Project Information Literacy

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Got this message via the Infolit listserv today: Debra C. Rollins <drollins@lsua.edu> found an interesting article on Library Babel Fish and thought you might enjoy it too.

The article, by a college librarian, discusses how college professors often spend more time in assignments telling student the mechanics of a paper rather than helping them find good resources for the assignment.

Project Information Literacy is a study being conducted by the Information School at the University of Washington, "a national study about early adults and their information-seeking behaviors, competencies, and the challenges they face when conducting research in the digital age."

This is definitely a problem at the high school level as well where students are even less prepared to make good choices about what resources are best employed to complete research assignments. More often than not teachers seem to think kids should already know how t find the best resources rather than spending some time, along with the librarian, teaching kids how to determine the best resources for an assignment.

Related articles by Zemanta

• College Students Information Seeking Behaviors (slideshare.net)
• Research skills = life skills (slideshare.net)

An Information Literacy Tutorial Series

I just came across this series of information literacy tutorials featuring the director of the Pima Community College in Arizona.
I'm hoping to do something similar for Redwood this year. Keep posted and we'll see what happens!

What We'd Love Our Graduating Seniors to Know

Joyce Valenza's statement to her high school seniors in a recently published article in VOYA says it all for me: "I hope you will do more than what the researchers call 'satificing,' a cross between satisfying and sufficing. I want you to use your skills to find quality. I want you to go further than any of your peers will. I want you to search for quality, relevance, currency, and credibility. I want you to find excellence, display excellence, and distinguish yourself from other freshmen."

Joyce is a model teacher librarian in Springfield, Pennsylvania whose contributions to school librarianship are numberless. She has unbelievable energy and enthusiasm for her kids and her work. In her NeverEnding Search blog at School Library Journal Joyce is continually challenging us to find better ways of teaching and learning along with our students in this ever-changing world of information overload.

Good Friday

Friday was a very busy and productive day in the library.

I spoke to five classes--all 9th graders--which are my favorites.

Three English classes came in earlier in the week to take the TRAILS information literacy assessment survey. The teacher, Jeanne Woltering, is my peer evluation partner this year and I decided that I was going to work with her classes on information literacy skills. Earlier I had done a couple presentations with them on the new MLA format for citiations which went over quite well.

During 9th-grade orientation last semester, I had requested social studies teachers to have their students do the survey as a pre-test of info lit skills for all incoming students to Redwood. Not enough actually did the survey to provide an adequate base for data comparison. I find that if I don't follow up personally with each class I really don't get the response we need. Since I knew Jeanne, whom I've worked closely with over the years, would follow up I decided to give the survey another attempt.

Since 9th-grade English classes at Redwood are 20-to-1 classes there were a total of fifty students who took the TRAILS-9 survey. Scores ranged from 25% to 88% so we realized a quick follow-up would probablly be useful for the kids. The weakest sections of the test were on the evaluation of information sources and the ethical, legal, and responsible use of information. The sections where the students tended to do better were the sections on topic development; the identification of potential sources; and the developent and use of various search strategies.

The three classes came in on Friday and the plan was to go through the test question by question so we could discuss the questions and help the kids see why the correct answers were correct. As usual in these situations we were able to learn from the first presentation and adapted for the later ones.

The first thing I discovered was that we couldn't go through the entire test in one fifty-minute period and still allow for adequate discussion. For the 2nd and 3rd classes I quickly covered the sections the kids did better on and then spent most of the time on the last two areas mentioned above.

I did not intend this to be a lesson in place of regular library projects which the kids are doing on a regular basis but it turned out to be an excelent teaching and learning experience. It seems that the issues brought up by the evaluation questions were mostly about the notion of bias in information sources. Delving into the questions gave the students the opportunity to explore what constitutes bias and hopefully clarify the ambiguities in some of the questions and answers. The other major area of confusion or general lack of knowledge was copyright--what it is, when it goes into effect and how to prevent violating copyright (including a discussion of fair use in the classroom setting).

