Scottish Government Library Information Literacy newsfeeds

Book Review: Doing Realist Research edited by Nick Emmel, Joanne Greenhalgh, Anna Manzano, Mark Monaghan and Sonia Dalkin

Sun, 20 Jan 2019 10:00:03 +0000

In Doing Realist Research, Nick Emmel, Joanne Greenhalgh, Anna Manzano, Mark Monaghan and Sonia Dalkin draw on the expertise of key specialists who push the boundaries of traditional research approaches to advocate for a more thoughtful and critical application of realist methodologies. This book will support researchers across disciplines to challenge the rigidity of established practice, writes Andreea Moise, and makes a compelling case for integrating aspects of realism or conducting […]

#Gamification in Teaching

Sat, 19 Jan 2019 17:28:00 +0000

Gamification in Teaching is an event taking place on 7 February 2019, 4:00-6:00pm, in London, UK. "Games and other forms of playful learning have become increasingly popular in information literacy teaching. This introductory workshop will explore the value of using games to encourage engagement, interaction and reflection and share some practical examples of how digital and analogue games have been developed and used in academic libraries." The workshop is led by Alan Wheeler, Subject Liaison Librarian, Middlesex University and Darren Flynn, Academic Liaison Librarian, Coventry University. Cost is £50.00 to M25 members and £75.00 for other institutions. Go to https://www.m25lib.ac.uk/events/aspects2_gamification/
Photo by Sheila Webber: tree fern shoot, Glasgow Botanic Gardens, January 2019

Listen up! Voice is here - online learning needs to be unmuted

Sat, 19 Jan 2019 15:37:56 +0000

Curious conundrum

Online learning needs to be unmuted. Almost all online learning involves just clicking on things. Not even typing stuff in, just clicking. We click to navigate, click on menus, click (absurdly) on people to get fictional speech bubbles, click on multiple-choice options. Yet most other online activity involves messaging, typing what you think and being far more active. In real life, of course, we don’t click, we speak and listen. Most actual teaching and training uses voice.

Voice is our first and most natural form of communication. We’ve evolved to speak and listen, grammatical geniuses aged three and are not in any formal sense, ‘taught’ to talk and understand what others say. Whereas it takes many years to learn how to read and write and many struggle, some never achieving mastery in a lifetime.

Rise of voice

Strangely enough we may be going back to the pre-literate age with technology, back to this almost frictionless form of interface.

This started with services such as Siri and Cortana on our phones. As the AI technology behind these services improved, it was not Apple or Microsoft that took it to consumers but Amazon and Google, with Alexa and Google Home. I have an Alexa which switches my lights on and off, activates my robot vacuum cleaner, plays all of my music and smart TV. I use it to set timers for calls and Skype meetings. We even use it to voice message across the three floors of our house and my son who lives elsewhere. I use it for weather, news, sports results. In Berlin recently, with my son, who has Bluetooth headphones linked to Google Assistant, he wanted a coffee and simply asked where the nearest coffee shop was and it spoke back, giving voiced directions as we walked. Voice is also in our cars, as we can speak commands or get spoken to from Google Maps.

This month we’ve also seen tools emerge that analyse your voice in terms of mood and tone, and also evidence that you can diagnose Dementia, Parkinson’s and other illnesses from frequency level analysis. As Mary Meekford’s analysis shows, voice is here to stay and has become the way we interact with the internet of things.

Voice for learning

1. Podcasts

Another sign that voice is an important medium in itself are podcasts, which have surprised people with their popularity. This is an excellent post on that subject by Steve Rayson. The book “Podcasting: New Aural Cultures and Digital Media’ by Llinares, Fox and Berry (2018) is an in-depth look at the strengths of voice-only media; the ability to listen when you want (timeshift), use when walking, running, exercising and driving, long pieces therefore have more depth often with multiple participants. In addition, they make you feel as though you are there in the conversation with a sense of intimacy, as this is ‘listening’ not just ‘hearing’, especially when wearing headphones. Podcasts should be used more in learning.

2. Podcasts and online learning

We’ve been using podcasts in WildFire. One real example is a Senior Clinician, who ran and authored a globally significant medical trial in Asthma. We allow the learner to listen, intently to the podcast (an interview) then take the transcript (automatically translated into text) to produce a more active and effortful learning experience, with free text input. You get the best of both worlds, an intimate and reflective experience with the expert, as if you were there with him, then you reinforce, reflect, retrieve, retain and can recall what you need to learn. Note that the ‘need to know’ stuff is not every single word, but the useful points about the scale of the trail, it’s objectives and findings.

