First up is Dr. Leo Lo – providing an engaging keynote about the roles of librarians in the conversation about AI and CT on campus, balancing enthusiasm and caution around the uncertainty as the field grows. The goal is to position librarians as the place on campus to bring faculty and students together, with an eye on employability. Focus on empowerment & try different things.
Critical skills include:
Analytical thinking & prompt engineering
AI literacy, notably around capabilities & limits of AI
Ethical reasoning around core values & principles
Continuous learning
Roles of librarians:
Resource curators
AI Advocates
Libraries as campus collaborative hubs (spaces, devise & promote best practices)
Ethics discussion leaders
Recent paper:
Lo, L. S. (2023). The CLEAR path: A framework for enhancing information literacy through prompt engineering. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(4), [102720]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102720
J. Michael Spector highlights the importance of John Dewey’s How we think (1910, 2011) in learning by experience, especially at the onset on a student’s career – in middle school.
Madeleine Mejia offers a powerful analysis of using technology in CT, leveraging many thinkers such as Facione (1990). See her recent article:
Mejia, M., & Sargent, J. M. (2023). Leveraging Technology to Develop Students’ Critical Thinking Skills. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 51(4), 393–418. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472395231166613
Raymond Pun proposes many concrete ideas for curating a learning experience around CT & AI. Here is a good list of ethical issues to consider with AI by Raymond Pun:
Ethical Considerations of critical thinking and artificial intelligence. Source: Raymond Pun, academic and research librarian at the Alder Graduate School of Education, during the Sage 2023 Critical Thinking Boot Camp. Screen Capture during live presentation.
2nd Panel – mis/dis-information
Altay, S., Berriche, M., & Acerbi, A. (2023). Misinformation on Misinformation: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges. Social Media + Society, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221150412
Dan Chibnall, STEM Librarian, Drake University: fact checking is a proactive approach, not reactive. Truth, noise – ChatGPT will exacerbate the problem. Beware of offloading CT and learning to these tools. Cognitive biases and confirmation bias… and the loss of discovery (auto pilot of letting the tools doing the work).
Richard Wood, associate professor of practice at the Norton School of Human Ecology, University of Arizona. Critical thinking requires a lot of energy, your brain is mobilized in ways many find uncomfortable. The ladder of abstraction (deconstruct statements), enthymeme (Aristote), evidence to support premises: how to approach claims. Science does not “prove” it provides insight and evidence toward a consensus.
Brooklyne Gipson, assistant professor of communication at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Teaches race and gender issues. Alternate epistemologies, mindfulness of this space. Acknowledge that differences may be socialized from one’s past and are a key component of identity. LLMs and GPTs simply regurgitate variations of what is said, no fact checking. Engaged pedagogy. Rooted in social media space, acknowledge media literacy and bias as a shifting dimension.
Richard Rosen, retired professor of practice and chair of the Personal and Family Financial Planning program at the University of Arizona. Bill Gates: AI is probably the biggest development in computing since the personal computer. Endemic cheating. Early 1980s: calculators enter colleges. Do AI make up facts? Are AI and search engines the same? Lawyer in Texas using ChatGPT to look for case law & hallucinations. Use but verify. Facts vs opinions. Find the source.
3rd Panel – what students want from AI and what they want you to know
Sarah Morris, librarian & PhD student. Finish an assignment asap. Understanding AI: opportunities, challenges, limitations. Points of interest: AI literacy; possibilities/limitations; Policy issues; algorithmic literacy = dealing with assumptions and identifying knowledge gaps. Job prospects; lifelong learning; ways to connect to lived experiences of students.
Brady Beard, reference and instruction librarian at Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Humans in the loop of the information landscape. Looking for hallucinated citations and sources. Generative AI is not absolutely novel in many ways considering recent developments. Librarians are non-evaluative contributors to the learning experience, it is easier to be truthful about one’s approaches to their work. Reframe conversations about plagiarism and academic integrity: this is not the way forward as these tools have great promise for the future. Adjust our assessments (e.g.: oral examination in a Zoom call). These systems are not magic… using the term “hallucination” places agency in algorithms that they don’t have. What are the costs of these systems and tools.
I am sorry to miss the end of this Boot Camp as I have another commitment. Apologies to Hannah Pearson, fiction writer and Anne Lester, graduate student, for missing their presentations.