I'm looking forward to working with these cclasses againt and bringing this exercise to the other English classes as well.

I'll post more on the results and my work with the other two classes later.

A New Course for the District

At its February 12 meeting the TUHSD Board of Trustees approved a new course which will be offered next year at Redwood. The course, called Advanced Library Research, will offer students an introduction to college-level research skills. While we teach students at Redwood, and throughout the Tam District, how to use information efficiently and effectively through class projects in a number of different subject areas, this course will allow students to go beyond the basics of research and explore the world of academic libraries. The course will be an independent study course, taught partially face-to-face and partially online. Students will be expected to work with partners or in teams to complete various projects using all kinds of library resources. As the course of study states: “Many college librarians and professors report that students are not prepared to undertake college-level research when they reach post-secondary institutions of learning.”

We think that we can help students make the transition to college a little less traumatic by providing them with the ability to determine the nature and extent of information they need; access needed information effectively and efficiently; evaluate information critically; use information individually and in a group to accomplish a specific purpose; and understand ethical, legal, and socio-economic issues surrounding information and use information ethically and legally.

A little story. When I went to graduate school to begin my library science degree I had to take a prerequisite course about basic library research since I’d never worked in a library before. It was the best course I took in library school and I wondered why I hadn’t had the opportunity to take such a course as an undergrad—it was really eye opening to find out about all the resources I hadn’t known about but could have used. Even though that was long before the World Wide Web was developed, the same conditions apply today. As a result of the Internet the world of information has gotten infinitely larger and more complicated so having a guided tour of all kinds of resources is even more essential than it was in 1974!

Eventually we would like to have the course available across the District to all students but for the time being it will be offered at Redwood only. Encourage your sons and daughters to talk to the librarian, Tom Kaun, about the course and sign up for it during course enrolment time.

Catching Up as Summer Begins

I've been off work since last Friday but visited the library twice this week for some final tasks.

Yesterday I found out from my principal that we may have a new part-time library specialist working in the library. It's complicated and since nothing is final (or even announced) I can't go into detail at this time. Suffice it to say that change may be coming to the BCL.

It's been very hot this week so I'm blogging downstairs in my bedroom at home this evening because it's cooler here than up in my office.

In an earlier post I mentioned that I was working on a new course (tentatively called Advanced Library Research). I know it's not a very sexy title but it is a work in progress. I got the approval of our Instructional Council to continue developing the course so I'm forging ahead.

I met early this week with Joan Risch at the College of Marin because I had been told by one of our graduates that she was teaching a course at COM on information literacy. It was a fruitful meeting and she gave me some interesting websites to look at especially the OASIS research tutorial produced by the librarians at SF State. She has her student complete specific parts of the tutorial before she quizzes them or provides her own assignments to them.

I think I have found a primary text for the class along with several supporting texts for reference. The primary text is the 3rd edition of Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog by William Badke. I was able to get a copy of the 2nd edition from UC Berkeley and was very impressed by the style and tone of the book--it's practical, down-to-earth, and covers almost all the topics I want to cover in the course. When I discovered the 3rd edition had just been published I overnighted it from Amazon and it arrived today. It's a manageable 212 pages and only costs $18.95. The author is a librarian at Trinity Western University, Langley, BC.

Other texts I've reviewed and will certainly be consulting and directing my students to are:
Basic Library Skills (5th ed.) by Carolyn Wolf; The College Student's Research Companion (5th ed.) Arlene Rodda Quaratiello; and The Facts on File Guide to Research by Jeff Lenburg.

The Badke book is quite up-to-date--it mentions the Amazon Kindle--and has an accompanying website which will help keep the book current. I was just checking the site this evening and found out about Readius, a new e-book reader.

In case you haven't heard about Readius, which is only available in Europe currently, here's a YouTube video about this neat new hybrid--when's it coming here!?