3. Text to speech

We’ve also used AI, text to speech, to cerate introductions to online courses, making them more accessible and human. The basic text file can be edited with easy iof it needs to be changed.

4. Voice input

We’ve also developed voice-input online learning, where you don’t type in answers but ‘voice’ them. This is a very different cognitive and learning experience from just clicking on multiple-choice options. You’re memory recalls what you think you know in your phonological loop, a sort of inner ear where sounds are recalled and rehearsed before being either spoken or written. This is the precursor to expression. Voicing your input jut seems more like dialogue.

The entire learning experience is voiced, navigation and retrieval with open input. This, we believe will be useful for certain types of learning, especially with audiences that have problems with typing, literacy or dyslexia. Voice is starting to creep into online learning. It will grow further.

5. VR

One of the problems in VR is the inability to type and click on anything. Put on a headset, and typing when possible is far too slow and clumsy. It is much more convenient, and natural, to speak within that immersive world. This opens up the possibility of more flexible learning within VR. Many knowledge components, decisions or communications within the simulation can be voiced as they would be in the real world. Voice will therefore enable more simulation training.

6. Voice as a skill

Text-based learning has squeezed out the skills of oration, yet speaking fluently, explaining, presenting, giving feedback, interviewing, managing, critical thinking, problem solving, team working and much of what is called 21^stC skills, are actually skills we used to teach more widely through voice. They are skills that are fundamentally expressed as speech, that most fundamental of media. People have to learn to both speak up and when they speak, speak wisely and to good effect. It is also important, of course, to listen. For these reasons, the return of voice to learning is a good thing. Speaking to a computer, I suspect, also results in more transfer, especially if, in the real world, you are expected to articulate things in meetings or in the workplace to your colleagues, face to face.

6. Feedback

Voiced feedback is used by some, obviously in coaching and mentoring, but also in feedback to students about assignments. The ease of recording, along with the higher impact on the learner in terms of perceived interest by the teacher, makes this a powerful feedback method.

7. Assessment

So much learning is text based when so much of the real world is voice based. Spoken assessment is, of course, normal in language training but shouldn’t we be expected to voice our opinions, even voice critical pieces for assessment. It is relatively rare to have oral examinations but this may be desirable if newer softer skills are in demand.

Conclusion

Online learning needs to pay attention to AI-driven voice. It is an underlying consumer technology, now ubiquitous on phones and increasingly in our homes. It’s natural, convenient, intimate and human. It has, when used wisely, the ability to lift online learning out of the text and click model in all sorts of imaginative ways. So listen up folks!

Family of otters are captured on camera during a night out in Huntly

Sat, 19 Jan 2019 08:22:42 +0000

A family of otters has been caught on film near Huntly as part of a project to highlight Scotland’s rich array of wildlife.

And the popular, if reclusive, marine creatures can be seen foraging for food, with a mother tending to a pair of young juveniles throughout their early adventures.

The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative is a four-year £3.34 million partnership between Scottish National Heritage, Aberdeen University and various fishery boards and trusts.

Together they have launched a new monthly Wildlife Watcher feature, designed to showcase some of the wonderful wildlife which can be witnessed around Scotland’s rivers and burns.

The venture uses wildlife cameras at riverside locations to help detect the presence of the invasive non-native American mink, which are subsequently controlled.

But the cameras have also been capturing a range of other, often secretive, native animals as they go about their daily and nightly business.

The scheme’s project manager, Callum Sinclair, was delighted at the footage which has now been made available to the public.

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He said: “We want to celebrate Scotland’s stunning wildlife and raise awareness of the special nature of these river habitats and importance of conserving them.

“Many of us may never be lucky enough to see some of the more secretive wildlife that visits our rivers, so we wanted to share these videos for all to watch and enjoy.”

“Everyone can follow the Wildlife Watcher feature which will appear every month on our website and social media channels.

“We will be featuring a different animal each month throughout the year. As we hope to feature contributed clips, we would encourage people to share their videos with us via social media.”

Al Reeve, the project officer with the Deveron, Bogie & Isla Rivers Charitable Trust, who set up the camera on a tributary burn of the River Bogie, was equally thrilled with the unexpected results.

