Launching

1
Launching Infolit 2.0?Considering Web 2.0's
Potential to Support Critical Thinking and
Higher-Level Learning in Information Literacy
Practice

• Cameron Hoffman, University of Lethbridge
• Sarah Polkinghorne, University of Alberta

WILU 2007 May 17, 2007
2
Overview

• Discourse Analysis
• Our Methodology
• Discourses Patterns Emerging from the Analysis
• Constructivism
• Constructivism Defined
• Discovery Learning Problem-based Learning
• Practical Teaching Examples Web 2.0 Infolit
• Questions and Discussion

3
Discourse Analysis Situating Inquiry
Discourse Analysis is a tool. It
can help us investigate questions about the real
world, which is reflected through communications
practices.

• How is it that one particular statement appeared
  rather than another? (Foucault 27)

4
Discourse Analysis Definition

• A particular area of language use that
• Is associated with a concrete system or
  institution
• Affects and is affected by individuals
• Reflects and is affected by social,
  political, and cultural relationships
• Affects and is a product of language
• May dominate, but is rarely universal
• Is neither good nor bad
• Is constantly evolving

5
Discourse Analysis Methods

• Asking
• What is the current nature of the relationship
  between Web 2.0 and information literacy? What
  discourses are in play within this relationship?
• Generating Terms
• Web 2.0 terms
• Information literacy terms

6
Discourse Analysis Methods

• Searching and Reading
• LibLit, LISA, ERIC, INSPEC, CISA, ASP
• Thesaurus where available keyword
• Project management limiting inquiry to formally
  published literature time frame of 2005-present
• 81 results
• Observing
• Themes, vocabularies, absences
• Excavating/Interrogating
• Discourses

7
Discourse Analysis Discourses (Role
of Web 2.0 in Libraries)

• Technology discourse
• Web 2.0 positioned as a tool or technology
  nothing more
• Where prevalent computing science literature
  less so in the library literature
• Marketing discourse
• Web 2.0 positioned as library service/advocacy
  tool/library news/marketing tool, e.g. IM
  reference, podcast tours
• Where prevalent the library literature we
  examined
• E.g., non-scholarly articles that are overviews
  or tech profiles
• Learning discourse
• Web 2.0 positioned as a platform to facilitate
  and enhance learning
• Where prevalent in the education literature we
  read less so in the library literature

8
Discourse Analysis Discourses (Role
of the Librarian)

• Serving discourse
• Seen alongside marketing discourse librarians
  positioned as service providers
• This is the predominant discourse relating to the
  role and core work of librarians within the
  literature we sampled
• Manifested in anxiety, the need to catch up
  Well fall behind/become irrelevant if we dont
  adopt Web 2.0!
• E.g. librarians can be better service providers,
  give users more value through IM reference,
  library blogs
• Teaching discourse
• Seen alongside learning discourse librarians
  positioned as teachers
• Where seen mainly education literature does
  exist, though less widely seen, within the
  library literature
• E.g. Doug Achterman (school librarian) seeing
  ourselves as guides in learning, including
  critical thinking skills

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Discourse Analysis Discourses (Role
of the Library User)

• Customer discourse
• Users are positioned as customers, consumers of
  service
• Often seen alongside the marketing discourse and
  the serving discourse
• Predominant discourse within the library
  literature we examined
• E.g. descriptions of millennials (skilled
  multitaskers, demand instant info gratification,
  take path of least resistance)
• Learner discourse
• Users are positioned as learners
• Most often seen alongside the teaching and
  learning discourses
• Discourse is manifested in the library
  literature, though it is overshadowed by customer
  discourse
• E.g. descriptions of millennials (skilled
  collaborators, communicators, reflectors, active
  agents in their education)

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Constructivism
Constructing knowledge rather than receiving it
problem-solving
critical thinking
reasoning
Instructional strategies over techniques
(Driscoll, 2000 Fetsco McClure, 2005 Marlowe
Page, 1998)
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Constructivism

• Learning is social
• Knowledge is co-constructed with others
  teachers or peers.
• Activity Design
• Working with the Zone of Proximal Development
  (Vygotsky)
• Beyond a students current independent skill
  level
• Achievable with assistance or support

Level of assisted performance
Zone of proximal development
Level of independent performance
(Davidson Davidson, 1994 Fetsco McClure,
2005)
12
Discovery Learning
A philosophy rather than a technique
allows learners to discover important
principles, relationships or concepts through
their own experiences (Fetsco McClure 140)
13
Problem-Based Learning
Where applied nursing/medical/law schools
Examples