I'd love to hear from others who have developed or are thinking of developing an advanced research course at the high school level.

Another, concurrent project I'm working on is a wiki for the International Baccalaureate Extended Essay. Next week I will be in Montezuma, New Mexico on the campus of the United World College for a week-long workshop about the IB program and the librarian's role in the program. I hope to post a few messages from New Mexico while I'm there. I'm hoping the new research course will blend nicely into the extended essay program of IB. I know that in many schools the librarian is the extended essay coordinator and I think that makes a lot of sense.

Any Extended Essay folks out there in library-land?

A Question from a Colleague--And an Answer

On LM_NET, the school library listserv, one of the members, a distinguished author in the school library field, recently asked the following:

"Now that we have our new AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner, when I am writing, I'm not simply using the outdated term "information literacy skills." The first time I mention the five literacies, I say "digital, visual, textual, technological, and information literacy." Thereafter, I use the term "multiple literacies" as the Standards document itself does. My editor has asked me to think of a synonym for "multiple literacies." I'm stumped. Any ideas?"

I gave the following as a response:
I see digital, visual and textual literacies as "media" literacies. That is, they are about how we access and use different media. Of course, digital is also visual and textual! (What about audio?)
Technology literacy is a misnomer since the use of technology doesn't necessarily involve literacy (i.e., interpreting through letters/language) and technology is a huge area that covers practically anything people do.
Information literacy is a different baby all together. It involves using all the above "literacies" to access, evaluate and use information in creative and useful ways.
That's why it's hard to clump them all together with one term. Frankly, I still think information literacy is what we, as professionals, are primarily responsible for. The media we use to access and use information are just part of the big picture of info lit.

I think this little exchange is a parable about how we complicate issues at our peril. We try and anticipate any and all possibilities (we even claim these are 21st century literacies, even though we update or change our standards on average about every 10 years or so--what are we going to call our next set of standards? Standards for the Second Tenth of the 21st Century?).

My point is that what we call literacies really aren't. They are skills and knowledge of a certain kind and we will have to keep up with and even try to anticipate what new skills will be required by our students and colleagues in the (not-too-distant) future. But to claim these other literacies are equal our now "outdated" information seeking and use skills, called in shorthand "information literacy" is to make a grave mistake.

One of the beliefs which preface our new standards is: "The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed." Actually if we look at the definition of information literacy from the Information Power standards (1998) we read: The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively, evaluates information critically and competently, and uses information accurately and creatively. The standards go on say that the student should be able to use information independently and in a socially responsible way. None of this language refers to specific media with good reason. There is no reason that these standards can't work with any kind of media or technology. It's not the definition of information literacy which has become more complicated it's merely the tools which have become more complex. Whether using today's cutting-edge technologies like the ReadWrite Web or older technologies like the printed book, students still need to learn how to access, evaluate and use information independently and responsibly. This is the heart of information literacy and it will not change with changing technologies or changing modes of access or retrieval.

Common Sense Media Video Teaches Media Literacy

I recently viewed a new video from Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media is "a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, [which] provide[s] trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume." Based in San Francisco, their website provides comprehensive information and reviews of all types of media including video games, Internet sites, movies, and even books.

They have teamed with Google to create this 7-minute video to remind parents about Internet safety and media literacy. It's a short but comprehensive overview of what kids need to know about Internet safety and using and creating content online.

Definitely worth a look.

Skepticism, An Essential Information Literacy Attitude

In a recent column Time magazine's Michael Kinsley discusses his concern over two memoirs which were admitted by their authors to have been faked. One, written by a white woman, was about growing up as a half-Native American gang member in South Central (Los Angeles). The other was the story of a woman who claimed to have been a Holocaust survivor as a child, which features an episode of her having been protected by a pack of wolves for a time. Kinsley refers to these fake memoirs as "autophoniographies."

