Digital Literacy

‘Going native’ : Web 2.0 and the digital native in a conservatoire library

by Karen McAulay

(2008) IAML(UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekend

Factors Influencing Teachers' ICT Literacy: A Snapshot from Australia

by Dr Eva Dakich

Eva Dakich, Colleen Vale, Vijay Thalathoti, Victoria University, Australia; Brenda Cherednichenko, Edith Cowan University, Australia

This paper presents the findings of a survey that examined factors influencing teachers’ ICT literacy. The survey was... more This paper presents the findings of a survey that examined factors influencing teachers’ ICT literacy. The survey was part of a larger study exploring teachers’ readiness to transform their traditional role and engage primary school students in 21st century learning experiences. The survey was conducted with teachers from a simple random sample of 350 Victorian government primary schools in Australia. A recently developed framework of ICT literacy for primary school teachers was utilized to examine factors that influence the development of teachers’ skills and knowledge in integrating new technologies into student learning. In this paper the authors report on teachers’ perceptions about factors influencing the development of their ICT literacy and interpret the impact of independent variables such as age, gender, teaching experience, and teachers’ use of computers in the contemporary primary school. Drawing on the findings of the study they identify important leads for future professional development.

Teachers' ICT literacy in the contemporary primary classroom: Transposing the discourse

by Dr Eva Dakich

Dakich, E. (2005). Teachers’ ICT literacy in the contemporary primary classroom: Transposing the discourse. Paper presented as part of Symposium 65 SEN05771 Teacher learning in the ubiquitous ICT environment at the AARE 2005 Conference, Melbourne Australia

Towards the social practice of digital pedagogies

by Dr Eva Dakich

Dakich, E. (2008). Towards the social practice of digital pedagogies. In N.J.Yelland, G.Neal & E. Dakich (Eds.), Rethinking education with ICT: New directions for effective practices: Sense Publishers.

Gaming, Texting, Learning? Teaching Engineering Ethics Through Students' Lived Experiences

by Georgina Voss

Science and Engineering Ethics: forthcoming, 2012.

This paper examines how young peoples’ lived experiences with personal technologies can be used to teach engineering... more This paper examines how young peoples’ lived experiences with personal technologies can be used to teach engineering ethics in a way which facilitates greater engagement with the subject. Engineering ethics can be challenging to teach: as a form of practical ethics, it is framed around future workplace experience in a professional setting which students are assumed to have no prior experience of. Yet the current generations of engineering students, who have been described as ‘digital natives’, do however have immersive personal experience with digital technologies; and experiential learning theory describes how students learn ethics more successfully when they can draw on personal experience which give context and meaning to abstract theories. This paper reviews current teaching practices in engineering ethics; and examine young people’s engagement with technologies including cell phones, social networking sites, digital music and computer games to identify social and ethical elements of these practices which have relevance for the engineering ethics curricula. From this analysis three case studies are developed to illustrate how facets of the use of these technologies can be drawn on to teach topics including group work and communication; risk and safety; and engineering as social experimentation. Means for bridging personal experience and professional ethics when teaching these cases are discussed. The paper contributes to research and curriculum development in engineering ethics education, and to wider education research about methods of teaching ‘the net generation’.

Cultural shifts, multimodal representations, and assessment practices: A case study

by Jen Scott Curwood

Published in E-Learning and Digital Media

Multimodal texts involve the presence, absence, and co-occurrence of alphabetic text with visual, audio, tactile,... more Multimodal texts involve the presence, absence, and co-occurrence of alphabetic text with visual, audio, tactile, gestural, and spatial representations. This article explores how teachers' evaluation of students' multimodal work can be understood in terms of cognition and culture. When teachers apply a paradigm of assessment rooted in print-based culture to multimodal texts created with digital tools, they may fail to capture students' content learning and meaning-making processes that draw on diverse semiotic resources and involve multiple modes of representation.

Using Online Collaborative Learning to Enhance Information Literacy Delivery In a Level 1 Module: An Evaluation

by Geoff Walton

Co-authored with Mark Hepworth, Jamie Barker and Derek Stephens (2007) published in Journal of Information Literacy, 1 (1), pp13-30

The purpose of this study was to encourage Sport & Exercise Level 1 students to use the discussion board facility... more The purpose of this study was to encourage Sport & Exercise Level 1 students to use the discussion board facility in the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in order to engage them in online collaborative learning of This was achieved by using notions of scaffolding, reflection and situated learning in delivering the information literacy (IL) elements of the programme. Delivery of the programme was carried out in a blended fashion (a mix of face-to-face and online interventions). The study is part of a PhD pilot study and a Learning & Teaching Fellowship project undertaken by the main author. information literacy.


