DR JANE SECKERLSE CENTRE FOR LEARNING TECHNOLOGY
Information literacy, e-learning and the changing role of the
librarian
University of Sheffield, i School guest lecture1st March 2011
Overview
About meInformation literacy and librariansLibrarians and e-learningFuture trends to watchWays to keep up to date
My role
Copyright and Digital Literacy Advisor at LSEBased in Centre for Learning TechnologyWork closely with colleagues in LibraryAdvise staff about copyright and e-learningRun a programme of training for staff and
PhD students: digital literacyInvolved in information literacy initiatives for
students: courses, online support
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 12 years
Involved in many research projects: JISC, HEA
Publications and conferences Regularly use Twitter (@jsecker) Maintain a few blogs!
What else?
Professional involvement: CILIP Information Literacy Group, LILAC Conference
Chair of Heron User GroupFormer Chair of ALISSCompleted LSE’s PGCert in Teaching in
Higher Education – HEA FellowNow teach on LSE’s PGCertArcadia Fellow at Wolfson College
Cambridge, 2011
Information literacy and the librarian
What does information literacy mean to you?Is it a library issue?Is an issue for all libraries or just academic
libraries?How does it translate into what you might do
as a librarian? Teaching?Is it a new term for something we have
always done?
What do we 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
Recently completed research on developing a curriculum for information for undergraduates of the future – expert consultation / lit review
Different to SCONUL 7 pillars and ACRL Standards – it’s a curriculum
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)
Using the curriculumThe strands cover 4 broad learning categories, from
functional skills up to high-level intellectual operations
Classes can incorporate multiple strands Classes should be active, reflective, relevant to
student needYou could use the curriculum to audit your own (or
your department’s) teaching provisionFind out more about Implementing ANCIL from the
wiki – includes cases studies from two universitiesCurrently undertakingan audit at LSE using ANCIL
E-learning and libraries
E-learning support – librarians and learning technologists working in partnership to offer advice to staff and students
Librarians can make use of e-learning for information literacy and other teaching opportunities
E-learning offers some unique challenges in terms of copyright and licensing issues that librarians are often best placed to deal with
Does it work in practice?
In most institutions e-learning staff and librarians are rarely part of the same team
Different cultures and different ways of working
E-learning an emerging profession – no standard route into working in the field
Professional 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 consider when designing an e-learning course
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?
You Tube and copyright
You Tube can be problematic as it does sometimes contain material infringing copyright
You Tube put responsibility for copyright onto the user but will remove content if it infringes copyright
You can link to videos from a VLE or embed the video without infringing copyright
Be aware that content could be removed so don’t rely on always being able to access the material
Take a look at Teacher Tube or You Tube’s education channel
Images, the internet and e-learning
Images are subject to copyright unless the owner has shared them under an open licence e.g. Creative Commons
Images are usually copied in their entiretyIt’s far easier to get people to use licensed image
collections or copyright free images that to request copyright permission for images
Many photographers will charge fees to reproduce images – its how they make their living!
Take your own photos if they are for illustrative purposes
Scanning published works
Uploading published content to the VLE could seriously damage the sales of textbooks so publishers have been keen to regulate this activity
Scanning from books and journals is only permitted under the CLA Licence or with permission from a publisher
The CLA Licence is fairly complex and requires institutions to report all scanned readings annually
In some institutions the Library manages a scanning service to ensure quality and compliance
Journal articles and e-learning
Many journals are licensed through large databases and terms and conditions will apply
In many cases publishers want to collect metrics so will request you link to their material rather than download it and re-distribute it
It can be difficult to create stable links to journal articles
Staff will find it far easier to download a PDF and use it in the VLE – but you will need a CLA Comprehensive Licence to do this (and to report use)
IPR and e-learning
Increasingly universities are formalising their IPR policies and setting out the ownership of teaching materials
In many cases there is no difference between paper teaching materials and those added to the VLE
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
Future trends
How might the needs of students evolve over the coming years and what impact will this have on the teaching we offer?
Will fewer and fewer students visit libraries and access all their readings online?
What impact will mobiles and tablets have on learning?
How might VLEs evolve over the coming few years?
What impact do other technologies such as social media have on the tools we use in education?
Ways to keep up to date
Conferences, events (LILAC, UC&R 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, but
also CILIP groups, other library groupsUse Google Reader to follow blogs - consider
writing your own to reflect on your work
Further readings
Secker, Jane and Coonan, Emma. (2010) ANCIL Curriculum and Supporting Documentation. Available at: http://ccfil.pbworks.com/f/ANCIL_final.pdf
Secker, Jane. (2010) Copyright and E-learning: a guide for practitioners. Facet Publishing: London
New Curriculum Blog: http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com Implementing ANCIL wiki: http://
implementingancil.pbworks.com My blog: http://elearning.lse.ac.uk/blogs/socialsoftware/ LILAC Conference: http://www.lilacconference.com Follow me on Twitter @jseckerJoin the CILIP CSG-Information Literacy Group – its free for
students!
Any questions?
Dr Jane SeckerCopyright and Digital Literacy AdvisorCentre for Learning Technology, LSEEmail [email protected]
Find me on LinkedIn, Twitter etc.