Information literacy for the humanities researcher: A syllabus based on information habits research

This paper reviews the existing literature on the information behavior of researchers in the humanities, in order to develop a set of learning objectives which can be used in the planning of information literacy training programs for this group of library users.

Stepping Stones to Information Literacy: a PebblePad case study

Aston University has recently made PebblePad, an e-portfolio or personal learning system, available to all students within the University. The customisable Profiles within PebblePad allow students to self-declare their skills in particular areas, attaching evidence of their skills or an action plan for improvement to each statement. Formal Information Literacy (IL) teaching within Aston University is currently limited to Library & Information Services (LIS) Information Specialists delivering a maximum of one session to each student during each level of their degree. However, many of the skills are continually developed by students during the course of their academic studies. For this project, an IL skills profile was created within PebblePad, which was then promoted to groups of staff and students to complete during the academic session 2009-10. Functionality within PebblePad allowed students to share their IL skills profile, evidence, action plans or any other items they felt were appropriate with an LIS Information Specialist who was able to add comments and offer suggestions for activities to help the student to develop further. Activities were closely related to students’ coursework where possible: suggesting a student kept a short reflective log of their information searching and evaluating process for an upcoming essay, for example. Feedback on the usefulness of the IL Profile will be sought from students through focus groups and the communication tools in PebblePad. In this way, we hope to make students more aware of their IL skills and to offer IL skills support over a longer period of time than a single session can provide. We will present preliminary conclusions about the practicalities and benefits of a self-declaration approach to developing IL skills in students at Aston University.

New developments in library orientation and information literacy:regenerating library services for new students

Over the last six years, Aston University Library & Information Services Induction Team have worked on the Welcome experience for new and returning students to the Library.  The article provides an overview of the Induction programme and how it has evolved to engage students pre and post arrival to the University. 

Information literacy: uma análise nas bibliotecas escolares da rede privada em Natal / RN

GUEDES, Clediane de Araújo; FARIAS, Gabriela Belmont de. Information literacy: uma análise nas bibliotecas escolares da rede privada em Natal / RN. Revista Digital de Biblioteconomia e Ciência da Informação, Campinas, v. 4, n. 2, p. 110-133, jan./jun. 2007

Information literacy: uma análise nas bibliotecas escolares da rede privada em Natal / RN

GUEDES, Clediane de Araújo; FARIAS, Gabriela Belmont de. Information literacy: uma análise nas bibliotecas escolares da rede privada em Natal / RN. Revista Digital de Biblioteconomia e Ciência da Informação, Campinas, v. 4, n. 2, p. 110-133, jan./jun. 2007

The library of the Institute of Alajuela address the information and communication technologies: User training and information literacy

The Library of the Institute of Alajuela made an induction experience and training of users and ventured into the information literacy and engaged in the work of the teaching-learning as an integral part of the curriculum. The actions of the library in developing search strategies, location, selection and use of information brought inthe health service, changes to the role of the library, the librarian, the book and the information in the educational environment.By sharing this experience is intended to provide information that can motivate staff of educational institutions that wish toenter the field of information literacy as a strategy to support the development oflifelong independent learning skills and meaningful learning. Currently, the library should be a proactive part in the education of students but also teachers, administrative and family.This will result in a benefit to Costa Rica: the development of youth and their proper integration into the workplace.

Information Literacy in Costa Rican Universities. Viewing Levels of Incorporation from the Information Published on the Websites of their Libraries

Training in information competencies or information literacy is one of the current challenges of university libraries at the possibilities of access to vast information resources that facilitate digital media, which require a better understand and apply the selection and assessment criteria to retrieval the highest quality and relevance of information as needed. In this situation, Ibero-American university libraries (Latin-America, Spain and Portugal) have been slowly incorporating this training either from direct training programs, offered from the library or through collaborative work with teachers and schools in curricula of various universities as a whole or in specific disciplines. In this text, it was identified that, at present, from the information displayed on Web sites of universities-HEI in Costa Rica, a very small percentage of university libraries would find taking actions in a level 1 or 2 of incorporating information literacy, since a large most developed is still very focused programs and processes to the traditional user training, while another large majority, unfortunately, has no action-information about actions from the forming perspective that should be any library.