Methodology
This was a quasi-experimental design using both qualitative and quantitative strategies. Qualitative data was gathered via: capturing student postings and examining their content; a questionnaire administered at the end of the module and from Focus Group responses. Quantitative data was gathered via pre and post delivery tests and by calculating numbers of postings and time taken by students to make initial postings.

Findings
This paper indicates that it is possible to engage students in even the most detailed aspects of IL (for example, breaking down a URL as a criterion for evaluating a web site or where to place commas in a reference) if the appropriate tasks (involving active hands on, collaborative working), settings (within a subject based module during a timetabled session) and assessments (task based with some form of evaluation and reflection) are used. Discussion board output captured via VLE provides a rich insight into what students learn as they tackle IL online activities. From the tutors’ perspective the process of iteration used in the evaluation activities was successful and was an unanticipated outcome of the delivery. It can be seen that by seeding online discussions with student comments ‘moments of iteration’ were provided which enabled IL learning to be articulated in increasing detail.

Information Literacy Education in the UK: Reflections on Perspectives and Practical Approaches of Curricular Integration

by Geoff Walton

Co-authored with, Susie Andretta and Alison Pope (2008) published in Communications in Information Literacy, 2 (1), pp36-51

This paper has two main aims, to present the current position of information literacy education in UK-based academic... more This paper has two main aims, to present the current position of information literacy education in UK-based academic institutions and to propose a strategy that ensures the integration of this phenomenon in learning and teaching institutional practices. The first part of the paper offers an insight into the perceptions of information literacy by exploring four distinct perspectives, including the institutional angle and the views associated with faculty staff, library staff and students. What transpires from the findings is that information literacy from an institutional perspective is dominated by the need to measure information skills within the context of information as a discipline in its own right. Another issue that is raised by the data points to a great deal of misinformation regarding information literacy, and that, as a result, a clear marketing strategy must be adopted by information professionals to address the misconceptions held by faculty staff and students alike. We aim to address these points by drawing on recent scholarship and research in the field which demonstrates the validity of information literacy as a process for fostering independent learning. The second part of the paper explains how a Fellowship project has placed information literacy on the pedagogical agenda of the University of Staffordshire in the UK by promoting information literacy education as an integrated element of the curriculum.

Engaging sport and exercise science students via participation using online collaborative learning (OCL)

by Geoff Walton

HEA (UK) EvidenceNet (2009)

This paper argues that the lessons learnt from the research described in the case study can be harnessed to provide a... more This paper argues that the lessons learnt from the research described in the case study can be harnessed to provide a generic template for managing online discourse

"The project was initially funded by a Research informed Teaching grant. In brief research informed teaching projects at Staffordshire University aim to highlight innovative ways of demonstrating and promoting the research-teaching link as identified by Jenkins, Healey & Zetter (2007). This paper seeks to argue that the lessons learnt from the research described in the case study can be harnessed to provide a generic template for managing online discourse, in effect, a protocol for using any online social networking Web 2.0 application for educational purposes."

The enquiring minds project at Staffordshire University: integrating information literacy into the curriculum and assessment

by Geoff Walton

Co-authored with Keith Puttick and Alison Pope and published in Legal Information Management, 2010, 10 (2), pp104-108

This is a more detailed account of a presentation given at the most recent Association of Law Teachers (ALT) Annual... more This is a more detailed account of a presentation given at the most recent Association of Law Teachers (ALT) Annual Conference at Clare College, Cambridge the Enquiring Minds project team from Staffordshire University presented. It details the impact and findings of their project work so far. The team focused on how information literacy is starting to feature in the Law curriculum and in the formulation of learning outcomes. They looked at how this linked to the theory and practice of enquiry-based learning in academic and vocational stage law programmes and also how it chimes with current worldwide focus on the important information literacy agenda.

Information and media literacies: sharpening our vision for the 21st century

by Geoff Walton

Co-authored with Alison Pope (2009) and published in: Issues in Information and Media Literacy: Education, Practice and Pedagogy By Marcus Leaning

We consider whether information literacy and media literacies are, or should be, an end in themselves and show how one... more We consider whether information literacy and media literacies are, or should be, an end in themselves and show how one UK university has responded to the UK government’s emphasis on the skills agenda and, in the context of this, begun to take a strategic approach to integrating information literacy within the curriculum. It discusses in detail the practical steps taken in the development of a strategy and highlights the institution’s nascent attempts at integration within the learning experience. The chapter also presents an in depth case study which focuses upon the use of online collaborative learning to shape an approach to information literacy in the context of one particular course of study.