When researching or launching a new business, information about industries, markets or competitors can be invaluable. In this session, we will cover resources from the Internet as well as licensed market and industry intelligence databases available from Concordia University Library. This is a workshop adapted from the “Entrepreneurship” course at the John Molson School of Business.
Learning objectiveS
Locate industry and market reports from the Internet and the Library
Understand how to use datasets from Statistics Canada (Census & Cansim) and other national agencies
Develop a healthy information diet
Course Outline
1. Know your industry: reports from IBIS Wrold; SME Benchmarking; Mergent Intellect
2. Using Google for business research: trade associations & governments
3. Statistics Canada for entrepreneurs: Census & CANSIM
4. Reading up on your idea & staying up to date with articles
Course content
0. Where does information come from?
1. Know your industry – look up industry codes (NAICS)
Some useful searches: household spending; retail trade sales; labour force survey; Neighbourhood income and demographics; family income; NAICS Statistics
Click on “Add/remouve data” when looking at a data table to toggle data dimensions
48 Before reviewing the scope of the fair dealing exception under the Copyright Act, it is important to clarify some general considerations about exceptions to copyright infringement. Procedurally, a defendant is required to prove that his or her dealing with a work has been fair; however, the fair dealing exception is perhaps more properly understood as an integral part of the Copyright Act than simply a defence. Any act falling within the fair dealing exception will not be an infringement of copyright. The fair dealing exception, like other exceptions in the Copyright Act, is a user’s right. In order to maintain the proper balance between the rights of a copyright owner and users’ interests, it must not be interpreted restrictively. As Professor Vaver, supra, has explained, at p. 171: “User rights are not just loopholes. Both owner rights and user rights should therefore be given the fair and balanced reading that befits remedial legislation.”
Mark Weiler had an awesome idea. As a member of the UWO Student Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians (CAPAL), he posted a message to our mailing list (I am a member of CAPAL) and asked us to send him the list of conferences we attend. A few weeks later, the list includes about 75 mouth-watering conferences, enough to send you around the world a few times.
Mark has very graciously and generously allowed me to post the list here. As he says:
“I think it’s a list for academic librarians to reflect on — a kind of starting point which librarians can use to advance the profession in important directions. “
Well said ! If you have additional conferences, please feel free to add them to the comments section of this post!
BookCampTO, hosted by the Canadian Book Professionals’ Association, which has a solid librarian presence, albeit usually more in the public library sphere: http://bookcampto.org/
Canadian Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres (CAML). Now held annually with Congress: http://www.yorku.ca/caml/drupal/?q=en/conferences
Interestingly, this could be the start of an interesting research project. For example, I notice that some of the conferences are held by library-related groups (IFLA, CLA, ALA…) while others are from other fields. Why is that? Is it related to the field of interest of the librarian (social sciences librarian will prefer library-conferences or domain-conferences)? Or perhaps the location of a librarians home institution (Ontario librarians will just naturally gravitate to the OLA super-conference). Or does it have to do with the timing or location of the conference (Paris in the Spring anyone)?
In any case, enjoy the list and thanks again to Mark!
Copyright, caught in a digital maelstrom of perpetual reform and shifting commercial practices, exacerbates tensions between cultural stakeholders. On the one hand, copyright seems to be drowned in Canada and the USA by the role reserved to exceptions by the legislature and the courts granted to certain institutions. On the other, these institutions, such as libraries, are keen to navigate digital environments by allocating their acquisitions budgets to digital works.
Beyond the paradigm shifts brought by digital technologies, one must recognize the conceptual paradox surrounding digital copyrighted works. In economic terms, they behave naturally as public goods, while copyright attempts to restore their rivalrousness and excludability. Within this paradox lies tension, between the aggregate social wealth spread by a work and its commoditized value, between network effects and reserved rights. How can markets emerge if we are not able to resolve this tension?
After discussing some theoretical aspects described above, this paper will attempt to cast new light on user rights (as posited by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2004) and other emerging concepts in copyright. In particular, the making available right will be analysed from the perspective of the library community. The goal is to express how libraries can fit in a distribution chain of cultural products through the two copyright tools at their disposal: licences/limitations and exceptions.
I will be giving my talk shortly this morning at the e.Scape conference at Concordia University on the topic of : The unexpected journey from a 60 minute lecture to a MOOC: a librarian’s mid-way report
I’ll be talking about how my use of technology has changes my professional practice.