He said: “When we downloaded the video in the office we were delighted – it was such a surprise to see that we had not just an adult otter, but two juveniles as well.

“They are quite shy creatures and most river otters are largely nocturnal, so not many people get to see a family of otters such as this together.”

You can watch the film at www.invasivespecies.scot/wildlife-watcher.

New company allowed to ‘pedal its wares’ in Inverness this season

Sat, 19 Jan 2019 08:01:13 +0000

A quirky new tourist service will take to the streets of the Highland capital this coming season- on three wheels.

Inverness-based 2bcreative have set up ‘Thistle Do’ to create its own souvenirs to sell from tricyles in the city centre.

Business partners John Young and Mark Green, owner of the Trespass shop in Nairn, plan to have to have up to six tricycles in different parts of the city in the coming years, starting with two this year.

Mr Young said: “Inspiration came from watching tourists milling about from my office in Ardross Street.

“We quickly noticed that after visitors have been into the cathedral, they were looking for something to purchase. We asked them, mainly because they sat on our wall, what they would like to buy and the general opinion was something small to take home.”

Mr Young’s wife Tanya came up with the name Thistle Do, Mr Green suggested the tricycles from seeing similar elsewhere in Europe, and the idea was born.

Mr Young said: “We wanted to be small, classy, but also different. We’ll be selling things like key rings, caps, poloshirts and umbrellas.”

The trikes will offer six months of paid employment from April to September, Mr Young said.

Mrs Young will be taking on the social media side of the business.

She said: “The sellers will be in smart uniforms, ideal for photos and selfies.”

Councillors agreed to grant Thistle Do a street licence, and the business will now apply for the planning permission required to trade for longer than 28 days.

What can Scotland learn from Canada about the feminist trans rights backlash?

Sat, 19 Jan 2019 05:00:00 +0000

AT first glance it might not be obvious how the chanting and colourful banners outside Vancouver Public Library relate to some rather less lively evidence sessions about census questions at the Scottish Parliament. But the protests in Canada a week ago are part of the same global debate about identity as last month's discussions about whether Scots should be required to declare their biological sex.

Displays in Academic Libraries

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 16:20:33 +0000

Whenever I’m running low on display ideas, I have my favorite go-to methods for finding ideas and inspiration: Consult Chase’s to find interesting or relevant upcoming holidays or anniversaries! Refer to my (admittedly, somewhat neglected) Pinterest board of ideas I wanted to remember for later! Or, when I’m really at a loss… just Google it (“[month] library displays”). I generally find plenty of good examples that way, but I’ve noticed that a lot of them come from children’s and teen librarians, and public libraries in general.

I worried for a while that this meant I was doing this part of my job wrong… Isn’t there a difference between public and academic displays? Shouldn’t there be?

I’ve heard a wide variety of opinions on the role of displays in academic libraries, including that they should…

…provide leisure or extracurricular reading for students who want a break.
…encourage involvement in student clubs, volunteer activities, or civic engagement.
…be directly related to coursework through a partnership with teaching faculty.
…encourage student success by promoting study skills and time management.
…be interactive.
…make users say, “I didn’t know the library had that!”
…be big and flashy and catch attention; if they go viral, you’re nailing it.
…be funny and light-hearted.
…be serious and scholarly.
…include handouts or other freebies / takeaways.
…tie into online research guides on a related topic, with QR codes or posted URLs.
…be used as a recruitment tool and encourage enrollment / registration.
…consist only of items that can be checked out.
…showcase archival or rare items (preferably under glass, lock, and key).
…target current students OR potential students OR everyone OR a specific club/group.
…be archived online for digital engagement with users who weren’t there in person.
…be the result of input or work from users themselves along with the library.

All of these are good suggestions in the right context, and I think a mix of these makes for a better collection of displays. I always like having a few “fun” displays and a few “serious” displays at the same time, to reach a wider audience and to show more of the types of things the library can provide. The only restriction should be fitting a need of your users, but users have a lot of needs, so you have a lot of options.

