NHS London Libraries Games and Info Lit w'shop Sept '14

Editor's Notes

• #2: AE Intros......who we are and what we do.
• #3: AE 9.30-10.00 Refreshmants 10:00-10:45 What makes a bad workshop? Opportunity to think about what makes a workshop go wrong, but also how to put it right. 10:45-11:00 Break 11:00-13:00 The Winner takes it all: enhancing the quality and impact of library workshops. What we have done at Middlesex Uni. 13:00-14:00 Lunch 14:00-15:45 Create a game: chance to create your own game. (Refreshments at 3) 15:4516:00 Questions 16:00 Close
• #4: VH Divide into groups Get to know your group 10:00-10:10 10 mins to discuss and note down ‘5 things guaranteed to make a library workshop a disaster’ 10:10-10:25 Pass on to next team and spend 15 mins coming up with solutions 10:25-10:45 Feedback
• #5: VH
• #6: 15 min break
• #7: VH
• #8: VH Intros Looking at the broader issues surrounding provision of information literacy training in HE How collaboration with other professionals has enabled us to improve our practice eg. Learning technology experts, LDU, academics and students How we have been inspired to change the way we teach and address the problems What we have done and how we are developing our provision What impact have we had
• #9: AE AE and VH identified a number of issues regarding provision of user education: Not embedded workshops traditionally provided at request of academic staff on ad hoc basis which leads to inconsistent provision complex module structure No central coordination of skills within the School Inconsistent provision: rarely see all first year students Repetitive: Impossible to develop progressive programme of information literacy training, so end up repeating what we’ve already covered for 2nd and 3rd years Bad timing: Insufficient time Wrong time, so not relevant to students Information skills: Students know how to use technology, but lack ability to find, evaluate and use the information found Teaching methods (more next slide)
• #10: AE Is teaching a Librarian’s Waterloo? Relevance: Library workshops can be too generic and not relevant to students and what they are doing Too much: we want to tell them everything we know Tools based: obsessed with showing them how to use databases Didactic: follow instructions correctly, step-by-step Uninspiring: bore students/death by Powerpoint Subject: Librarians fear teaching subjects they are unfamiliar with, so over complicate. What we need to remember is that we are teaching information skills and not the subject Teaching skills: librarians not taught to teach……however things are changing
• #11: AE Student research is finding… Book or journal with the answers Right amount of facts Right number of references Reporting back to teacher Easy option: use Google and Wikipedia as easy Also fear of plagiarising and criticising information, also students who have never written more than 500 words Behaviourist librarians reinforce this
• #12: AE Librarians have arrived……the importance role is starting to be recognised Teaching qualifications: PGCertHE @ MDX: traditionally not open to librarians Single long 60 credit module, so no stopping off points Now revalidated as 15+15+30 credit modules (DE version for overseas campuses) 2x15 core skills for Librarians and Support Staff Teaching Fellowships Originally learning Support Fellowships (Teaching F’ships for academics) Changed to TF for all c 8 years ago Recognises contribution to teaching in the Uni Active community within MDX, conferences etc FHEA: Alternative route/equiv to PGCertHE TESOL Benefits: Equivalent qualifications to academic staff = equal footing Learning together: academics and support staff studying PGCert together = gain understanding of each others role, contribution etc Language: use same language Respect: mutual Understanding of the theory behind teaching
• #13: VH Inspired by ‘Teaching information literacy in HE workshop’. Attended at CILIP. Dec 2010. We teach 3-5 times too much When planning sessions we need to consider what will make the biggest difference given time limit/use online guides We try to clone our expertise We can’t distil our own experience into a one hour session. We don’t need to show students how to search databases, but we do need to show them how to appreciate the value of academic resources, search effectively, evaluate the information found and how to use it ethically Discussion is powerful: Find out how the students already find info, what they already know, what they want Learn/discover together (peer learning): don’t plan searches/demos in advance We can learn a lot about student’s understanding from the questions they ask Learning by doing is empowering: Encourage active participation through a variety of activities eg. trying things out, getting feedback, solving problems, peer discussion, reflecting on mistakes etc No demos: Interaction and exploration Uninvolved students are less likely to learn Students should be learners, not the taught (working together to learn): Our role to support and facilitate Disciplinary context is a key influence on student learning ie. one method does not fit all….devised different sessions for PDE students Games: Inspiration from LILAC 2011- Susan Boyle (UCD) Using games in HE.