I’ll briefly discuss MOOCs also, positioning them as the extreme end of the elearning continuum – both in terms of structure and pace. More on MOOCs here:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW3gMGqcZQc&w=560&h=315]
Mostly, I’ll discuss my training videos as well as the development of a business information literacy curriculum as part of my employment, most of which are in various stages as pilot projects or drafts.
Here is the poster for a debate I am participating in tomorrow from 6PM to 8PM at Concordia University’s Bronfman Center:
Concordia University
School of Community and Public Affairs
Concordia to Hold Panel Discussion on Open Access to Intellectual Property and Collective Rights Management in Canada
MONTREAL, March 12th, 2013, 18h00-20h00. The School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia University, will host a panel discussion on open access to intellectual property and collective rights issues. With the recent passing of Bill C-11 by the Federal government and various proposed bills in the United States that enhance copyright law, this topic has garnered much attention in recent years. Advocates for limited copyright restrictions believe that easier access benefits education and research, while opponents argue that without clear and concrete regulation, this will result in a significant loss of revenue for creators and publishers. The event will feature five panelists from both sides of the spectrum. This discussion will take place on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Concordia University’s Samuel Bronfman building, located at 1590 Dr. Penfield. A small reception will follow the discussion.
Concordia’s School of Community and Public Affairs is one that has implanted itself deeply into the Montreal community and for decades has been at the forefront of public affairs, community concerns, policy evaluation, and has presented an environment for discussion, debate, and discourse on all related matters. The School is sending an open invitation to all students and faculty from the Concordia community and neighboring universities, as well as the general public and all media to take part in this event and to contribute to the discussion in order to educate and inform the public about the current debate.
Panelists for this event include; MP Charmaine Borg, NDP Digital Affairs Critic; Dr. David Lametti, professor and researcher for McGill University’s Centre for Intellectual Property Policy; Mr. Olivier Charbonneau, librarian for Concordia University; Me. Frédérique Couette, Legal Counsel for Copibec; and Mr. Philip Cercone, Executive Director of McGill-Queen’s University Press. Moderator: Me. Jonathan Levinson, Executive Director Institutional Planning and Analysis, Concordia University.
There is no admission fee, but places are limited.
1. Presentation Title:
The unexpected journey from a 60 minute lecture to a MOOC: a librarian’s mid-way report
2. A 100-word description of the session
Information Literacy can be understood as the curriculum Librarians must curate without a classroom. Traditionally, this has meant organising library services as well as in-class lectures to advise students on research skills and strategies. But two factors have moved me to explore a new approach. Firstly, the Internet and open education offer incredible opportunities to disseminate knowledge and collaborate with colleagues worldwide. Secondly, as one of the Business Librarians working closely with the John Molson School of Business, my community is broad and their needs are as deep as their passion for their field. In order to meet this challenge, I’ve implemented a series of training videos in order to test a new curriculum deployment strategy.
3. One to three learning objectives for the session
Determine the resource implications of designing a MOOC, in terms of effort (time), technology and skill
Evaluate the relevance of the MOOC model for one’s teaching
4. A bio about you, between 75 and 100 words
As an Associate Librarian at Concordia University, Olivier Charbonneau is primarily interested in copyright issues as well as questions of open access and social media (Web 2.0). He is a doctoral student at the Faculté de droit, Université de Montréal. He has over 15 years of professional involvement in library and cultural communities. He holds two masters degrees from Université de Montréal, one in information sciences and another in law, as well as an undergraduate degree in commerce from McGill University. He has kept a research blog since 2005 in French at www.culturelibre.ca and a work blog since 2011 in English at OutFind.ca.
Concordia University (my employer) is organizing a conference on eLearning from April 3th to the 5th 2013:
President Alan Shepard will kick off the three-day conference with some remarks speculating on the impact of e-learning on the future of universities. The program will also showcase the wide spectrum of online, hybrid, and technology-supported teaching formats already adopted by faculty at Concordia and will feature visits from leading figures in the field, who will present keynote speeches.
[…]
Organizers of the e-Scape conference are hoping a series of plenary sessions will facilitate lively discussion about the pedagogical merits of technology tools in a relatively casual setting. The program will also provide faculty with the latest research findings on how to integrate new technologies to enhance the classroom experience.
Among the topics to be tackled: incorporating wireless student reponse systems, also known as “clickers”; successfully engaging students in massive open online courses or “MOOCs”; and integrating multimedia elements and social media to best effect in teaching.
[…]
Here is the poster for a debate I am participating in tomorrow from 6PM to 8PM at Concordia University’s Bronfman Center: