Library and Information Week: Fake News Challenge

We decided to do a Fake News Challenge as part of 2021 Library and Information Week.

Each lunchtime students could collect the slip for the day and then at the end of the day we announced winners where they could collect lolly pack. 

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Some of the answers were well thought out and then others .. well they were not!

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We had a good giggle at the answers and had great conversations with kids at lunchtime on how to look up information online, triangulate answers and frame a good answer.

Importance of Citation

There was a great article from Melbourne Uni (Martin & Angelito, 2018) this week about the most cited source on Wikipedia and it got me thinking about how we teach citation and referencing in our schools.

Citation and referencing has an important role not only in academic work but also from the perspective of teaching students about acknowledgement and gratitude.

When we give students handouts or direct them towards information that might aid them in their academic work, we need to acknowledge why that information is important or credible to our subject areas. Have we communicated to them the importance of running their information through a CRAPP test to see if it is worth while? Is there an author present? If not, should we question it's credibility? 

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Including a citation and reference list on our day-to-day teaching resources reinforces that we did not create this information, we curated it and when we ask students to do the same, we have led by example. It takes a village, and we need to acknowledge that village.

"It is hard to expect respect when we don't show it", the same motto can be used with citation and referencing.

When was the last time you included a citation in your work? Did you include a reference list? Or was it all a bit too hard. Were you a bit too time pressed to acknowledge that the photocopied notes are in fact someone else's hard work? Then how can we expect our students to regularly use citation and referencing in their work?

And if you are not sure how to introduce this to your students, have a chat with your friendly Teacher Librarian (that is ... if you are lucky enough to have one in your school).

References:

Martin, D., & Angelito, C. (2018). Who’s citing whom and who’s citing what. Retrieved from https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/who-s-citing-whom-and-who-s-citing-what?

Why educational research is important for Teacher Librarians

EER 500 was indeed the hardest of all the subjects, but it was very satisfying at the end. I like to be working on ideas that are concrete and grounding, but most of the work in this subject was theoretical. I found opportunity in this subject to talk to some friends (Lawson, 2013) about research and to define what it means to me and in turn start conversations with students.

Research is more than just covering the Big 6. It is about building curiosity, encouraging students to be inquisitive and supporting them as they nut out an idea using socratic strategies. It is about is about improving practice and putting evaluative opportunities into the curriculum (Doolittle, 2008). Backing up our strategies with proven research can add weight to what it is that we are doing with teachers and students.

Research has enabled me to embrace the unknown and to also develop the skill in interrogating curriculum and teaching and learning strategies. Having the dialogue to be able to be a curriculum expert without being a subject expert is very powerful. Completing an assignment for EER 500 lead me to the Japanese concept of Kaizen (Wiser, 2005) which advocates continuous improvement. When as Teacher Librarians, we implement an idea, we should know how we are going to prove that it has made a difference (Lawson, 2014).

Libraries can be the centre of research within schools. The critical theory in how to construct a research question is important to develop and share with our colleagues. Pushing the bar, encouraging greater rigour when planning curriculum and skilling up teachers on how to create more challenging research tasks that encourage higher order thinking.

When I visited Santa Sabina College (Lawson 2014a) we had an opportunity to look at their Information Literacy strategy which engaged students in research through the application of innovative teaching and learning strategies. The new Australian Curriculum is well placed to leverage the guided inquiry, but the process of researching and planning a piece of work to engage and improve students skill levels takes a lot of effort. The library staff at Santa Sabina College, spend a lot of time planning and then after the task is done, evaluating both students and teachers to see where they can improve.

References:

Doolittle, G. P. (2008). Creating Professional Learning Communities: The Work of Professional Development Schools. Theory Into Practice, 47(4), 303-310.

Lawson, M. (2013) Welcome to 2013 [blog]
http://infowhelm.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/welcome-2013.html

Lawson, M. (2014) Kaizen in Schools [blog] Retrieved from:
http://infowhelm.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/kaizen-in-schools.html

Lawson, M. (2014a) Santa Sabina College [blog] Retrieved from
http://infowhelm.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/santa-sabina-college.html

Wiser, J. (2005) Kaizen Meets Dewey: Applying the Principles of the Toyota Way in Your Library. Toronto Conference. Special Libraries Association.

5 Components of Information Literacy

I came across this great video on youtube from Seminole State Library.

"Information literacy can be divided into five different categories: Identify, Find, Evaluate, Apply, and Acknowledge. View academic and real world examples for each component to discover why information literacy is important to success in college or university and in life."

http://youtu.be/1ronp6Iue9w

The thing that I like about this video is that it not only gives academic examples but real life examples of how Information Literacy is used. There are some really good video's on their youtube channel.

What is Information Literacy?

If you ask someone “What is information literacy?” they will respond with simple description of finding and using information.

Despite the many research papers that identify information literacy as the driving force behind enhanced student learning (Langford 1998, Grafstein 2002), there still seems to be no agreed definition of information literacy in schools (Herring 2011, Buschman 2009).  Often information literacy is misunderstood or substituted for concepts such as “information technology literacy, computer literacy, library literacy, information skills and learning to learn” (Bruce 1997 p21).

It is important for a teacher librarian to have a clear definition of information literacy as often the teaching and learning of these skills form the foundation of many learning tasks. Eisenberg (2008) makes the point that “every person in every possible setting” uses information and the skill in being able to filter out inaccurate information means that IL is an important life skill to develop.