After being “the display person” for several years, I see displays as a visual place where you can see all of Ranganathan’s laws in play, and have tried to keep these concepts in mind when building displays. Books are for use: let them take a vacation from the shelf and get a little fresh air! Someone might pick them up serendipitously, when they would never have gone looking for them on the shelf. Every person their book: not only should collections reflect the needs and interests of the people, but the displays should too, in a more narrowly focused and temporary way. Every book its person: I find that displays are one way of checking on the interest in a topic or a specific item; if it doesn’t get used on the shelf and it doesn’t get used on display, you may want to reconsider its place in the collection. Save the time of the user: if you’re making timely displays with wide interest, the display may provide the user quicker access to the items they’re looking for. The library is a growing organism: use displays to highlight new items, or showcase interesting library services like 3D printing to remind users of all we have to offer them.

Note that, in the advice above, I didn’t mention anything exclusive to academic libraries, or exclusive of them, either. What that means, to me, is that I can unabashedly borrow ideas from public and children’s library displays, as long as they’re relevant to my library’s users as well. And when something doesn’t work, at least I learned from that idea. (Example: I have always been hesitant to do a “blind date with a book” for an academic library, because I worry that someone might go looking for a specific book that happened to be used in the display, and not be able to find it, whereas the public library (1) is more likely to have multiple copies of fiction titles, and (2) has more of a browsing collection, while we have more of a “searching” collection.)

What kinds of displays have you put up in your academic libraries? What have you had success with, and what did not work out so well? (Bonus points for sharing photos!)

PressEDconf19

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 14:26:53 +0000

PressEDconf19 is a WordPress conference which happens only on twitter. This year the conference is happening from 10AM (UTC) to 10PM (UTC) on April the 18th. They are looking for as many people who would like to attend, but also submissions! Anyone (be it at any educational organisation – not just universities) using WordPress in teaching, pedagogy or research is […]

Plan S: What About Researchers?

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 12:01:17 +0000

In this repost, Robert Harington makes an appeal to Plan S leaders and funders to take to heart the needs and interests of researchers, when implementing a new generation of open access policies. These days I wake up and strenuously attempt, and spectacularly fail, to avoid the news. Across the world it seems as if we are seeing an epidemic of […]

Bobbie Winter-Burke from the Glasgow School of Art reports back from CILIPS Conference in Dundee 2018

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 09:47:02 +0000

This year’s CILIPS conference theme was “Collaborative communities: connecting with our networks”. Despite the clue being in the name, I was still impressed with the number of talks that focused on cross-sectoral collaboration. The conference was a welcome departure from the higher education focus of so many conferences and training days I have attended in the past.

There were a number of sessions that really stood out for me. The first session provided an interesting account of libraries in the prison system. Peter White from the charity Positive Prison works towards improving the lives of the many people in and out of the prison system by providing positive opportunities for learning. James King from the Scottish Prison Service spoke next with a focus on setting the bar higher for education in prisons; providing an engaging curriculum, setting reading challenges, providing access to MOOCs and collaborating with universities to provide distance learning degrees.

Following on from prisons was a session on bibliotherapy services in Midlothian libraries. Jane Milne and Fiona Bailey gave us an overview of the bibliotherapy services on offer at Midlothian libraries. The initiative is a partnership between local councils, NHS Scotland and libraries in order to align strategies and improve the mental and physical wellbeing of users across all services. There are a variety of services on offer, including improving mental health through reading groups, books on prescription, reading through chemotherapy, and a health information pathway to improve health literacy. Fiona also emphasised the importance of using creative literature rather than self-help materials, as well as clinical volunteers rather than library staff. The cross-cutting service has been successful in bringing in new audiences and an evaluation of the service can be found here.

Sara Thomas, Delphine Dallison and Alana Ward spoke about Wikimedia and public libraries. Sara introduced Wikimedia in Scotland and gave an overview of some of the ways their projects have been successful in connecting people, engaging new communities (including staff and volunteers) and increasing literacy. She argues that there is an opportunity cost in not engaging with Wiki. Alana asserted that the collections held in all the other institutions across Scotland make up its “other” national library and the potential for opening up these collections with Wikimedia is endless. She even described a pop up library in a supermarket. She spoke of the importance of choosing collections that reflect the communities the libraries serve. Delphine highlighted some of the many ways libraries can engage with Wiki, including collections surveys, offering backstage passes to look at special collections and create content for Wikipedia, and WikiData as a tool to map data on libraries – including the geo-spread of libraries, closures, funding and other important information.