After the infamous episode a couple years ago in which James Frey's memoir turned out have been padded with tales which were exaggerated or non-existent, I moved his book from the biography section of the library to the fiction section. His wasn't the first and certainly won't be the last of such books.

Kinsley's response to the publication of these books was interesting and has implications for information professionals and those we teach: "[B]ook publishers--unlike newspaper and magazine publishers--do virtually nothing to check or warrant the accuracy of what they print." (I have a feeling Time will be getting a few letters over that comment).

I think we sometimes mislead our students when we imply in any way that they can be secure in using books (print or digital), online subscription databases, or any other source of information without scrutinizing each source with a skeptical eye.

I continually remind my students to "check every source." No source of information is perfect and all have to be taken with some skepticism. As a matter of fact, the entire process of research should be based on a kind of skeptical mindset.

And this doesn't just apply to bogus memoirs. Another recent incident in the news revealed that a study which most likely played some part in the author's winning the 2004 Nobel Prize for Medicine had to be retracted because the author couldn't later verify the results.

The bottom line is not that we throw up our hands and quit looking for information, stop creating knowledge, cease producing results--but that all of us model how to be careful in assessing and evaluating information no matter what the source.

Lots Happening, Part I: The TV Taping

Wednesday of last week I, along with two other Marin County librarians were interviewed by Marin County Superintendent of Schools, Mary Jane Burke, at the Comcast studios. The interviews were part of the up-coming Education Matters TV program to be aired in December.

Also present for the interviews were Dane Lancaster, director of technology for the county office of education, Jane Ritter, district librarian for the Mill Valley school district, and Lori Deibel, library director at the Branson School in Ross.

Never having participated in such an experience it was fun to see how it all happens. Comcast had already been to Redwood as well as to Strawberry Point Elementary School to tape activities in their library media centers. Two short pieces will show their students and teachers in action in the library.

Taping started with the program introduction and closing by Mary Jane. The five minute segment with second graders at Strawberry Point was aired so we could all see it. Then Jane and Dane were asked a series of questions by the superintendent. The time, just under nine minutes, went very quickly with the two defining information literacy and talking about how technology has changed the way we look at and use information starting in the youngest grades.

Next it was the high school librarians' turn. The segment filmed at our library was shown and Lori and I were interviewed in our turn. Questions focused on how high schools students are finding and using information in ever more sophisticated ways. The time was way too short and in the end we assured Mary Jane that we'd love to come back for a follow-up some time.

Look for more information as soon as we find out when the program is available online and on the air.

Comcast taping

TV CREW AT REDWOOD
Last week Comcast cable came to the Bessie Chin Library to film students and teachers using technology and other resources to access information for reports and projects.
The film crew was here for over four hours. They filmed Mr. Hettleman's Academic Workshop students looking for information about how to do videotaping for a play they had written and Mr. Brown and Ms. Kemp's Government classes presenting their Mock Senate following weeks of research developing the bills they were to discuss and vote on.

INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS
This project grew out of something which the Marin County school librarians have been working on for quite a while. We had developed a scope-and-sequence of information literacy skills for grades K-12 based on the California School Library Association's Standards and Guidelines for Strong School Libraries. Just recently a link to the scope and sequence was added to MCOE's home page and the COE decided it was time to publicize the resource and the work that library media teachers throughout the county are doing to teach information skills to all students in the county.

LIBRARIANS ON TV!
LMTs are going to offer some staff development training sessions through the COE next semester but in the meantime we are going to be featured in an episode of EducationMatters, the locally-produced program about education in Marin County. Part of the program will be what they filmed here at Redwood last Tuesday.

This coming Wednesday I will be going to the Comcast studio on Anderson Drive to be interviewed along with a couple other librarians and Mary Jane Burke, County Superintendent of Schools. I'll be able to report about the whole experience afterwards and will also be able to let you know when the program will be aired. The program will also be available online through video streaming.