• #14: VH Games should be: Fun-enjoyable Quick -10 mins Simple - easy to prepare and cheap Easy to grasp and play- no complicated rules Meet a specific need or objective
• #15: VH
• #16: AE To put all this in context……Wider programme of activity that we were engaged in at the time 3 years ago we worked with School LTSL and AWL (LDU) to embed our workshops in to curriculum Matched information and other academic skills against CBI employability guidelines, and then integrate them into the wider employability skills framework devised by the school eg. finding and evaluating information = problem solving Plagiarism and search strategy = communications and literacy Finding info for projects = self-management More clout > easier to approach staff if our contribution is part a school plan and easier to get appropriate time Avoided overlap and duplication by identifying specific programmes rather than modules within structure Created a menu of workshops ie. what we would cover in each year Coordinate content with LDU to avoid duplication
• #17: VH What we did: Back to basics-we considered what we need to teach Identified key elements (next slide): Resources, keywords, searching and evaluation Created a game/activity for each element Mix and match elements Coordinate content with LDU to avoid duplication The framework for every workshop: Thinking about resources game in an academic context ( 3 x versions TAR, Sources and Scenario) Keywords: using image to get students thinking about keywords (specific, alternative, related) and then using real example The real thing: relate learning to a project Searching (hands on) mainly use Summon = frees up time to concentrate on info skills Evaluation using sample search results (website, newspaper article, trade journal, academic journal) and Criteria game for 3rd years. PDE students: have taken interactivity much further eg. taking items from special collections into their studio (think about how they can use them), letting them discover art and design collections themselves at HE (mini project) etc. Now rolling out, so developing alternatives for 2nd and 3rd years and PGs
• #18: VH Example marking criteria for this project. In this session we are going to show you how to improve your marks. Worth considering this: Max points awarded to work which is based on good research and well referenced Max marks awarded if refs used are relevant and correctly written ie. Harvard style LDU can help with style of writing and presentation
• #19: VH Hand out exercise Thinking about resources. Groups 10 mins
• #20: VH Good for: broad/general overview of subject Edited for quality and accuracy Not so good for: May not be specific enough Can be out of date
• #21: VH Good for: Up-to-date Specialist/focussed Present latest research Edited for accuracy/quality (peer reviewed) Lots of references Not so good for: Can be hard to locate/access Expensive May be too specific May be at wrong level
• #22: VH Good for: Easy to use/search All subjects covered Can be very up-to-date Mobile Not so good for: No editorial control Unreliable sources Can be created by anyone Material can lack provenance Can be out-of-date Not everyone has access
• #23: VH Good for: Up-to-date Edited Readily available (latest copies especially) Not so good for: Can be bias Can be unbalanced Can be sensationalist Hard to get hold of/access (back issues)
• #24: VH Good for: Latest information Current events Concise info Product news Often available online with RSS/Twitter etc Not so good for: Detail Objective information ie. can be bias, adverts, preferential products etc Often hard to find old issues Back issues/archive
• #25: VH More information about the range of resources available on the Library Subject Guide.
• #26: AE
• #27: AE Example of a real student project and how we get students to think about their keywords. What are the keywords? Cornish, villages, 4G, trial What are the alternative keywords? Cornish: Cornwall, West Country, West of England Villages: Village, rural communities, countryside 4G: Fourth generation technology, cellular wireless standards, networking technology, Trial: test, evaluation What terms can you use to make your search more specific? Internet access Fixed and mobile subscribers Frequency and bandwidth Infrastructure BT and Everything Everywhere Routers, antennas, and dongles Radio spectrum IP based mobile broadband Services eg. ultra-broadband internet access, IP telephony, gaming services, streamed multimedia LTE (Long term evolution) IMT (International mobile telecommunications) advanced compliance What are the related subjects? Rural internet access UK digital agenda, Digital Britain Digital inclusion Telecommunications 3G and 2G Laptop computer wireless modems, smart phones, mobile devices 00:50
• #28: VH Need to carry out a literature search: Finding the information available on a subject Finding information to inform, underpin and shape your research Finding what has already been written on a subject Analyzing, evaluating and making judgements about the info found Identifying the main trends Finding appropriate information: the information needs to be suitable for your need ie. right level, current if important, sufficient breadth or detail etc
• #29: VH Searching is followed by a discussion about the advantages of using Summon to find info rather than Google. Google Familiar and easy to use Finds too much information Fast results Access from any computer Access to some books and journals Designed to sell you things eg. shoes Search results sponsored…no accident that Wikipedia, Amazon etc at top of search results Searches for info from any source Pay for academic information Summon Easy to use Finds lots of academic info Fast results Access from any computer Access to lots of books and journals Designed to find you information: up-to-date, focussed/specific Search results by relevance Searches quality resources eg. Peer reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings , research etc Free access to full text ie. Information not freely available elsewhere
• #30: AE Introduce the importance of evaluating information for quality What do you think about this quote by Abraham Lincoln?
