DR JANE SECKERLONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Information literacy, e-learning and the changing role of the

librarian

University of Sheffield, i School guest lecture13th March 2014

My role

Copyright and Digital Literacy Advisor at LSEBased in Centre for Learning Technology (part

of Information Management and Technology)Work closely with colleagues in LSE LibraryAdvise staff about copyright and e-learningRun workshops for staff and PhD students:

digital literacyInvolved in information literacy initiatives for

students: courses, online support, Student Ambassador project

How did I get here?

My background: librarian and e-learning specialist, PhD in information science / history

Worked in academic, government, museum libraries for the past 13 years

Involved in research projects: JISC, HEA Publications and conferences Regularly use Twitter (@jsecker) Maintain a few blogs!

What else?

Professional involvement: CILIP Information Literacy Group, Editor of Journal of Information Literacy, co-founder of LILAC Conference

Member of UUK Copyright Working Group, Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance

Member of the Research Information and Digital Literacy Coalition

Completed LSE’s PGCert in Teaching in Higher Education – HEA Fellow

Arcadia Fellow at Wolfson College Cambridge, 2011

Information literacy and the librarian

What does information literacy mean to you? Do you think it’s important for all libraries or just

academic libraries?

What is information literacy in practice? Are librarians teachers / trainers? Is information literacy new or something librarians

have always done?

What do I mean by information literacy?

“Digital fluency”

“Information literacy empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information

effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals.

“It is a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion in all nations.”

UNESCO (2005) Alexandria Proclamation

A New Curriculum for Information Literacy

Undertook research to develop a curriculum for information for undergraduates of the future

Methodology - expert consultation / literature review

Different to SCONUL 7 pillars and ACRL Standards – it’s a curriculum but also an approach to IL

Designed to be flexible, adaptable, modular, embedded into programmes of study

Not aimed just a librarians but at all educatorsFind out more from

http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com

ANCIL definition of Information Literacy

Information literacy is a continuum of skills, behaviours, approaches and values that is so deeply entwined with the uses of information as to be a fundamental element

of learning, scholarship and research.

It is the defining characteristic of the discerning scholar, the informed and judicious citizen, and the

autonomous learner.

ANCIL definition of information literacy (2011)

ANCIL in practice

The curriculum covers functional skills up to high-level intellectual operations

Information literacy sessions can incorporate multiple strands but should be active, reflective, relevant to student needs

Many resources on ANCIL website At LSE we used the curriculum to audit provision for

information literacy across the institution Undergraduate support at LSE: the ANCIL report Paper presented at LSE Teaching, Learning and

Assessment committee that was endorsed in Feb 2013Pilots underway and interest from several LSE

departments in embedding IL in their programmes

Information literacy at LSE

A wide range of workshops provided by Academic Support Librarians – standalone and embedded

Also use the VLE to provide online support in Library Companions

Following the review LSE developed a digital and information literacy framework to provide guidance for librarians and academics and greater consistency across departments

Work also to develop librarians as teachers: e.g. PGCert or short educational development sessions

Digital Literacy in practice at LSE

Digital literacy classes run by CLT and LibraryOpen to all staff and PhD studentsOpt-in programme but available each termCover using new technologies to support

teaching and research social media (social networking, social bookmarking,

Twitter, blogging), advanced internet searching, keeping up to date, developing your web presence

Taught by CLT and Library staff but now regularly reviewed and supplemented with Researcher Development Programme

Further information on CLT website

Supporting PhD Students: the MY592 programme

Information and digital literacy course comprising of six 2 hour workshops Week 1: Starting a literature search Week 2: Going beyond Google Week 3: Managing information: Endnote, Zotero, Mendeley Week 4: Locating research publications Week 5: Specialist materials: primary sources Week 6: Publication, ethical issues and keeping up to date

Aimed primarily at new PhD students and builds up their skills over 6 weeks

Specialist advice and support from academic support librarians but also taught by CLT

Supported online in Moodle and overview on LSE Library website

Digital and information literacy for undergraduates

LSE launched the SADL project in October 2013 funded by the Higher Education Academy

Recruited 20 undergraduate students to act as digital literacy ambassadors: Students from Statistics and Social Policy department Attend special workshops where they develop their skills Provide valuable feedback about what students really

need in terms of digital and information literacy support Act as peer mentors for fellow students

Students encouraged to blogFind out more from our website

Librarians as teachers

There is a need to challenge traditional views about the role of librarians – it’s all about books right?