Graeme Hawley from National Library of Scotland spoke about projects he has been involved in that aim to reach new audiences. Inviting people to re-sit geometry exams was one such project. After a bursary callout the previous year, a selection of creative individuals were invited to produce artworks, music, essays and dance in response to the papers. During the talk we were given a sneak preview of a beautiful piece of choreography by Robbie Synge, entitled ‘Proof’. You can see the video and other responses on the NLS website. Graeme explained that collections take on a new currency if kept long enough. The challenge is finding ways of drawing out the potential within these collections by using ‘serving suggestions’, i.e. setting strict parameters in order to have a ‘micro-’ or ‘macro-focus’ to elevate hidden content.

The conference ended with a talk by Darren McGarvey aka Loki, promoting his book Poverty Safari. His chapter on libraries drew on his own experience of the barriers to entry of libraries. Other speakers had touched on this subject throughout the conference; however Loki’s account was hard-hitting as it came from his own perspective as a frustrated user. Frustrations heightened by budget cuts and the closure of local services. The connections we have with our networks can only be successful if we can actively work to remove these barriers. I think it’s really important the library sector in Scotland aspires to be more inclusive, with a workforce that better reflects the communities and networks they represent and policies and frameworks that promote difference. I think that is the only way that barriers will start to be overcome. Discussions around diversity and inclusion may be uncomfortable, but we should be having them – both in the workplace, and at our conferences.

It was a full and fascinating programme with many things to take away with me and I would like to thank ARLGS for funding my place at the conference.

The post Bobbie Winter-Burke from the Glasgow School of Art reports back from CILIPS Conference in Dundee 2018 appeared first on CILIPS.

Call for chapter proposals: Envisioning the Framework: A Graphic Guide to Information Literacy

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 09:30:15 +0000

Chapter Proposals are sought for a book to be published by ACRL, edited by Jannette Finch; "publication date is tentatively expected in Spring 2021." Abstract submission deadline is February 28 2019 (with notification the following month and first drafts due in August 2019). "Envisioning the Framework offers opportunities for librarians and designers to explore The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and its relationship with library data, including assessment, instruction, student learning outcomes, improvements in student learning over time, differences in instruction type, comparison of student level, and much more. ... In Envisioning the Framework, the significance and implications of the Framework and other developments in information literacy are clarified through effective visualizations. Graphic representations of the Framework allow library professionals to easily share concepts with faculty from other disciplines, with library colleagues, and with students. Understanding the relationships between the Frames, student learning outcomes, and assignments within a multidisciplinary environment is enhanced when visualized graphically." Example chapters include: The Frames Visualized as a Whole; Visualizing the Frames in context with threshold concepts in other disciplines; Visualizing Student Learning over Time; The Frames as Interactive 3D Models. You are encouraged to contact the editor at finchj@cofc.edu to discuss how your idea may fit within this book’s scope.
Submission Process: A short form with an attached Word document (.doc or .docx) is required for proposal submission. The Word document should be written in Times New Roman, 12 pt., be double-spaced, and include: A working title; Names of all contributing authors & their respective institutions; Contact information for the primary author; Estimated final word count; A brief (250-500 word) description of your proposed chapter. Attach your chapter submission proposal to an email with the subject line: Chapter Proposal Submission_(PrimaryAuthor’sLastName) and send to: finchj@cofc.edu
Photo by Sheila Webber: Tree fern, January 2019

Teaching union criticised for claiming 91 per cent of schools face...

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 18:29:08 +0000

...damaging to children’s education."The UK Statistics Authority is ... the UK Statistics Authority in October last year after education...

Highest number of first class degrees on record as almost one in three...

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 18:12:10 +0000

...the higher education regulator and Education Secretary both urging ... the Campaign for Real Education, said: “Qualifications are being...

CILIP's Copyright Conference - 2 April 2019, London

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 16:55:05 +0000

*apologies for cross-posting*

The CILIP Copyright Conference (2 April, London) is an ideal and unique opportunity for all librarians, archivists and information professionals to update their knowledge and professional practice in this crucial area.

You will be:

- Briefed about the impact of Brexit on the copyright law in the UK.
- Updated about the current legislative, licensing and publishing-related landscape, as well as the latest copyright research and how these might impact your day to day work.
- Engaged by a lively expert speakers' panel who will be debating key issues and responding to your questions and comments.
- [...]

