2006 A digital literacy trial within the city libraries

A digital literacy trial within the city libraries

IANIS+ Annual conference

Ronneby, June 15th, 20006

Eleonora Pantò

Elearning in the library 2

Summary

• Overview Elearning in Turin libraries• Partners• Project requirements and phases• Course design• Social environment• Measuring and evaluating• Future developments


Overview: eLearning in city libraries

• AIM: to give the people accessing the libraries the opportunity to fill their digital gap

• Public libraries play a role of fundamental importance

• The municipality of Turin started an experimentation of blended elearning

• Managed by the KEILab


Mission of Public Libraries

[...] • promoting dialog and cultural diversity;

• ensuring access for citizens to all sorts of community information;

• facilitating the development of information and computer literacy skills;

• supporting and participating in literacy activities and programmes for all age groups, and initiating such activities if necessary.

(UNESCO/IFLA Public Library Manifesto)


Project Objectives

• extending the educational services offered by the Public Library System (SBU) of Turin

• the reduction of the “Digital Divide“ and the increase of digital literacy among the population, expecially disadvantaged and living in peripherical discricts people of the city.


Project phases

• Identify an adeguate opensource LMS solution

• Implemet a trial course about basic use of PC and office application

• Organize a “pilot course” with on site support

• Deliver the course• Evaluate data and problems


Project Partners

The project is coordinated by Turin Public Library System

In partnership with KEILAB


Sistema Bibliotecario Urbano di Torino

• the Central Public Library, • the network-center, • 15 branch libraries• 4 service points in public offices • 2 Prison libraries.• 4 multimedia classrooms• Documents : 1.318.324• Periodicals (Current Titles): 3.268• Lendings: 761.268• Visits: 1.250.377


KEILab

• A research project based on agreement between CSP and Turin University (Education Sciences Department, LIASES-Faculty of Economics)

is focused on:- elearning tools and methodologies, - collaborative work, - digital communities and knowledge

management- Open source software


Project Requirements

The project was specially intended to support:

• Unemployed people in seek of professional retraining

• Elder people • Foreign people looking for professional

training and language support• People with various levels of disability

Requirements: opensource, multilingual support and usability accessibility


Platform Selection

Atutor (www.atutor.ca)Developed by the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre of the University of Toronto, Canada.

Atutor (www.atutor.ca)Developed by the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre of the University of Toronto, Canada.

Claroline (www.claroline.net)Developed by the University of Louvain. Belgium.

Claroline (www.claroline.net)Developed by the University of Louvain. Belgium.

Moodle (www.moodle.org)Developed by Martin Dougiamas

Moodle (www.moodle.org)Developed by Martin Dougiamas


Selection results

The selected LMS was Atutor.

1. Accessibility2.Test and self evalution tools 3.Compliance to sector

standards4.Multilingual support


Course design

• Narrow user-base: limited to 30 students

• Restricted Access• Face to face tutoring• Digital Literacy - related content• Fixed temporal span• Trasmissive (instructionist)

approach to learning


Social environment of the project

First phase: may-june 2005 in Mirafiori outskirt

Second phase: october-november 2005 in Mirafiori and Borgo Po outskirt


Data gathering - Questionnaires

• Before: to evaluate competence, motivations, area of interests as well as age, gender and occupational info

• After: to analyze the satisfaction level, their impressions, suggestions and remarks.


Measuring and evalutating

Measure and evaluate• the platform suitability• the contents• the participation• the satifaction of the participants


Measuring and evaluating - participation

• 25 participants completed the courses

• Younger than expected (43 years old)• Level of education higher than

expected (secondary school)• Few retired and unemployed people,

no immigrants• No competences in using PC• Motivation for learning: self

development (15 on 25)


Measuring and evaluating - satisfaction

• The course was considered useful enough

• Didactical objectives were quite reached

• The effectiveness of the course was defined as not so satisfactory


Measuring and evaluating - satisfaction

• The course was considered enough useful

• Didactical objectives were quite reached

• The effectiveness of the course was defined not so satisfactory


Measuring and evaluating – the course

• The Atutor LMS was used without problems

• The mood in the classroom was positive

• The didactical contents were succefully achieved

• The onsite tutoring was considered very positively


Future developments

This first experimental phase will be completed shortly with the production of a final report about the experience.

A second phases is going to start with the production of contents related to the city and the services available especially devoted toimmigrants and non-EU citizens.


Contacts

[email protected]: epanto

CSP innovazione nelle ICTSede via Livorno 60 - 10144 TorinoEdificio Laboratori A1Tel +39 011 4815111Fax +39 011 4815001E-mail: [email protected] sede operativaVilla Gualino - Viale Settimio Severo 6310133 Torino

www.csp.it