in information resources that current librarians, some who have been in the field for decades, are simply unprepared to access or lack the know-how to do so. Public librarians must at least keep up with technological advances and those generations who know of them. Educators in the schools have been coming to terms with this fact in the last decade and slowly, schools are catching up. Librarians (even those outside of schools) are also, in a way, educators and teachers. We must keep up with our students and ideally, be one step ahead in anticipating their needs and informational wants.
In terms of collaborating with communities, I do not think this competency can be stressed enough for librarians. From a purely financial standpoint, the community is a large source of the budget for a library. If a community feels that its library is going above and beyond in meeting the community's needs, that community might be more likely to vote yes on a millage increase to keep the library solvent. If you constantly are meeting with community leaders and interacting with the community, especially in the area of outreach, your library will be considerably aware of the community's information needs and, hopefully, the best way to meet them.If you develop partnerships with other members of the community, say a local bookstore where you start a used book exchange or something equally beneficial , you can increase the resources of your library at little cost. Collaborating with other libraries, beyond the traditionally thought of ILL system, will also increase the library's resources and boost the knowledge of your librarians who interact with other librarians across the state, country, or even globe. The constant exchange of ideas, innovations, and resources will benefit both partners in such a collaboration.
Overall the core competencies set out by the ALA for librarianship seem rather ambiguous and conceptual. I would have liked to see concrete examples of each statement of a necessary competency. I found it interesting that many of the SI (LIS) classes seem to revolve around a particular clump of competencies. For example, a librarian must be competent in "the systems of cataloging, metadata, indexing and classification standards and methods used to organize recorded knowledge and information." SI offers a class on cataloging that I imagine teaches us just that. There is also a reference to collection management, which SI also offers a specific class on.
The main question I had while reviewing this list was in regards to the very first competency, which reminds librarians to be competent in the "ethics, values...of the library...profession." To discover said ethics and values I searched the ALA website and found myself on a goose chase to nail down exactly what it was I am supposed to value and keep sacred as a librarian. I'm still wading through said materials:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/corevaluesstatement/corevalues.cfm
http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/corecompetences/finalcorecompstat09.pdf
Two areas I felt should be of utmost priority for today's librarians were the section "Continuing Education & Lifelong Learning" and a corollary under the section "Administration & Management" that reads as follows: "The concepts behind, and methods for, developing partnerships, collaborations, networks, and other structures with all stakeholders and within communities served."
I firmly believe the librarians should attend conferences, seminars, workshops, etc to continue their professional education and broaden the depth of their knowledge in this field. Too often, I have encountered public librarians who do not know how to access a particular website, search engine, or the like on the computer or that have never heard of social media resources. These are a few of the latest advances in information resources that current librarians, some who have been in the field for decades, are simply unprepared to access or lack the know-how to do so. Public librarians must at least keep up with technological advances and those generations who know of them. Educators in the schools have been coming to terms with this fact in the last decade and slowly, schools are catching up. Librarians (even those outside of schools) are also, in a way, educators and teachers. We must keep up with our students and ideally, be one step ahead in anticipating their needs and informational wants.
In terms of collaborating with communities, I do not think this competency can be stressed enough for librarians. From a purely financial standpoint, the community is a large source of the budget for a library. If a community feels that its library is going above and beyond in meeting the community's needs, that community might be more likely to vote yes on a millage increase to keep the library solvent. If you constantly are meeting with community leaders and interacting with the community, especially in the area of outreach, your library will be considerably aware of the community's information needs and, hopefully, the best way to meet them.If you develop partnerships with other members of the community, say a local bookstore where you start a used book exchange or something equally beneficial , you can increase the resources of your library at little cost. Collaborating with other libraries, beyond the traditionally thought of ILL system, will also increase the library's resources and boost the knowledge of your librarians who interact with other librarians across the state, country, or even globe. The constant exchange of ideas, innovations, and resources will benefit both partners in such a collaboration.
Overall the core competencies set out by the ALA for librarianship seem rather ambiguous and conceptual. I would have liked to see concrete examples of each statement of a necessary competency. I found it interesting that many of the SI (LIS) classes seem to revolve around a particular clump of competencies. For example, a librarian must be competent in "the systems of cataloging, metadata, indexing and classification standards and methods used to organize recorded knowledge and information." SI offers a class on cataloging that I imagine teaches us just that. There is also a reference to collection management, which SI also offers a specific class on.
The main question I had while reviewing this list was in regards to the very first competency, which reminds librarians to be competent in the "ethics, values...of the library...profession." To discover said ethics and values I searched the ALA website and found myself on a goose chase to nail down exactly what it was I am supposed to value and keep sacred as a librarian. I'm still wading through said materials:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/corevaluesstatement/corevalues.cfm
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