Competency-Based Approach
for Curriculum Development
in Digital Curation
ALISE 2014 Conference
Jeonghyun Kim & William E. Moen
University of North Texas
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Two Initiatives
Mozilla Open Badges
edX
Knight, E. (2013). Web literacy badge. Retrieved from
http://openbadges.tumblr.com/post/42434670053/erin-knightwebmaker-badges-roadmap
edX. (n.d.) A sample certificate. Retrieved from
https://www.edx.org/verified-certificate
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Competency-Based Education (CBE)
• Based on the broader concept of OutcomesBased Education (OBE)
• To best prepare students to be competitive
for employment
• A common approach used by professional
disciplines, such as business, psychology,
engineering, health-related, and tourism
programs
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CBE Approach
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). Defining and assessing learning: Exploring competencybased initiatives. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002159.pdf
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Competencies in LIS
• Competencies necessary for library
professionals
• Professional organizations have put effort into
developing competency statements – e.g.,
ALA’s Core Competences of Librarianship
• Discussed competency-based approach in LIS
education (e.g., Stoffle & Pryor, 1980; Thomas &
Patel, 2008)
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iCAMP Project
• Funded by IMLS’s Laura Bush 21st Century
Librarian Program
• Three-year project (September 2011–August 2014)
• “To build capacity in UNT’s Library and Information Sciences (LIS)
curriculum to increase the number of appropriately trained
information professionals and disciplinary researchers and scholars
for digital curation and data management responsibilities”
• Objectives
• Develop a Graduate Academic Certificate with four courses in digital
curation and data management
• Deploy a robust technical infrastructure to support student learning,
practical engagement, and training
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iCAMP Courses
•
Course 1: Digital Curation Fundamentals
• Introduces concepts, principles, standards, and practices for
digital curation
•
Course 2: Digital Curation Tools and Applications
• Focuses on techniques, tools, and applications for curating
digital data
•
Course 3: Preservation Planning and Implementation for
Digital Curation
• Develops and implements a plan for curating digital data
•
Course 4: Advanced Topics in Digital Curation
• Unifies and provides a broader context for digital curation
competencies throughout the previous courses
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iCAMP Competencies
•
Competencies
•
• “The knowledge, skills, and
abilities to carry out a wide
range of professional
functions in support of digital
curation responsibilities”
• Derived from existing
statements of competencies,
job announcements, training
materials, reports, etc.
Competency Groups
1. Communication &
Interpersonal Competency
2. Environmental Scanning
Competency
3. Management, Planning, and
Evaluation Competency
4. Systems, Models, and
Modeling Competency
5. Curating and Preserving
Content Competency
6. Curation Technologies
Competency
7. Services Competency
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iCAMP Competencies
• Curation Technology Competency
• Definition: This competency addresses the
knowledge, skills, and abilities required to identify,
use, and develop tools and applications to support
digital curation activities
• Specific competencies:
• Knowledge of IT infrastructure including operating
system services, network services, and security services
• Work in a variety of computing environments: Unix,
Linux, Windows
• Identify and utilize software, tools, applications, and
systems that support digital curation activities
• Implement, configure, and maintain digital content
management systems and repositories
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iCAMP Competencies
•
Curation Technologies Competency
• Course 1: Discussing technical frameworks and practices
• Course 2: Using and practicing tools and various Linux
command lines
•
Curating and Preserving Content Competency
• Course 2: Evaluating the functionality of a digital content
management system
• Course 3: Implementing a digital curation plan
•
Systems, Models, and Modeling Competency
• Course 1: Discussing the conceptual models and their
applications
• Course 3: Developing a digital curation plan
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iCAMP Competencies
• Management, Planning, and Evaluation Competency
• Course 1: Evaluating a data management plan
• Services Competency
• Course 1: Assessing various service models and
examples
• Course 3: Exploring different aspects of designed
researcher communities
• Environmental Scanning Competency
• Course 4: Exploring a particular topic of current interest
• Communication & Interpersonal Competency
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Portfolio as CBE Assessment
•
Asked students to reflect on
each competency group in
the context of all
modules/lectures/assignments
/activities in the courses and
their work placement
• Students addressed all four
courses in their portfolio
documents
• Students were able to ‘join up’
all aspects of the course and
reflect on how the
competencies come together
in order to carry out the work of
a digital curation practitioner
• Portfolio reinforced their
learning across courses and
identified further training needs
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Student Comments
•
“I would definitely recommend this course to other students! It is
applicable to a wide range of interests and areas. It covers a topic
that is really missing from DLIS curriculum.”
•
“The course covers a lot of technical topics related to digital data
that is not explained or covered in other courses. This has been the
best digitally focused class I've taken at UNT, by far.”
•
“The chance to work with these tools, systems, and resources is
absolutely invaluable. I think that this class carries great promise
within the four-course plan.”
•
“The range of theory and practical exercise work was also a great
aspect of this course.”
•
“I gained a lot of technical skills and experiences with the logistical
operation of a digital repository through the courses.”
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Introduction to UNIX/Linux
• A non-credit course designed to introduce
basic UNIX/Linux commands
• Covers a variety of introductory topics that
teach students the basics of how to work in a
console-based environment and on a server
that supports multiple simultaneous users
• Upon successful completion of the course (a
score of 80% or higher), students receive a
Mozilla Digital Badge
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Challenges and Future Directions
• Target audience
• Four courses that comprises a Graduate
Academic Certificate
• An ordered sequence of courses
• A need for continuous course improvement
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Acknowledgements
The iCAMP project (http://icamp.unt.edu) is supported by a generous grant from
the U.S. Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, Librarians for the 21st
Century Program, RE-05-11-0073-11, with additional support from the University of
North Texas, College of Information and UNT Libraries.
Dr. William Moen
Dr. Jeonghyun (Annie) Kim
Dr. Martin Harbert
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