Al Najaf Conference
7 May 2009 Fujairah HCT
Pamella Asquith, Librarian FMC

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Thought-Provoking Quotations
Definition and History of Information Literacy as a concept
Teaching Options for Info Lit
◦ Who, What, When, How
FWC’s Old Model
FC’s New Model
Suggestions for Improvement & Development

G.M. Trevelyan, British Historian (1876-1962) http://www.quotationspage.com/

Anthony J. D'Angelo
The College Blue Book http://www.quotationspage.com/

Gertrude Stein (1874 - 1946) http://www.quotationspage.com/

Bill Watterson (1958 - )
“Calvin", It's a Magical World http://www.quotationspage.com/

Voltaire (1694 - 1778) http://www.quotationspage.com/

Literacy-
Ability to read
Computer Literacy-
Ability to use computers
Information Literacy-
Ability to think critically about and use information

American Library Association, 1989
Presidential Committee establishing the National Forum on Information Literacy http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm

“[Information literacy is] a new liberal art that extends from knowing how to use computers and access information to critical reflection on the nature of information itself, its technical infrastructure and its social, cultural, and philosophical context and impact.”
Jeremy Shapiro & Shelley Hughes
Educause Review 31:2 March/April 1996 http://net.educause.edu/apps/er/review/reviewarticles/31231.html

Sponsored by UNESCO, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy
“The creation of an Information Society is key to social, cultural and economic development of nations and communities, institutions and individuals in the 21st century and beyond.
Information Literacy encompasses knowledge of one’s information concerns and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the
Information Society, and is part of the basic human right of lifelong learning.” http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/19636/11228863531PragueDeclaration.pdf/PragueDeclaration.pdf

“Information Literacy lies at the core of lifelong learning. It 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 of all nations.” http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=20891&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html

Eleven stages of the Information Literacy Life Cycle
1 . Realize need
2. Identify & define info needed
3. Determine if info exists
4. Find info
5. Create unavailable info
6. Read and understand info
7. Organize, analyze, interpret & evaluate
8. Communicate info to others
9. Solve the info problem
10. Preserve & archive info for future use
11. Dispose of obsolete info http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001570/157020e.pdf

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Librarians and Library Staff
English Faculty
Content Faculty
Paraprofessional Tutors
Peer Student Tutors
Combination of above roles

Tier 1 : How to use the library, check out books, find books etc
Tier 2:
How to use specific kinds of resources : dictionaries, encyclopedias, e-books, magazines, newspapers, etc
Tier 3: How to use databases, general and subject specific
Tier 4:
Evaluation of information resources especially websites
Tier 5:
Academic honesty and citing sources, writing reference lists or bibliographies
Tier 6 : Academic Research Process (Big6)

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During pre-semester orientation
During first semester or first year only
Ongoing at every level
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All of the above

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Part of library orientation
Workshops or non-credit classes (PPDV)
Ad hoc requests from faculty
Within language and content courses
Separate credit class
◦ Face-to-face
◦ Online
All of the above

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In past years, foundation students had 6, 1-hour class sessions in their first semester taught by the librarian; non-credit, part of “Personal and
Professional Development.”
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About 300 students (in 14 separate sections) with coursework that had to be assessed as well as an accessed project (total 7 assessments per student) all by only one librarian who had many other duties.
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This proved unmanageable.

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Clearly face-to-face instruction by one librarian was not feasible and could never work unless a fulltime teaching librarian was hired. Even then, repeating a 1-hour lesson 14+ times in one week is boring for the instructor.
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Needed to be some kind of online instruction.
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Needed to be time-share of instruction duties.

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Topics, although useful for courses, were not coordinated in such a way as to deliver instruction at the optimal time.
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For example, how to write citations was not taught when students were doing research and needed to be writing citations.
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Topics did not take into account the low level of
English and general lack of interest in reading.
Unrealistic expectations of what students could achieve.

About 1 year ago, in collaboration with faculty and supervisors, modules were conceived and designed by librarians.
Integral was the notion of time-share presentation among library staff, SSC tutors, language and content faculty at whatever point within a course deemed most useful.

Tier 1: How to use the library (Taught by library staff)
Tier 2 : How to use specific kinds of resources
Taught by library staff or Foundations English faculty)
Tier 3 & 4: How to use databases and evaluation of resources (Taught by librarians)
Tier 5: Citing sources, writing reference lists or bibliographies (Taught by librarians and faculty)
Tier 6: Academic Research Process
(Taught by content faculty and librarians)

A module is only 3-10 minutes but exercises and supplements can extend the lesson time, be used as reinforcement, follow up or assessment at faculty discretion.
Modules are designed like an “infomercial” and
“branded” with a custom look but each has different colors and avatars. Language is in a conversational style & as simple as possible.

Printable worksheets and other materials such as flash cards are included for many modules and can be used at the faculty discretion.
Narration can be imbedded (headphone quality).
High-quality narration for classroom acoustics also possible but needs a separate linked file.

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Absent students can access the materials for makeup.
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Modules can be replayed at different points in a semester or academic year if students have forgotten the skill or content.
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Modules can be made into visual displays or posters, screen savers for library PCs and played on plasma monitors around campus.

Tier 1: Call Numbers
(PlugIn 8)
Tier 2: Newspapers
(PlugIn 14)
Tier 3: Business Databases
(PlugIn 21)
Tier 4: Questions about Websites
(PlugIn 38)
Tier 5: MLA Intext Citations for Direct Quotes
(PlugIn 28)
Tier 6: The Academic Research Process (PlugIn 40)

Unfortunately at the beginning of the AY, not all content was finished. But, now after first year, most of the content has been developed.
Problems with technical aspects of narration and playback.
Lots of revision necessary because of library website interface changes. Major revisions necessary in all presentations on citations and referencing because
MLA has changed the rules.
Due to time loss from breaks in the semester, faculty could not spare time for 100% coverage of all topics.

Ongoing issue of so many sections needing coverage, too many for the same person.
Classroom teachers don’t want extra lessons added to their curriculum, so coverage of library lessons has been & will always be spotty if faculty are responsible for delivery.
Looking for an alternative less labor-intensive
(BlackBoard Vista).

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See Handout for list of all topics
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Access from S drive/General/Library PlugIn Lessons
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Next step : BlackBoard Vista version, 15 lessons

pamella.asquith@hct.ac.ae