Tag Archives: information literacy skills

Curation not Hoarding

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Ask a teenage student to show you their desktop, or for that matter, ask a teacher. Without doubt in most cases you will see an assortment of files, links and short cuts dumped on their home screens. Welcome to the age of digital hoarding. The art of curation is a necessity for everybody in a digital learning environment and teacher librarians are best placed to instructional lead their institutions in best practice (Valenza, 2012).

Content curation has always happened at schools, but the digital information overload and the rate it is happening at is leaving some washed in its wake. We are both consuming and producing information at a phenomenal rate, and no more so than in an educational setting, where emails and communications fly.  Think of the information we collect – emails, documents, music, videos, photos. How can students cope with this influx unless we teach them the valuable skills of curation? Curation is the art of not only collecting but organising and adding value to those resources (Wheeler & Gerver, 2015).

When I picture well curated resources, strangely I think of Marie Kondo and her method of decluttering spaces called KonMari (Kondo, 2015). The KonMari method gets its’ followers to work out what you want to keep first – Does it bring you joy?  The second step is to organise by grouping. Finally, it is the storing and labelling.

Curation takes a very similar path. Before we can teach both students and teachers how to curate, we need to teach them how to declutter and decide what is worth keeping or curating.  A good curator will also ask key questions – do I need it? And is it worth it? Only the individual curator can answer the first question, need is very subjective.  The second question of ‘worth’ is one of evaluating validity. The CRAP method is a popular choice for students’ evaluation of sources, possibly due to its crass mnemonic.

C – currency

R – reliability

A – Authority

P – Point of view or purpose.

(Charles Sturt University Library, 2019)

Once a resource has been deemed worthy of collection it is time to organise it.  Where will you store it? Is it worth sharing? How will you label it – so you can find it easily when needed or so it has relevance to those you share it with? This is where folders, playlists, and tagging come into their own.  By labelling resources with key terms that will group it with other similar resources we improve our workflow.  Today’s digital affordance allows us to group, sort and store in multiple places for multiple uses, maximising our curated resource exposure. Through adding tags and grouping items we are adding value to the resource, ensuring its usefulness.

There are two types of curation:

  1. Personal Curation – finding, organising and labelling resources for your personal use. Some examples are:
    • Storing of personal files
    • Cataloguing of emails
    • Using bookmarks on web browser with folders
    • Signing into Youtube and creating private playlists or channels
    • Spotify/Music Online – creating playlists.
    • Images into albums on your devices.
  2. Collective Curation – The ability to curate resources together and comment on others’ curations. Some examples are:
    • Website Curation tools like Diigo, Pinterest, Pearltrees, Elib…
    • Openly sharing resources through networks and social media.

Collective curation builds collaboration and enhances communication.  Teaching students the ability to curate, and then engaging them in projects which utilise collective curation has the potential to deepen learning and create higher order thinking (Gonzalez, April 15, 2017). Mobile Digital Curation allows for learning to happen anywhere, anytime and breaks the walls of the classroom. Mobile devices have opened our ability to find, select, organise, create and share resources.

Students need the digital literacy skills that will enable them to do this well, and in the process curate themselves a positive digital footprint.

 

Charles Sturt University Library (Producer). (2016). How to evaluate information. [Online Video] Retrieved from https://youtu.be/hp5xasNuHL8

Gonzalez, J. (April 15, 2017). To boost higher-order thinking.  Retrieved from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/curation/

Kondo, M. (2015). The life-changing magic of tidying. London: Ebury Publishing.

Valenza, J. (2012). Curation! (Vol. 29).

Wheeler, S., & Gerver, R. (2015). Learning with ‘e’s : Educational theory and practice in the digital age. In. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=1918927

 

 

Recognising Aesthetic Synergy

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As I am completing the reading for my subject INF533: Literature in digital environments I am constantly thinking I – How are we using digital literature educationally?  James & De Kock (2013) called paperback books closed environments and commented that with digital literature the reader decides their level of engagement (p. 120).  I would argue that we as readers have always decided our level of engagement.   You can have two students read the same piece of literature and yet see it completely differently depending on how ‘engaged’ they are with the text.  Yes digital literature allows for interactions and exploration during the reading text, if the reader chooses to, but are they engaging or simply viewing?  Are they simply getting lost in the world of hyperlinks and digital features.  We as educators need to empower our students with the skills required for them to judge the quality of what they are reading in both a digital and non-digital form.  Walsh (2013) outlined the aspects of good literature as  the “aesthetic synergy between the technical features, artistic creation of text and the ideas within it” (p187).  In our information overloaded world this ability to recognise good literature when a lot of material is self-published needs to be taught.  Students need to be able to recognise  the devices that an author or producer of good text uses in order to produce their own quality material, which as Yokato & Teale (2014) highlighted is central to being literate in the 21st century (p.584).