Building a culture of research impact

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 11:00:56 +0000

Drawing on case study evidence from the DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme, Louise Shaxson suggests that developing a culture of engagement and collaboration is just as important to achieving research impact as following best practice, and presents five principles that underpin an effective research impact culture. There’s no better way to occupy yourself over lunch at your desk on a rainy […]

London state school says record 41 students have been offered places...

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 10:13:46 +0000

...was revealed that eight UK schools are 70 times more likely to ... told to not pursue education. I’m trying to prove that girls can do...

Recent articles: assignments; faculty collaboration; ACRL Framework

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 09:30:03 +0000

Recent articles from the open access journal College & Research Libraries News (Vol 80, No 1, 2019) include:
- Reimagining the research assignment: Faculty-librarian collaborations that increase student learning by Sherri Saines, Sara Harrington, Chad Boeninger, Paul Campbell, John Canter, Bryan McGeary
- Scaffolding the collection manager-instructor relationship: Partnerships for primary source instruction by Mireille Djenno
- Defining and teaching information literacy: Engaging faculty and the Framework by Elizabeth Dolinger
- Scholarship as conversation: Using book reviews to think about scholarly communication by Hailley M. Fargo, Nicholas J. Rowland, Jeffrey A. Knapp
https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/issue/view/1119/showToc
Photo by Sheila Webber: Tree ferns, Glasgow Botanic Gardens, January 2019

Call for papers - ucisa Spotlight on Digital Capabilities conference 2019

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 09:28:43 +0000

Dear all,

*Apologies for cross posting*

I thought list members might be interested in the call for papers for the Spotlight on Digital Capabilities conference to be held at the Park Inn Radisson Hotel in York on 4-5 June 2019. In previous years we have had at least one session presented by Library /Information Professional staff. [...]

Redesigning Learning Design

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 16:01:54 +0000

Of late, a lot of my work has been designing learning design. Helping orgs transition their existing design processes to ones that will actually have an impact. That is, someone’s got a learning design process, but they want to improve it. One idea, of course, is to replace it with some validated design process. Another approach, much less disruptive, is to find opportunities to fine tune the design. The idea is to find the minimal set of changes that will yield the maximal benefit. So what are the likely inflection points? Where am I finding those spots for redesigning? It’s about good learning.

Starting at the top, one place where organizations go wrong right off the bat is the initial analysis for a course. There’s the ‘give us a course on this’, but even if there’s a decent analysis the process can go awry. Side-stepping the big issue of performance consulting (do a reality check: is this truly a case for a course), we get into working to create the objectives. It’s about how you work with SMEs. Understanding what they can, and can’t, do well means you have the opportunity to ensure that you get the right objectives to design to.

From there, the most meaningful and valuable step is to focus on the practice. What are you having learners do, and how can you change that? Helping your designers switch to good assessment writing is going to be useful. It’s nuanced, so the questions don’t seem that different from typical ones, but they’re much more focused for success.

Of course, to support good application of the content to develop abilities, you need the right content! Again, getting designers to understand what the nuances of useful examples from just stories isn’t hard but rarely done. Similarly knowing why you want models and not just presentations about the concept isn’t fully realized.

Of course, making it an emotionally compelling experience has learning impact as well. Yet too often we see the elements just juxtaposed instead of integrated. There are systematic ways to align the engagement and the learning, but they’re not understood.

A final note is knowing when to have someone work alone, and when some collaboration will help. It’s not a lot, but unless it happens at the right time (or happens at all) can have a valuable contribution to the quality of the outcome.

I’ve provided many resources about better learning design, from my 7 step program white paper to my deeper elearning series for Learnnovators. And I’ve a white paper about redesigning as well. And, of course, if you’re interested in doing this organizationally, I’d welcome hearing from you!

One other resource will be my upcoming workshop at the Learning Solutions conference on March 25 in Orlando, where we’ll spend a day working on learning experience design, integrating engagement and learning science. Of course, you’ll be responsible for taking the learnings back to your learning process, but you’ll have the ammunition for redesigning. I’d welcome seeing you there!

The post Redesigning Learning Design appeared first on Learnlets.

You Can’t Die of Impostor Syndrome, Right?

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 15:03:42 +0000

Like a good old millennial I was Gchatting with a friend, a fellow old millennial, and asked, “Can a person die of imposter syndrome?” And yes, I did misspell “impostor” in that question.