Librarians can be highly innovative as teachers using social media and other technologies

Some of the subjects we have to teach are challenging: plagiarism, referencing, copyright etc.

Team teaching can be a great way to embed information literacy in a discipline

Librarians increasingly can share their activities and lesson plans – good practice

Getting a teaching qualification can really help

Librarians and other professionals

Librarians can work in partnership with other professionals to offer advice to staff and students Learning technologists Educational developers Learning developers

Librarians can make use of new technologies and new pedagogies for their own teaching

Technology enhanced learning offers some unique challenges in terms of copyright and licensing issues that librarians are often best placed to deal with

Librarians can work with other professionals on developing digital literacies

Librarians and Learning Technologists as partners

In most institutions e-learning staff and librarians are rarely part of the same team

Different cultures and different ways of workingLearning Technology an emerging profession –

no standard route into working in the fieldProfessional body – ALT who have special

interest groups, organise events and conferences and more recently accredit courses

Academic support role means they can be ideal partners to help join up strategically and practically

What are the issues

Librarians may not have access to the VLELibrarians will need help and advice

designing online courses E-learning staff may not understand

copyright and licensing issuesStudents may not need to visit the Library if

they have all their resources provided through a VLE

Information literacy needs to be embedded in online courses as well as face to face

Typical queries related to e-learning

I want to include a video from YouTube in my online course – can I do this legally?

I have lots of images taken from the website – is it ok to upload them to Moodle / Blackboard?

Can I scan a chapter from a book and upload it to Moodle for my students?

I downloaded a PDF from a journal – is it ok to share it with students using the VLE?

Who owns the materials I create when I use the university VLE?

Can I use copyright material if my lecture is being recorded?

IPR and e-learning

Increasingly universities are formalising their IPR policies - who owns teaching materials?

Technology can cause more complex IPR issues – e.g. recording lectures

Some academics will work in partnership with e-learning colleagues to produce a resource, so institutional ownership is far easier

Some institutions are encouraging staff to share teaching materials as open educational resources

Open education

Related to open access but different…Open educational resources are freely available

teaching and learning resources often licensed under Creative Commons

Also a great way of librarians sharing and reusing their information literacy teaching materials – find out more about the CoPILOT initiative

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are not just resources but free courses

MOOCs launched by several UK / US universities often through platforms such as Coursera, Udacity and Future Learn

Future trends

We need to continue to understand the needs and expectations of student - this will impact on libraries, teaching and support

Read the CLT Trends in Educational Technologies report published last week

How might VLEs and new technologies evolve over the coming few years?

What impact will MOOCs and open education have?

How might learning support services be structured in the future?

Ways to keep up to date

Conferences, events (LILAC, ARLG conference)JISC Regional Support Centres organise events

for Further Education librariansLibCamp and TeachMeetsProfessional social networking: on LinkedIn,

Twitter and by reading blogs Joining groups New Professionals Network (e.g.

Manchester NLPN), but also CILIP groups, other library groups

Use a tool to follow blogs - consider writing your own to reflect on your work

Further readings

Secker, Jane and Coonan, Emma. (2012) Rethinking Information Literacy: a practical framework for supporting learning. Facet Publishing: London

Bell, M., Moon, D. and Secker J. (2012) Undergraduate support at LSE: the ANCIL report. The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/48058/

Secker, Jane. (2010) Copyright and E-learning: a guide for practitioners. Facet Publishing: London

New Curriculum Blog: http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com My blog: http://janesecker.wordpress.com LILAC Conference: http://www.lilacconference.com Follow me on Twitter @jsecker Join the CILIP CSG-Information Literacy Group

– its free for students!

Any questions?

Dr Jane SeckerCopyright and Digital Literacy AdvisorCentre for Learning Technology, Information Management and Technology, LSEEmail j.secker@lse.ac.uk

Find me on LinkedIn, Twitter etc.