James, R. & De Kock, L. (2013). The digital david and the gutenberg goliath: the rise of the ‘enhanced’e-book. English Academy Review, 30(1), pp. 107-123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10131752.2013.783394

Yokota, J. & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 34(6). Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/3886534/Picture_Books_and_the_Digital_World_Educators_Making_Informed_Choices

Walsh, M. (2013). Literature in a digital environment (Ch. 13). In L. McDonald (Ed.), A literature companion for teachers. Marrickville, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA). https://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/ereserve/pdf/walsh-m3.pdf

 

 

Blog Task #1 INF533

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My head is spinning from the world of digital literature.

I have been focussing on completing the readings contained in module 1 of this subject and the more I read, the more my questions and thoughts develop.  How are we preparing our students to live in this digitised world?  How do my own children display their digital literacy? What is digital literature?

Before starting this subject I thought of digital literature in terms of information found through the internet or on electronic devices.  My definition, I feel, compares favourably with Lamb (2011) and her five electronic reading environments: e-books; Interactive story books; reference databases; hypertexts and interactive fiction; and transmedia storytelling.  I must say that interactive fiction and transmedia storytelling were a complete mystery to me.   E-books I have used, but like many others I prefer the smell and feel of the real thing.  Reference databases are my day to day, and the constant battle of trying to get students to use the amazing collection of valid information they contain rather than simply ‘googling’ and taking the top result.  I was familiar with hypertexts in non-fiction, however, had never seen it in fiction, probably because I like my fiction in the physical form.

Reading, writing, and comprehension has always been linked together and share skill sets, however the pace that our digital world is evolving has made these three skill sets intrinsically linked as literacy has become deictic,  or continuously changing contextually (Leu, 2011, p. 6).  Rettberg (2012) clearly outlined in his article how literacy has evolved as technology has allowed for not only the externalisation of thoughts, but the broadcast and collaboration of our thought processes with ease.  This, as I explain to both my children and students, can be their greatest advantage and their biggest regret if engaged in without careful thought and full comprehension of what you are reading and writing, just ask Stephanie Rice.    Learning how to read and write online requires a complex layering of skills and therefore we need to not only evaluate the use of digital literature in our classrooms, but also develop our students’ skill in the areas of locating; evaluating sources; judging the accuracy and bias (Leu, Forzani, Timbrell & Maykel, 2015, p.140).  There is an assumption that our students are ‘digital natives’, when I feel the reality is that our children and students are constantly lost in the world of the ‘hyperlink’ where they a falling through the rabbit hole of the digital information world (Coombs, 2009).

We cannot predict what future technological developments will happen, nor how people will use them, yet we need to prepare our students and children to live in this constant, rapidly evolving world.  With this rapid evolution, it is hard to know what technology will stand the test of time,  leading to a much of our digital literature no longer able to be accessed due to formats, companies or devices used to view no longer in operation (Sadokierski, 2013).   I feel  that as teachers we need to focus on the skills behind the technology, rather than the technology itself.  What makes a story ‘good’ will be similar whether it is given digitally or physically.  Comprehending the mood, the devices, the literary elements that lead us to our feelings when we read, view or hear something is what is going to make our students and children able to ride the wave that is digital literature.

 

 

Coombes, B. (2009) Generation Y: Are they really digital natives or more like digital refugees? [online]. Synergy; v. 7 n. 1 p. 31-40; 2009. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=178236;res=AEIPT> ISSN: 1448-5176.

Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39 (3), 12-17. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67371172&site=ehost-live

Leu, D.J. et al (2011). The new literacies of online reading comprehension: Expanding the literacy and learning curriculum. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55 (1)5-14. Doi: 10.1598/JAAL.55.1.1

Leu, D.J, Forzani, E.,Timbrell, N. et al (2015) Seeing the forest, not the trees: Essential technologies for literacy in the primary-grade and upper elementary-grade classroom. Reading Teacher, 69(2) 139-145

Rettberg, J.W. (2012). Electronic literature seen from a distance: the beginnings of a field. Retrieved from http://www.dichtung-digital.org/2012/41/walker-rettberg.htm

Sadokierski, Z. (2013, November 12). What is a book in the digital age? [Web log post]. Retrived from http://theconversation.com/what-is-a-book-in-the-digital-age-19071

 

Forum 5.3 – 1  Discuss either Lupton’s or Bonnano’s  analysis and their potential impact on the need for an IL model in your school.