I was met with a “hahahahahaha” and some emojis, along with a much needed pep talk. No, it didn’t end that feeling of panic that was making my shoulders ache and my throat tight. I still felt my stomach flipping and my face heating up. My particular flavor of Impostor Syndrome manifests physically, and is a strong mix of embarrassment, anxiety, shame, and excitement. I once asked Library Twitter if it ever goes away, and was met with a resounding NO from the women I idolize. It may change, but it never goes away.

I’ve been told to own my expertise, fake it ’til you make it, and remind myself that I belong here. I’ve tried to replicate the actions and approaches of colleagues and friends I greatly respect in hopes that I’ll manifest some of their confidence and air of authority. It’s not me. It feels false and a bit painful, honestly.

Articles and books abound to help women and people of color, my own intersection of identity, thrive despite impostor syndrome, deal with it, and even cure it. I’ve tried them all, but the feeling persists, and I am starting to wonder if it really is such a terrible thing.

I mentioned shame making its way into my Impostor Syndrome expression, and I think that shame is less related to “feeling like I’m not good enough” and more related to feeling the Impostor Syndrome. When I teach I try to encourage students to embrace confusion, ask questions, and generally feel ok not knowing answers to things. I need and want to do the same, but often feel as though there is no room for this kind of “novice culture” for women of color in the workplace. Our Western workplace culture tends to conflate vulnerability with weakness, a desire to learn with incompetence, and questioning with a lack of knowledge. So when self-doubt and “not knowing the answer that I feel like I should know” make their way into my brain, I feel weak, unworthy, and even more down.

My feminist brain screams: EVERYONE HAS FEELINGS AND NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THEM IS AN INSIDIOUS SIDE EFFECT OF THE PATRIARCHY. FEEL YOUR FEELINGS.

My work brain chimes in with: You need to be more confident or no one will take you seriously.

But then I think back to some of the leaders and colleagues I’ve most admired, and what stands out is their ability to say, “Wow, I don’t know anything about that. How can I learn?” Or, “You know I am feeling a lot of self-doubt today and could use some encouragement.” They were/are strong enough to fully own and express those feelings and use them to grow as people. So maybe it’s not Impostor Syndrome that’s the problem, but the way that it is vilified. Yes, it’s important to not continuously drown in a pool of your own self-doubt and anxiety, but part of swimming out of that pool includes sharing those feelings and acknowledging that it’s ok to feel that way. It was so encouraging to hear expressions of “me too!” and “same here!” from my heroes online, and I want to do better about expressing those feelings, too. I want to stop worry about it impacting my professional image (whatever that means) and embrace the range of emotions I want all learners to feel. Feel your feelings, y’all.

Call for participants - libraries supporting creative disciplines

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 14:48:53 +0000

There is a call from researchers at the University of Washington, USA, to participate in a survey (closing on March 1 2019) open to "librarians at all stages of their careers and in all positions" who are working "with any populations doing creative work, such as visual art, theater, dance, graphic design, creative writing, etc." The survey is here:: https://z.umn.edu/CreativeInformationLiteracy
Photo by Sheila Webber: Glasgow Botanic Gardens, January 2019

How do modern workers learn?

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 09:20:49 +0000

Call for papers: Western Balkans Information & Media Literacy Conference

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 00:40:13 +0000

There is a call for papers for the Western Balkans Information and Media Literacy Conference, to be held June 20th – 21st 2019, at the Hotel Opal, Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The theme is Freedom, Accuracy and Truth. There are numerous themes and topics to do with IL and MIL. Keynote speakers are Ismail Serageldin (Emeritus Librarian of Alexandria and the Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina) and Professor Tefko Saracevic. The deadline for abstracts is 10 April 2019, and for full papers the deadline is 10 May 2019. Full information is at http://www.wbimlc.org
Photo taken by Sheila Webber in Second Life

Faculty Librarian role at Lancaster University

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 16:29:41 +0000

Just wanted to share details of a new vacancy at Lancaster University, as a Faculty Librarian supporting the Faculties of Science & Technology and Health & Medicine.

The job is full-time and permanent, and Lancaster is a beautiful place to live in!

Details of the job are available here: https://hr-jobs.lancs.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=A2553

Best wishes

Lesley

Lesley English SFHEA MCLIP
Faculty Librarian (Science & Technology)
Academic Services Team
Lancaster University Library
Room B105
Bailrigg
Lancaster, LA1 4YH [...]

