Information skills for a 21st century Scotland

An online information literacy community of practice

And he’s back! www.therightinformation.org/

Information Literacy definitions

"Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner." CILIP (2004)

www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/advocacy/information-literacy/pages/default.aspx

“Information Literacy was defined as the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address an issue or problem.” Prague Declaration

The Scottish Information Literacy Project objectives 2004 - 2010

• Develop an information literacy framework, linking primary, secondary and tertiary education to lifelong learning including workplace and adult literacies agendas

• Advocacy on behalf of information literacy for education and the wider community

• Work with information literacy champions both UK and worldwide

• Research and promote information literacy in the workplace • Identify and work with partners, both in education and the

wider community • Research the role of information literacy in continuing

professional development • Research the health and media literacies agenda

Who were we?

Some achievements

• 2003 – The Drumchapel Project – where it all began• 2004 – The ‘one year’ Information Literacy, the Link between

Secondary and Tertiary Education Project launched • 2005-8 - the first draft of the National Information Literacy

Framework Scotland completed, piloted and evaluated• Contact and work with Learning and Teaching Scotland and

learndirectscotland [now Education Scotland]• Extensive network of partners and contacts from school,

FE/HE, workplace, lifelong learning, Adult literacies + overseas• Website developed and blog + PR activities• Initial health and media literacy contacts

Information skills for a 21st Century Scotland www.therightinformation.org/

Launched 11th June 2012@ CILIPS Annual Conference in Dundee

New online information literacy community of practice: Information Skills for a 21st century Scotland.

More than a website …

Hosted by Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC)

Aims and activities of the community of practice

• Developing core information literacy skills in further education • Assessing the impact of information literacy training• Advocacy for information literacy• Instructing teachers in information literacy• Information literacy as an employability skill • Information literacy toolkits for young people• Teaching information literacy skills in public libraries• Links between schools and public libraries• Use of electronic information literacy resources in public libraries• Online training packages in higher education • Workplace information literacy skills • Social media

Some work to date

• FE training materials – Dundee College• A comprehensive HE IL package – SMILE (Glasgow

Caledonian)• Programme of awareness raising within the profession• Presentations at an international conference • Further development of framework• Project Blaster (primary school project)• Plan training events within Scotland• Book – Information literacy and lifelong learning

Project Blaster: information literacy for a digital ageA skills-based cross-curricular resource to help primary pupils learn basic research skills

A six step guide that shows teachers and pupils how to find, select and analyse a wide range of information for school projects whether online or print-based

Aims to help pupils build the critical skills necessary to assess the increasing amount of information they will encounter in their learning journey

Finding and assessing informationAims to help teachers and students identify multiple sources of information rather than just relying on Google as a starting point

Encourages pupils to make connections between information around them and what they find online

Teaches pupils to critically evaluate information through class discussion and comparing different sources

Information and Digital Literacy Provision

Abi Mawhirta.mawhirt@dundeecollege.ac.uk

Identified a Gap in Curriculum

• Special Programmes team short staffed

• Students unable to partake in full curriculum

• Teaching hours cut, timetables stretched

• New way to improve information literacy sought

© K Baikie, Licensor Dundee College

Literacy Information Skills Course

• Suitable materials researched and developed

• Close work with Special Programmes team

• College certificate course agreed

• First Literacy Information Skills class in Aug 2009

© Dundee College

Types of Activities

Using a computer as a research tool

Finding reliable online information

Making use of library resources

Understanding and using weights and measures

© Dundee College

Questions? Contact details

John Crawfordjohncrawford705@yahoo.co.uk Chair, Information Skills for a 21st

Century Scotland,Information skills for a 21st century

Scotlandhttp://www.therightinformation.org/