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Bonanno (2015) has clearly outlined the Australian Curriculum content descriptors, general capabilities and suggested the introduction of inquiry skills for F-10 in the curriculum areas of History, Geography, Science, Civics & Citizenship, Economics & Business, Design & Technology and Digital Technology, in an easy to read table format.  Included in the reading is the core skills and tools of the Guided Inquiry Design Framework with suggested web tools to assist implementation.  The progression of implementation of a school based approach to information literacy is evident in all areas.

 

When there is an information literacy model in place in a school, students would develop and build their inquiry skills to the point that the process becomes natural and transfers across curriculum areas.  Unfortunately, not all students are experiencing this progression.  Assignments tend to be topic based with little range of choice.  When the student identifies the problem or question that they want to answer on the topic they would be more deeply engaged in their learning.  However, if method of information literacy is only deployed sporadically across year levels and departments the process would be daunting, for both the teachers and the students.

 

Bonanno, K. with Fitzgerald, L. (2014) F-10 inquiry skills scope and sequence, and F-10 core skills and tools. Eduwebinar Pty Ltd.

Perspective and Context in Information Literacy

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Coloured puzzle pieces being put together by different hands.

mohamed_hassan / Pixabay

Behavioural or Sociocultural approach?  Skillset or concept?  Information literacy is a complicated and has a diversity of definitions and understanding.  What has become apparent to me through reading the literature in this module is the importance of perspective and context.  These two factors determine our view of information literacy.  If our job as teacher librarians is to prepare students for the workforce or further study, we need to focus on the metacognitive skills that will allow students to be adaptive in the changing information landscape that is determined by the context they will be engaging with it.   This will give students a broad skillset that is applicable to them in whatever context they find themselves in.

Information literacy instruction needs to instruct students using a behaviourist approach engaging them in contextual applications of the skills required to engage, but include sociocultural aspects of the world we now live in.  Context and purpose of information literacy needs to be visible to our students if we want them to transfer their school based information literacy skills into their wider life.

The aspects of skill transfer or lack of it really interested me. Herring (2010) found that although both teachers and teacher librarians recognised the importance of information literacy skills, there was not a collective understanding of what they were, how they should be taught and reinforced with students (p294).  If a school as a whole cannot define what it is they want their students to achieve, how can we ask students to be information literate?  As teacher librarians I believe that we can be instrumental in initiating and pursuing that our schools have a whole school approach to information literacy as we are specialist who see the across all curriculum covered in the school.  Only when students are getting the same instructions and similar experiences across all classes will they understand that the skills they are learning can be transferable not only across subjects but into their personal lives.

Herring, J. (2010). Year seven students, information literacy skills and transfer: a grounded theory (Doctoral dissertation, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga). Retrieved from http://bilby.unilinc.edu.au:1801/webclient/StreamGate?folder_id=0&dvs=1491002155919~448&usePid1=true&usePid2=true

 

Forum 5.1 Information Literacy – What I have learnt so far…

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Open book with random letters floating off open pages
Open book with random letters floating off open pages

Mediamodifier / Pixabay

The new formats and delivery modes or multi-modal resources do not require users to have different literacy skills, but do require extensions of the traditional literacy definitions.

The National Secretariat for the International Year of Literacy (1990) stated the “the goal is an active literacy, which allows people to use language to enhance their capacity to think, create and question, in order to participate effectively in society” (School of Information Studies, 2017, p. 1).  I believe this statement could have been written at any stage in history.  Literacy has not changed, but society, through technology has.  The fundamental skills of reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and understanding evolve with society.  Technology has changed how information is shared, the fundamental skills to interpret, process and use information effectively in this changing complex world essentially have not.

The world we and our students live in is more culturally and ethnically diverse than ever.  This does not mean we need different skills, but a deeper understanding of how context affects the way we process information and use it effectively in the various multi-modal methods available to us.  Throughout time there has always been variance in how language is used in context to different situations and method of delivery.   The expanding nature that technology is playing on methods of information transfer just means that we as a society need to have an understanding of the context we are in.  An example of this is having students understand the ‘netiquette’ rules may be different when emailing a teacher compared to a friend and writing your assignment in ‘netlish’ is not an appropriate use of language in that situation.

Our definitions of literacy and the literacy skills that we teach need to be seen as evolving concepts, not static, if they are going to prepare our students for the world of tomorrow.

School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University (2017). Introduction to teacher librarianship, semester 1 Module 5 (ETL401). Wagga Wagga: Charles Sturt University.