• Teaching by Problems
• Teaching by Case studies Role-Plays
• Teaching by Real-World Questions

Assessments and Example Activities
Create an ideal library layout map
Portfolio/project assessment
Hold a debate on Wikipedia
Write a job description of the librarian of the
future
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Teaching Examples
Name Activity
Cyberculture Class Blog Responding to/reflecting on research
APA Wiki Evaluating/correcting bibliographic citations
Evaluating Wikipedia Evaluating online information
flickr photo tagging Creating Evaluating tags, Relating flickr to library subject headings/index terms
del.icio.us bookmarking Classifying online information, Organizing URLs research
Google Docs Collaborating on a writing project, differentiating scholarly vs. non-scholarly information
facebook Six degrees of separation Relating online activity to researching/citation chasing
Activity-based lesson planning Design active,
guiding tasks
create
analyze
classify
integrate
predict
evaluate
relate
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Teaching Example 1 Cyberculture blog

• http//cybercultureclassnotes.blogspot.com/
• Synthesizing main ideas to construct new concepts
  
• (Standard 3.3)
• Comparing ideas to determine the value added,
  contradictions, or other unique characteristics
  of the information
• (Standard 3.4)
• Evaluating/determining whether certain ideas have
  an impact on an individuals value system and
  taking steps to reconcile differences
• (Standard 3.5)

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Teaching Example 2 APA Wiki

• http//wilu2007.pbwiki.com/APA_Citation_wiki
• Selecting an appropriate documentation style and
  using it consistently to cite sources.
• (Standard 5.3)

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Teaching Example 3 Wikipedia evaluation wiki

• http//wilu2007.pbwiki.com/evaluating_wikipedia
• Collaborative writing activity
• Evaluating Wikipedia articles and article sources
  for
• Bias, prejudice, manipulation
• Cultural or community context
• Reliability
• Validity
• Authority
• Comparing information between different
  electronic sources
• (Standard 3.2)

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Teaching Example 4 flickr tags

• Activity students sign into class-wide flickr
  account
• Comparing/contrasting natural vocabulary with
  controlled vocabulary
• c.f. Vygotskys block game
• Identifying keywords, synonyms and related terms
  for the information needed
• Selecting controlled vocabulary specific to the
  discipline or information retrieval source (using
  database thesauri)
• (Standard 2.2)

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Teaching Example 5 del.icio.us

• Activity student groups organize research
  information using del.icio.us (social
  bookmarking)
• Group organizing of information for research
• Recognizing that knowledge can be organized into
  disciplines that influence the way information is
  accessed
• Categorizing knowledge through social tagging
• Identifying the value and differences of various
  Web sites
• Identifying the purpose and audience of various
  Web sites (e.g., popular vs. scholarly, current
  vs. historical)
• (Standard 1.2)

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Teaching Example 6Google Docs

• Activity Group writing project, article
  evaluation, using Google Docs
• Collaborative writing
• Using Web as platform
• Identifying scholarly vs. non-scholarly articles
• Reading articles and selecting main ideas
• Restates textual concepts in students own words
• Analyzing the structure of articles
• (Standards 3.1 3.2)

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Teaching Example 7 facebook

• Teaching activity still under construction
• Situating scholars as members of a community
• Researching through citation chasing 6 degrees
  of separation (Brown cites Jones, who cites
  Williams, etc.)
• Possibly tying this to Web of Science database
  (Cited Ref searching)
• How to assess this?

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Questions and Discussion
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Conclusion

• Special thank you to Dr. Heidi Julien
• Thanks as well to
• University of Lethbridge Office of Research
  Services
• University of Alberta School of Library and
  Information Studies
• University of Alberta Faculty of Education
• University of Alberta Faculty of Graduate Studies
  and Research
• Library Association of Alberta

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Selected WorksWeb 2.0 Teaching/InfoLit