• #31: AE Divide class into group Hand out worksheet and 4x items. Discuss. No right or wrong answers. All items found by doing a search on Network Security. Which items are most relevant: Academic journal and Wiki most relevant. Newspaper article is sensationalist and trade journal is a review of software. Which items would be no use: Newspaper article useless, and trade journal probably not unless needed to know about software packages. Which item has the most academic authority: Academic journal. It has biography of authors, references, in-text citations and uses academic language. Article has been peer reviewed. Wikipedia has refs, but don’t know who has added information. Are any of the items bias: Newspaper Trade journal is reviewing software and may be swayed by advertisers. Which item is the most current: Wikipedia Academic journal is very out-of-date 2004 Would not use any of them and would continue search. Discuss the importance of evaluating the information that you find.
• #32: AE Authority : Who is the author? What is their knowledge base/qualifications? How have they carried out their research? Relevance : Is this what I need? Will it answer my question? Is it at the right level? Intent : What is the purpose of information e.g. financial gain, propaganda, academic etc? Objectivity : Balanced view? Opposing views represented? Links to supporting information? Currency: How old is this information? When was it last updated and by whom?
• #33: VH Ask students what they think? Before we explain, run DEWEY GAME.
• #34: VH Books arranged in subjects Each subject has a number, so books on same subject are at same number on the shelves We use a 3 letter suffix (usually first 3 letters of authors name) to help you find books within a number Books arranged alphabetically by suffix within each number
• #35: AE Those who attended average 65%, rather than 50 % for non attendees ie. 15% higher Attendees 7/10 for bibliography, rather than 5/10 ie. 20% difference
• #36: AE Resources used shows better choice of resource by attendees….in the case of this project, very little current info, so Library catalogue not a good choice Evaluation criteria shows better understanding by attendees ie. Academic authority and currency seen as impo rather than easy to read.
• #37: AE Develop activities so appropriate for level and not repetitious Have developed further versions of the games for 2nd and 3rd years and PGs. Further developing 2nd year workshop so substantially different to 1st and 3rd. Improve attendance: any ideas…..problem is not just ours University is introducing much more rigorous attendance monitoring CS and other progs substantially changing way do 1st yr teaching (projects and workshops) which is more attractive to students and harder to skive off. Revalidation and new courses in our school an opportunity to embed our teaching further Simpler course structure, so easier to see all students without duplication Have been able to influence the Learning Outcomes to include info lit skills CSD4040 LDU and Libs have been given 12 hours to teach info and academic skills and listed as course tutors. Working closely with AWL (LDU) to develop sessions for CSD4040 Working with Steve Chilton (Learning Technologist) to develop online courses, support etc Moodle: old VLE being phased out and Moodle introduced. Opportunity to reassess our contribution and influence content. Working closely with Educational Development Unit (Steve Chilton) DProf
• #38: AE Successful collaboration is getting things moving plus team teaching Changes to methods have worked: survey shows that we have made an impact, plus many colleagues have used and adapted our workshops for their students Teaching is more fun for students and for us But we can now say... ...Library training gets you better marks
• #39: AE
• #40: AE Any questions
• #41: Lunch 1-2 During lunch think about a particular group of users that you are concerned about in relation to library workshops.
• #42: AE 1hour 15 mins (3.15pm) to create game: Reflect on our games Think about games you already know eg. Monopoly, Scrabble etc Brainstorm ideas Create game (1 hour) Complete form to cement your ideas Prepare presentation (15 mins) 5 min presentation