A longitudinal study of changes in learners’ cognitive states during and following an information literacy teaching intervention (Emerald Literati Highly Commended Paper 2012)

by Geoff Walton

Co-authored with Mark Hepworth. Journal of Documentation, 2011, 67, 3, pp449-479

Purpose
The paper identifies the changes in cognition associated with becoming information literate,... more Purpose
The paper identifies the changes in cognition associated with becoming information literate, specifically, in relation to the evaluation of information. Additionally, it puts forward a model for a teaching and learning intervention that engages the learner and leads to higher order information literacy (IL) thinking. From a theoretical perspective the research integrates ideas from the fields of IL, teaching and learning, e-learning and information behaviour (IB).
Design/methodology/approach
Three interventions were designed to develop the information literacies of first-year undergraduates studying Sport & Exercise at Staffordshire University, to teach and test IL. Interventions took a blended approach and combined face-to-face and online social network learning (OSNL) – also referred to as social media learning (SML) - and focused on one aspect of information literacy: the ability to evaluate source material. Data was captured via interviews, focus groups and from the online discussion that was analysed thematically and categorised using task, behaviour, cognitive states, affective states, conative states and knowledge. This helped to evaluate the efficacy of the interventions and provided data for further analysis. This paper focuses on the cognitive data and their transitions during the interventions and, in particular, among those respondents who experienced OSNL.
Findings
The changing cognitive states, associated with IL learning were modelled and made evident key cognitive states and transitions. This is represented in the paper in diagrammatic and mathematical notation. The findings indicate the complexity of the information behaviours associated with IL including the cognitive, behavioural, conative and affective elements. Although the cognitive transitions are the focus of this paper an insight is also given into an IL intervention that fosters the capability to interact critically and reflectively with information. The pedagogy that underpins these changes is indicated. The intervention, which incorporated OSNL, proved the most successful.
Research limitations/implications
Undergraduate students’ IB can be changed and IL developed. Additional long-term data would have indicated whether this intervention had a lasting impact on the undergraduates.
Practical implications
IL practitioners should consider incorporating OSNL and assessment in their interventions. Incorporating discussion, reflection and peer-to-peer assessment is likely to be lead to deeper learning when teaching IL.
Originality/value
The research adds detail to our understanding of the cognitive, behavioural, affective and conative states associated with IL and makes explicit how these may change as the learner becomes information literate.

Using assignment data to analyse a blended information literacy intervention: A quantitative approach

by Geoff Walton

Co-authored with Mark Hepworth, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2012 OnlineFirst

This research sought to determine whether a blended information literacy learning and teaching intervention could... more This research sought to determine whether a blended information literacy learning and teaching intervention could statistically significantly enhance undergraduates’ information discernment compared to standard face-to-face delivery. A mixture of face-to-face and online activities, including online social media learning, was used. Three interventions were designed to develop the information literacies of first-year undergraduates studying Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University and focused on one aspect of information literacy: the ability to evaluate source material effectively. An analysis was devised where written evaluations of found information for an assessment were converted into numerical scores and then measured statistically. This helped to evaluate the efficacy of the interventions and provided data for further analysis. An insight into how the information literacy pedagogical intervention and the cognitive processes involved in enabling participants to interact critically with information is provided. The intervention which incorporated social media learning proved to be the most successful learning and teaching approach. The data indicated that undergraduate students’ information literacy can be developed. However, additional long-term data is required to establish whether this intervention would have a lasting impact.

Online peer assessment: helping to facilitate learning through participation

by Geoff Walton

Co-authored with Jamie Cleland, published in Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 2012

The focus of this article is on the combination of enquiry-based learning, information literacy and e-learning and how... more The focus of this article is on the combination of enquiry-based learning, information literacy and e-learning and how they are embedded in an online peer assessment exercise. What it shall present is a structure and strategy that aids student learning in the short and long-term. Ninety-eight students completed a questionnaire before and after a three-week online peer assessment exercise during a first year undergraduate research and study skills module. Qualitatively, the results demonstrate that a significant number of students valued the design of the exercise and the benefits it can have on their future learning and development. Quantitatively, a comparison between formative and summative assessment results indicates statistically significant differences in the grades obtained prior to and post the peer assessment learning intervention. The article concludes by suggesting that new and innovative ways of assessment are needed to keep engaging students and develop their learning in different ways.