• Achterman, D. (2006). Making connections with
  blogs and wikis. California School Library
  Association Journal, 30(1), 29-31.
• Albanese, A.R. (2006). Google is not the Net
  Social networks are surging and present the real
  service challenge -- and opportunity -- for
  libraries. Library Journal, 131(15). Retrieved
  May 14, 2007, from http//www.libraryjournal.com/a
  rticle/CA6370224.html
• Chase, D. (2007). Transformative sharing with
  instant messaging, wikis, interactive maps, and
  Flickr. Computers in Libraries, 27(1), 7-8,
  52-56.
• Farabough, R. (2007). The Isle is Full of
  Noises Using wiki software to establish a
  discourse community in a Shakespeare classroom.
  Language Awareness, 16(1), 41-56.
• Hauser, J. (2007). Media specialists can learn
  Web 2.0 tools to make schools more cool.
  Computers in Libraries, 27(2), 6-8.
• Huwe, T.K. (2006). Some best practices for
  personalizing outreach. Computers in Libraries,
  26(2), 36-38.
• Lewis, C., and Fabos, B. (2005). Instant
  messaging, literacies, and social identities.
  Reading Research Quarterly, 40(4), 470-501.
• Maloney, E.J. (2007). What Web 2.0 can teach us
  about learning. The Chronicle of Higher
  Education, 53(18), B26.
• OReilly, T. (2005, September 30). What is Web
  2.0 Design patterns and business models for the
  next generation of software. OReilly Network.
  Retrieved May 17, 2007, from http//www.oreillynet
  .com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news.2005/09/30/what-is-web
  -20.html
• Payne, P. (2007). Rich internet applications
  Enabling Web 2.0. Network Computing, 18(3), 72,
  74-78.
• Ramsay, K.M., and Kinnie, J. (2006). The embedded
  librarian getting out there via technology to
  help students where they learn. Library Journal,
  131(6), 34-35.
• Ray, J. (2006). Welcome to the blogosphere The
  educational use of blogs (aka edublogs). Kappa
  Delta Pi Record, 42(4), 175-177.
• Zhang, L. (2006). Effectively incorporating
  instructional media into web-based information
  literacy. The Electronic Library, 24(3), 294-306.

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Selected WorksConstructivism

• Beck, C., Kosnik, C. (2006). Innovations in
  teacher education A social constructivist
  approach. Albany SUNY.Excellent backgrounder on
  constructivist learning theory.
• Brooks, J. G., Brooks, M.G. (1993). In search
  of understanding The case for constructivist
  classrooms. Alexandria, VA Association for
  Supervision and Curriculum Development.Constructi
  vist-based explorations of various classroom
  issues (e.g. making teaching relevant, valuing
  students points of view, etc.)
• Brown, A., Green, T. D. (2006). The essentials
  of instructional design Connecting fundamental
  principles with process and practice. Upper
  Saddle River, NJ Pearson.Easily accessible
  writings on learning theory, task analysis,
  creating learning environments and learner
  assessment.
• Davidson, F. (Producer), Davidson, J.
  (Director). (1994). Vygotskys development
  theory An introduction. Videotape. Woodstock,
  Ont. Canadian Learning Company.Excellent
  introductory video on constructivism from a
  Vygotskyian perspective.
• Driscoll, M. P. (2000). Psychology of learning
  for instruction (2nd ed.). Boston Allyn
  Bacon.Practical tips for organizing a
  constructivist classroom.
• Fetsco, T., McClure, J. (2005). Educational
  psychology An integrated approach to classroom
  decisions. Boston Pearson.Comprehensive
  educational psychology textbook with well-written
  descriptions of constructivist ideas, and related
  learning theories and strategies (e.g.
  inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning,
  discovery learning).
• Marlowe, B.A., Page, M.L. (1998). Creating and
  sustaining the constructivist classroom. Thousand
  Oaks, CA Corwin.Brief history of constructivism
  and interesting reading on active learning in
  the classroom.
• Notess, G.R. (2006). Teaching web search skills
  Techniques and strategies of top trainers.
  Medford, NJ Information Today, Inc.Weaving Web
  design concepts with instructional suggestions.
  Good resource for help with online tutorials.

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Selected Works Discourse Analysis

• Budd, J.M. (2006). Discourse analysis and the
  study of communications in LIS. Library Trends,
  55(1), 65-82.A readable and expansive
  exploration of the two main schools of discourse
  analysis and their potential as tools within LIS
  and library practice.
• Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge
  and the discourse on language. A.M.S. Smith
  trans. New York Pantheon.A landmark in the
  history of discourse analysis. A somewhat
  inscrutable read.
• Macdonell, D. (1986). Theories of discourse An
  introduction. Oxford Basil Blackwell.Solid
  introduction (and discourse) of discourse
  analysis.

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• thank you

cameron.hoffman_at_uleth.ca sarah.polkinghorne_at_ualber
ta.net