EDUC: An Introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (online course)

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 16:19:38 +0000

An Introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Instructor: Lauren Hays
Dates: February 4th through March 1st, 2019
Credits: 1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs
Price: $175

http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/179-SoTL.php

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a movement in higher
education to study teaching and learning in order to improve both.
Typically, SoTL scholars draw from their own disciplinary expertise when
conducting research. Research findings are then shared publicly with the
teaching and learning community. [...]

Locus of learning: community, AI, or org?

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 16:01:46 +0000

A recent article caused me to think. Always a great thing! It led to some reflections that I want to share. The article is about a (hypothetical) learning journey, and talks about how learning objects are part of that learning process. My issue is with the locus of the curation of those objects; should it be the organization, an AI, or the community? I think it’s worth exploring.

The first sentence that stood out for me made a strong statement. “Choice is most productive when it is scaffolded by an organizationally-curated framework.” Curation of resources for quality and relevance is a good thing, but is the organization is the best arbiter? I’ve argued that the community of practice should determine the curriculum to be a member of that community. Similarly, the resources to support progression in the community should come from the community, both within and outside the organization.

Relatedly, the sentence before this one states “learner choice can be a dangerous thing if left unchecked”. And this really strikes me as the wrong model. It’s inherently saying we don’t trust our learners to be good at learning. I don’t expect learners (or SMEs for that matter) to know learning. But then, we shouldn’t leave that to chance. We should be facilitating the development of learning to learn skills explicitly, having L&D model and guide it, and more. It’s rather an old school approach to think that the org (through the agency of L&D) needs to control the learning.

A second line that caught my eye was that the protagonist “and his colleagues create and share additional AI-curated briefings with each other.” Is that AI curation, or community curation? And note that there’s ‘creation’, not just sharing. I’m thinking that the human agency is more critical than the AI curation. AI curation has gotten good, but when a community is working, the collective intelligence is better. Or, if we’re talking IA (and we should be), we should explicitly looking to couple AI and community curation.

Another line is also curious. “However, learning leaders must balance the popularity of informal learning with the formal, centralized needs of the organization. This can be achieved using AI-curated real-time briefings.” Count me skeptical. I believe that if you address the important issues – purpose via meaningful work and autonomy to pursue, communities of practice, and learning to learn skills – you can trust informal learning more than AI or a central view of what learning can and should be.

Most of the article was quite good, even if things like “psychological safety” are being attributed to McKenzie instead of Amy Edmondson. I like folks looking to the future, and I understand that aligning with the status quo is a good business move. It’s just that when you get disconnects such as these, it’s an opportunity to reflect. And wondering about the locus of responsibility for learning is a valuable exercise. Can the locus be the individual and community, not the org or AI? Of course, better yet if we get the synergy between them. But let’s think seriously about how to empower learners and community, ok?

The post Locus of learning: community, AI, or org? appeared first on Learnlets.

Seven Hills

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 14:29:59 +0000

Change ahead: How do smaller publishers perceive open access?

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 11:00:44 +0000

Reporting results from a comprehensive survey of publishers in the German-speaking world, Christian Kaier and Karin Lackner explore the attitudes of smaller publishers towards open access, finding both rising levels of interest, but also ongoing uncertainty and resistance over making a transition to open access publishing. While libraries and funding bodies in German-speaking countries have been negotiating Open Access Agreements […]

Playful Learning 2019 call for sessions and early bird registration

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 09:00:49 +0000

Stimulating, energetic and informative, the Playful Learning conference will take place in Leicester 10-12th July 2019.

The call for sessions is now open!

Early Bird registration rates are now open!

Playful Learning is pitched at the intersection of learning and play for adults. Playful in approach and outlook, yet underpinned by robust research and working practices, we provide a space where teachers, researchers and students can play, learn and think together. A space to meet other playful people and be inspired by talks, workshops, activities and events. In its new home at the heart of England in Leicestershire, we are [...]

Information Literacy teaching for new(er) professionals, Bristol, 4th March

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 15:15:50 +0000

Dear all,

Please consider joining us at this upcoming event at the Frenchay campus of
UWE, 4th March. It is particularly suited to new professionals or those new
to teaching Information Literacy and associated skills, though open to all.

This day will introduce some key Information Literacy frameworks and give
an overview of key ideas associated with teaching information skills. [...]