...if we were cavemen we'd be fine

by Owen Barden

This is a draft. The final, definitive version is forthcoming via Blackwell Synergy and the UKLA in Literacy: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291741-4369

This article is derived from a study of the use of Facebook as an educational resource by five dyslexic students at a... more This article is derived from a study of the use of Facebook as an educational resource by five dyslexic students at a Sixth Form College in north-west England. Through a project in which teacher-researcher and student-participants co-constructed a group Facebook page about the students’ scaffolded research into dyslexia, the study examined the educational affordances of a digitally-mediated social network. An innovative, flexible, experiential methodology combining action research and case study with an ethnographic approach was devised. This enabled the use of multiple mixed methods, capturing much of the rich complexity of the students’ online and offline interactions with each other and with digital media as they contributed to the group and co-constructed their group Facebook page. Social perspectives on dyslexia (Cooper, 2006; Herrington & Hunter-Carsch, 2001) and multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000; Gee, 1996; Street 1984 & 2003) were used to help interpret the students’ engagement with the social network and thereby deduce its educational potential. The research concludes that as a digitally mediated social network, Facebook engages the students in active, critical learning about and through literacies in a rich and complex semiotic domain (Gee, 2004, 2005 & 2007). Offline dialogue plays a crucial role. This learning is reciprocally shaped by the students' developing identities as both dyslexic students and able learners. The findings suggest that social media can have advantageous applications for literacy learning in the classroom. In prompting learning yet remaining unchanged by it, Facebook can be likened to a catalyst.

Who Do They Think They’re Talking To? Framings of the Audience by Social Media Users

by David Brake

International Journal of Communication, Vol 6 (2012) http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/932

This article examines the understandings and meanings of personal information sharing online using a predominantly... more This article examines the understandings and meanings of personal information sharing online using a predominantly symbolic interactionist analytic perspective and focusing on writers’ conceptions of their relationships with their audiences. It draws on an analysis of in-depth interviews with 23 personal bloggers. They were found to have limited interest in gathering information about their audiences, appearing to assume that readers are sympathetic. A comprehensive and grounded typology of imagined relationships with audiences was devised. Although their blogs were all public, some interviewees appeared to frame their blogging practice as primarily self-directed, with their potential audiences playing a marginal role. These factors provide one explanation for some forms of potentially risky self-exposure observed among social media users.

Managing a SAM-based Computer Literacy Program

by Sandra C. Neill

Co-authored/presented with Miguel Roman (George Brown College) at Course Technology Conference, San Francisco CA 2006.

A Vision for the Information Technology Experience in a University-based Business School

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J., & Hooper, J. (1994). A Vision for the Information Technology Experience in a University-Based Business School. Department of Management Systems Discussion Paper. Palmerston North, NZ: Massey University.

Also presented at:
Mellalieu, P. J., & Hooper, J. (1995). Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAME), Wellington, New Zealand.

A Delphi survey of proficient information technology staff and students at a mixed-mode university identified features... more A Delphi survey of proficient information technology staff and students at a mixed-mode university identified features for a vision for the 'information technology' expereince of business studies students. The study, conducted in 1990, identified the need for: university-established computer network facilities that would facilitate both student-student and staff-student computer-mediated communication; 'Connection Centres' (hubs) located throughout the university campuses that would enable students to connect their portable computers to the university network; and a students' information technology users' club.

The improving performance/price ratio of personal computers implied the prospect of students purchasing or hiring their own computer systems. The Delphi respondents recommended that standards for hardware and software should enable students to select their systems from a wide range of options. This latter recommendation has important implications for the design of student assignments and network connection standards.

Reviewing progress four years after the initial study (conducted in 1990), the university has established the first element neccessary for the implementation of the vision, the establishment of an email system for extramural students.

Exploring Behaviour In the Online Environment: Student Perceptions of Information Literacy

by Martin Oliver

Smith, J & Oliver, M. (2005) Exploring behaviour in the online environment: student perceptions of information literacy. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 13 (1), 49–65.

The aim of this paper is to show how information literacy can be conceptualised as a key learning process related to... more The aim of this paper is to show how information literacy can be conceptualised as a key learning process related to discipline and academic maturity, rather than as a generic skill. Results of a small- scale study including questionnaires and observation of student behaviour are reported and analy- sed in relation to Bruce’s ‘seven faces of information literacy’ framework. The findings illustrate that information literacy is a highly situated practice that remains undeveloped through mandatory schooling. Some methodological issues are considered in relation to researching information liter- acy, including the limits of the Bruce model as a framework for analysis. We also show how decon- textualised courses can foreground and privilege certain behaviours that are beneficial but that developing higher-level information literate attitudes is likely to be an iterative and contextualised process.

Creating a College-wide Computer Literacy Program

by Sandra C. Neill

Co-authored/presented with Miguel Roman (George Brown College) at League for Innovation in the Community College conference, Denver CO 2008.