Langford’s (1998) description of information literacy as being “literate in the field of information” is often interpreted as the information skills that Bruce (1997) talks about. Ryan & Wall (2010), p32 have defined information literacy in familiar terms, “students can access, use, organise, create, present and evaluate information”, which is supportive of the descriptors given by both ALIA (2006) and ALA (1989). ALIA’s (2003) descriptor includes efficiently as a key term in regards to how the information is used. Tessmer’s (1985) descriptor includes the word effectiveness and identifies that information is used for a specific or given need. This is supportive of Badke’s (2010) descriptor that identifies that the reason why we would seek information is to solve a problem. Wolf (2007) identifies information literacy  as “the ability to access, evaluate, and use information efficiently and effectively”. The introduction of the words efficiently and effectiveness implies that higher order thinking skills are part of the attributes of an information literate student.

Behrens (1994) identifies that a definition of information literacy has expanded to “accommodate the growing requirements for the effective handling of information”. Pariser (2011) makes an important point that developments in technology may impact unknowingly on the quality of information. A definition of information literacy must acknowledge that information literacy skills are more than just a “way of thinking and reasoning about a subject”; they need to be both contextual and must be adaptable (Grafstein 2002).

Both Bruce (1997) and Eisenberg’s (2008)’s descriptors resonate with me as they both identify that IL does not stand on it’s own. Bruce talks about the multiple literacies within the school environment that influence how information literacy skills are developed and similarly Eisenberg talks about information literacy as a process that needs to be seen within the context of learning. Kuhlthau and Maniotes (2007) identifies that IL is just one of several literacies that occur during the inquiry learning process.

References:

ALIA (2003), Information Literacy Forum Advocacy Kit 2003, www.alia.org.au/advocacy/literacy.kit.pdf

ALIA (2006), Statement on information literacy for all Australian’s, http://www.alia.org.au/policies/information.literacy.html

Badke, W. (2010). Information Overload? Maybe Not. Online, September 1, 52-54.  http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed September 8, 2011).

Behrens, Shirley J.  (1994)A conceptual analysis and historical overview of information literacy [electronic resource] CSU - Reserve

Bruce, C. (1997). Descriptions of information literacy. In “The seven faces of information literacy” (pp. 20-41). Adelaide : Auslib Press.

Eisenberg, MB. (2008). 'Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age', DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, 28, 2, pp. 39-47, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 September 2011.

Grafstein, A. (2002). A disciplined approach to Information Literacy. The Journal of Academic Librarianship: Jul 2002,. Vol. 28, Number 4, p. 197-204. EBSCO

Langford, L. (1998). Information literacy: a clarification, http://www.fno.org/sept98/clarify.html, accessed on 23rd August 2011.

Kuhlthau, C., and L. Maniotes. (2010). Building Guided Inquiry Teams for 21st-Century Learners. School Library Monthly, January 1, 18-21.  http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed October 8, 2011).

Pariser, E (March 2011). “ Beware online "filter bubbles" | Video on TED.com
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html, viewed 30 September 2011.

Ryan, S. & Wall, J. (2010). Digital Literacy: A Resource for Learning in Resourcing for Curriculum Innovation: Learning in a changing world. Pg 33, ch 5. Australian School Library Association.

What is Information Literacy?

If you ask someone “What is information literacy?” they will respond with simple description of finding and using information. I guess before I started my Masters of Education (TL) I had never really thought much about a proper definition, in fact the word or phrase was hardly used as part of pedagogical discourse in the schools that I taught in.

Despite the many research papers that identify information literacy (IL) as the driving force behind enhanced student learning (Langford 1998, Grafstein 2002), there still seems to be no agreed definition of information literacy in schools (Herring 2011, Buschman 2009).

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Often Information Literacy is misunderstood or substituted for concepts such as “information technology literacy, computer literacy, library literacy, information skills and learning to learn” (Bruce 1997 p21).

It is important for a teacher librarian to have a clear definition of Information Literacy as often the teaching and learning of these skills form the foundation of many learning tasks. Eisenberg (2008) makes the point that “every person in every possible setting” uses information and the skill in being able to filter out inaccurate information means that IL is an important life skill to develop. 

Langford’s (1998) description of information literacy as being literate in the field of information is often interpreted as the information skills that Bruce (1997) talks about. Ryan and Wall(2010), p32 have defined Information Literacy in familiar terms, “students can access, use, organise, create, present and evaluate information”, which is supportive of the descriptors given by both ALIA (2006) and ALA (1989).

ALIA’s (2003) descriptor includes efficiently as a key term in regards to how the information is used. Tessmer’s (1985) descriptor includes the word effectiveness and identifies that information is used for a specific or given need. This is supportive of Badke’s (2010) descriptor that identifies that the reason why we would seek information is to solve a problem. Wolf (2007) identifies Information Literacy as “the ability to access, evaluate, and use information efficiently and effectively”. The introduction of the words efficiently and effectiveness implies that higher order thinking skills are part of the attributes of an information literate student.

Behrens (1994) identifies that a definition of Information Literacy has expanded to “accommodate the growing requirements for the effective handling of information”. Pariser (2011) makes an important point that developments in technology may impact unknowingly on the quality of information.

A definition of Information Literacy must acknowledge that the skills are more than just a “way of thinking and reasoning about a subject”; they need to be both contextual and must be adaptable (Grafstein 2002).

Both Bruce (1997) and Eisenberg’s (2008)’s descriptors resonate with me as they both identify that Information Literacy does not stand on it’s own. Bruce talks about the multiple literacies within the school environment that influence how IL skills are developed and similarly Eisenberg talks about IL as a process that needs to be seen within the context of learning. Kuhlthau and Maniotes (2007) identifies that IL is just one of several literacies that occur during the inquiry learning process.

I have put a list of references on my research and references page.

Further reading to digest

• Eisenberg's Big 6http://big6.com/pages/about/big6-skills-overview.php

• ALIA's statement on Information Literacy for all Australian's
  https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/statement-information-literacy-all-australians

• ALA's Progress report on Information Literacyhttp://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/progressreport