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Assessment Information literacy Open access Open education

UNESCO on info lit assessment

Olivier Charbonneau 2013-12-18

Composite concept of Media and Information Literacy from UNESCO's Global media and information literacy assessment framework: country readiness and competencies 2013 p. 31

Composite concept of Media and Information Literacy from UNESCO’s Global media and information literacy assessment framework: country readiness and competencies 2013 p. 31


UNESCO, it seems, is quite interested in media and information literacy (MIL). It just released an “Assessment Framework for Media and Information Literacy” to assist countries in devising effective MIL strategies. According to the United-Nations agency:

A central component of UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy strategy, the Global MIL Assessment Framework would enable Member States to carry out comprehensive assessments of the information and media environment, and to monitor at the regional and national level the extent to which citizens have acquired MIL competencies, particularly targeting teachers in service and training. This evidence-based information will subsequently help Member States monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of education and ICT policies in developing 21st century capacities, and help to design new strategies and action-oriented plans that fit best within country-specific contexts and conditions.

The publication presents an overall assessment framework composed of two tiers: country readiness, and assessment of competencies. It also includes a plan for national adaptation as well as concrete suggestions for data collection, analysis and application. It is intended as a living document to be further tested, adjusted and adapted to national needs and circumstances by its users – policy decision makers, teachers and local professional communities in information, media and education.

The 150+ page document is available for free in PDF format from UNESCO .

In fact, UNESCO has launched an open repository under creative commons licences for all of their publications and more !

Information literacy K-12

Digital natives and digital nots

Olivier Charbonneau 2013-12-12

A great video from PBS’s Idea Channel taking a more critical view at “digital natives” a meme coined by Mark Prensky during the turn of the century:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WVKBAqjHiE&w=560&h=315]

This being said, Prensky later coined the phrase “digital wisdom”

Here is the comment I left on the PBS Idea Channel’s page for this video:

Having been a librarian at Concordia University for over a decade, I have spent my entire career with what some would call “digital natives” but, and I must stress this, my office is often the scene of a young learner “coming out” quite emotionally about their lack of knowledge of digital technologies. I have taught research skills to over 10000 undergrads so far and I hope to reach a few orders of magnitude more. I have found a shift in how students approach researching – perhaps they are better at manipulating a mouse – but the underlying issue of ignorance of how information is created, spread and used is still a dire impediment to many. Thank you for highlighting how a catchy meme may ring false upon further consideration.

Assessment Bibliographies Blended Learning Information literacy Read Me

Measuring web tutorials

Olivier Charbonneau 2013-12-04

This just in:

The MAGIC of Web Tutorials: How One Library (Re)Focused its Delivery of Online Learning Objects on Users
Amanda Nichols Hessa
Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning
Volume 7, Issue 4, 2013
pages 331-348
DOI:10.1080/1533290X.2013.839978
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1533290X.2013.83997
Abstract
Oakland University (OU) Libraries undertook an assessment of how to leverage its resources to make online tutorials more focused on users’ needs. A multi-part assessment process reconsidered Web tutorials offerings through the lenses of faculty and staff feedback, literature review, and an analysis of other universities’ online tutorial offerings. From there, OU’s e-Learning and Instructional Technology Librarian developed the MAGIC guidelines (Manageable, Available, Geared at users, Informative, Customizable) to resituate OU Libraries’ online tutorials and place users at the center. Putting MAGIC into practice meant integrating Web tutorials at points-of-need, identifying and sharing essential information, and engaging students in the learning whenever possible.
Keywords: Web tutorials, online learning objects, university libraries, online learning, library services, information literacy

Librarianship Read Me Research

A quick dip in the Unified Theory of Information

Olivier Charbonneau 2013-11-29

I like big ideas. I really like big ideas that solve some of the theoretical issues that I worry about. That’s why I had to follow a thread that come through my RSS feeds… “Unified Theory of Information” – has a nice ring to it, no? Like leafs blown onto my yard by a chance gust of wind, I had to follow them to the tree.

First came the post, an item from a table of content from a scholarly journal:

Claudio Gnoli, Riccardo Ridi, (2014) “Unified Theory of Information, hypertextuality and levels of reality“, Journal of Documentation, Vol. 70 Iss: 3

Quick Google searches have given me these threads:
– The group behind this epistemological idea: Unified Theory of Information (UTI) Research Group – Association for the Advancement of Information Sciences
– This 20-question long essay explaining the concept by Wolfgang Hofkirchner, a central figure behind UTI.

Man, I’ll have to stop searching… I keep stumbling on these awesome pockets of ideas !!! More later on the UTI (I am not certain it is of immediate interest to my doctoral dissertation, but definitely worth keeping on my radar screen).

Critical Thinking Information literacy

When our minds play tricks on us

Olivier Charbonneau 2013-11-15

I really enjoyed Margaret Heffernan’s TED talk on willful blindness. It reminds me that somethings, we are collectively guilty of not seeing the truth, not acknowledging information, essentially being completely biased to a collective reality.

[ted id=1773]

From a different feed, I stumbled on this Fast Company article on the 8 tricks our minds play on us :
1. We surround ourselves with information that matches our beliefs
2. We confuse selection factors with result (the cause rather than the consequence)
3. We worry about things we already lost (sunk cost)
4. We incorrectly predict odds
5. We rationalize purchases we do not want (internalizing cognitive dissonance)
6. We make decisions based on the anchoring effect ( rather than making a decision based on pure value for investment (time, money, and the like), we factor in comparative value–that is, how much value an option offers when compared to another option.)
7. We believe our memories more than facts
8. We pay attention to stereotypes than we think we do

With regards to number 6, Belle Beth Cooper highlights the TED talk by Dan Arielyon, a behavioral economist, cognitive illusions (“: Are we in control of our own decisions?”)

[ted id=548]