Libraries have long been places for reading, for information, for literacy. What has changed and continues to change is the concept of what it means to be literate. It is no longer merely centered on the ability to read and write. According to Mirriam-Webster (2020) it also means to be educated, competent and cultured. As the world changes, new literacies are required. For example, the internet changes the way information is shared. Today it is important to be digitally literate and to know how to navigate the plethora of information available at any given moment. It is also important to […]
Categories Education
332 posts
A Listening to Student Voices post by SJSU School of Information student Kristen Valdez. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the school closures that followed, many children around the world have become online students almost overnight. As teachers and administrators scramble to create an online alternative, many students are working out of paper packets and using school provided e-resources like Pordigy, Epic, and MobyMax to fill in the teaching gap. Teachers, who taught in the face-to-face environment, have been faced with the challenge of mobilizing their classrooms and administrators are now tasked with creating an efficient and multi-faceted e-learning platform, at no […]
A Listening to Student Voices post by SJSU School of Information student Naomi Hill. In early education circles, it is widely known that children learn through play, and more and more early education curriculums are being updated to reflect this understanding of cognitive development. For some reason, as children get older and grow into adults, this idea is traded in for a learning-through-work model—one which can be successful when viewed through an apprenticeship lens, but by no means encapsulates the only or best way to learn. Additionally, our educational model focuses heavily on control and compliance: students silent, in rows, […]
Dr. Mary Vasudeva wrote this post in response to readings in her MLIS course INFO 298 The Hyperlinked Library “Leave the library and go where the people are.” (Stephens, 2017, Built for people). I happened to be in a situation where I couldn’t listen to the lecture for this course module (on an airplane), so I was going through the slide show. . . which made me think about learning modes in general. And then, I got to slide 5, which states “The heart of libraries is learning and supporting our users’ curiosity through every means possible” (Stephens, 2017, Library […]
Is expertise no longer relevant? What is the difference between expertise and authority? How do we introduce students to these ideas within a world where fake news is prevalent? These are some of questions answered by Bill Badke in my interview with him on the Circulating Ideas podcast. This interview is available at: Circulating Ideas episode 113: William Badke. William Badke is Associate Librarian at Trinity Western University, Canada, with responsibility for information resources and research training at the Associated Canadian Theological Schools. He is author of numerous articles and the widely used textbook, Research Strategies: Finding your Way through […]
This column explores the future of LIS education as part of Library Journal’s 40th Anniversary celebration. LIS programs have moved online quickly since my own program went 100 percent online in 2009 with varying degrees of success, some relying on “read and respond” pedagogy while others embrace new technologies. (See The Transparent Library School and Our Common Purpose.) A couple of decades from now, online graduate education may mean something different than a web-based learning management system. Logging in might involve a version of virtual reality that replicates the “face-to-face” classroom so closely the technology involved falls away. Class experience, […]
The Information Literacy Framework from ACRL presents a nationally recognized set of skills that can be used to demonstrate the value of individual academic libraries and groups of libraries that want to benchmark learning. This is true for all types of libraries including community colleges. The representatives from regional accrediting agencies who reviewed the Framework recognized and supported this use for the Framework. Those who claim that the Framework does not fill a role similar to the rescinded Information Literacy Standards misrepresent or misremember how the Standards were used. The Framework follows current thinking for learning models that do not […]
I am excited to share a link to an article I wrote in College & Research Libraries News, “Sharing the ACRL Framework with Faculty: Opening Campus Conversations.” Part of the reason that I put this article together is because I have heard from a few community college librarians who are concerned that the Framework does not work for 2-year colleges. They seem to be especially concerned that the Framework does not connect to career programs or developmental education. I have not found these concerns to be valid. My C&RLNews article linked above outlines a professional development course for faculty that I […]
I have an article in the new issue of the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science on our student blogging platform at the School of Information, San Jose State University. This study investigates the benefits of a community blogging platform for students in an online LIS program. Using a web survey and descriptive content analysis methods, this paper empirically addresses how student blogging communities can be effectively foster connections amongst instructors and students, and enhance perceptions of learn- ing performance. Overall, students reported the blogging community and blogging as- signment created a positive impact on their learning performance, particularly […]
Anytime someone asks me if they should go to library school, I want to give them an unconditional “Yes!” Since I’ve graduated, spent almost two years working as a full-time librarian, and started to pay back my student loans, I haven’t given one unqualified “Yes!” to anyone. I’d like to say something about why that is. * * * From 6:00 to 9:00 PM on Wednesday nights, I work at the information desk with one other employee, often a part-time library clerk. Recently, we were doing a little arts and crafts project to pass the time, and she asked me […]