Incorporating Critically Conscious Assessment into a Large Scale Information Literacy Program

Lesson plan published in Critical Pedagogy Handbook, vol. 2

Possibilities and problems of teaching the history of the present time through media and information literacy.

Le système éducatif encourage une histoire positiviste, ordonnée, unilatérale et universelle; par l´incorporation de le découpage chronologique de l´histoire en quatre étapes. Mais, est-ce qu´il serait posible que les élèves puissent étudier leur propre présent? Mon commuication poursuit d´exposer, comme Saab affirmait, le présent est “le point de départ et d´arrivée de l´enseignement de l´histoire détermine les allers et les retours au passé”. La façon d´approcher l´enseignement de l´histoire est confortable. Il n´y a pas de questions, il n´y a pas de discussions. Cette vision de l´histoire interprétée par l´homme blancoccidental-hétérosexuel s´inscrit dans le projet de la modernité du Siècle des Lumières. Par conséquent, cette histoire obvie que nous vivons dans una société postmoderne de la suspicion, de la pensée débile. En ce qui concerne la problématique autour de la pollution audiovisuelle et la façon dont les enseignants et les élèves sont quotidiennement confrontés à ce problème. Par conséquent, il est nécessaire de réfléchir à la question de l´enseignement de l´histoire quadripartite. Actuellement, les médias et les nouvelles technologies sont en train de changer la vie de l´humanité. Il est indispensable que l´élève connaisse son histoire presente et les scénarioshistoriques dans l´avenir. Je pense en la nécessité d´adopter une didactique de l’histoire presente et par conséquent, nous devons utiliser la maîtrise des médias et de l´information. Il faut une formation des enseignants que pose, comme Gadamer a dit: “le passé y le présent se trouvent par une négociation permanente”. Una formation des enseignants qui permette de comprendre et penser l´histoire future / les histoires futures. À mon avis, si les élèves comprennent la complexité de leur monde et leurs multiples visions, les élèves seront plus tolérantes et empathiques.

O curso de literacia da informação da NOVA Escola Doutoral: The road to information literacy

Descrevem-se as diversas fases do “Projeto para uma Estratégia de Literacia Informacional na NOVA” com vista à implementação de uma estratégia transversal de literacia da informação que abrangesse todas as Unidades Orgânicas da NOVA e o modo como a sua orientação de topo, dinâmica, metodologia e objetivos conduziram, posteriormente, à inclusão de um curso de Literacia Informacional no programa da NOVA Escola Doutoral. Realçando que a implementação do curso de Literacia Informacional nesse projeto passou a constituir um dos poucos exemplos de oferta formativa e de efetiva concretização de um projeto de intervenção curricular e pedagógica ao nível da literacia da informação no ensino superior em Portugal, promovendo a colaboração entre colegas e indo ao encontro de uma transferência de saberes e de uma partilha de competências abertas à colaboração de doutorandos e orientadores, enunciamse os objetivos do curso de Literacia Informacional e de cada módulo que o constitui e os resultados esperados ao nível do ensino e da aprendizagem. Conclui-se que a diversificação dos percursos formativos em contexto universitário, em estreita convergência com outras aprendizagens ao nível sociocultural, confere aos bibliotecários a responsabilidade de desempenhar um papel ativo no ensino e na promoção e consolidação das competências transversais dos estudantes, contribuindo a literacia da informação para o sucesso académico também ao nível do ensino superior.

The role of information literacy competence and higher order thinking skills to develop academic writing in science and engineering students

This article discusses a study organized to develop academic writing skills in undergraduate students pursuing engineering courses. The target group consisted of 30 students pursuing a Bachelor of Technology in their third year. The classroom observations regarding teaching writing revealed that writing proficiency for most of the students was at a very low level. Followed by this, an intervention program was organized in one college, where the researcher taught academic writing to the students. Units comprising tasks that focused on raising awareness of the academic texts and involving the students in the cognitive processes of writing were designed. The study focused on raising student awareness regarding the nature and characteristics of academic texts in order to develop academic writing skills. The study also emphasized that involving the students in the cognitive processes of writing (e.g., defining the rhetorical problem, identifying the rhetorical situation, determining the audience, setting goals for writing, planning for the text by generating, and organizing ideas) is necessary. The study further suggests that discussions between students and teachers regarding the construction of a text and the way language works in various text types facilitates better writing.