Archive | November, 2012

Assessing Digital Literacy: Outcomes and Impact

29 Nov

If you want to measure something, first you have to define it. That’s why we’re just at the very beginning of developing assessments for digital literacy. 

One thing is certain, digital literacy is multi-dimensional. It requires an integration of cognitive abilities, communication skills, and social and ethical competencies. Digital literacy is not quantifiable with a single test. It overlaps with reading, problem solving, numeracy, logical, inferential, and metacognitive skills. Most importantly, digital literacy is sensitive to sociocultural context: it is going to look quite different in places like K-12 schools, libraries, the workplace and professional settings. That means there are a host of important assessment challenges that every librarian, educator and technology specialist with interests in digital literacy must face.

For these reasons, on December 11 at 7 p.m. EST, I will be hosting a conversation on Assessing Digital Literacy: Outcomes and Impact thanks to the American Library Association. The Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) and the Digital Literacy Task Force are sponsoring this special online learning program.

Measuring outcomes and impacts are vital to demonstrating the success of any program or service so that we may improve service and advocate for additional investments. But how do we measure or assess the development of digital literacy competencies in ourselves and in our patrons? How may assessment models help us best design and implement digital literacy instruction and services? Joining me for the conversation will be:

  • Karen Hanson, Federal Program Officer at the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA). With her colleagues in the Office of Policy Analysis and Development, Karen is responsible for assessing the impact of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), the $4.7 billion program to increase access to the Internet to all Americans.
  • Dr. Julie Coiro, Assistant Professor of Reading in the School of Education at the University of Rhode Island, and a member of the Media Education Lab at the Harrington School of Communication and Media. Her expertise includes reading comprehension strategy instruction, the new literacies of the Internet, and effective practices for technology integration and professional development. She is currently Co-PI on a four-year federal research project to develop valid and reliable assessments of online reading comprehension. In 2011,  she received the Early Career Research Award from the Literacy Research Association. Her work appears in venues such as Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Literacy Research, Educational Leadership, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and the 2nd Edition of the International Handbook of Literacy and Technology. She is co-editor of the Handbook of Research on New Literacies (2009).

We’ll discuss:

  • What assessment is already happening, and what are we learning from this work?
  • What tools have already been developed, and how can we better proliferate them among libraries of all types?
  • How can we best document the impact of library, school, university, and community-based training and interventions when it comes to digital literacy competencies?

We will be using Google Hangout as our platform for this virtual meeting and you can learn and participate by watching live-streaming of the conversation on YouTube and chatting with other viewers. You also can continue the conversation through Twitter using the hash tag #digilit12. Your questions and comments will be submitted to panelists throughout the program.

Please RSVP to alawash@alawash.org to learn how to participate. We also welcome comments or questions prior to each conversation. Please use “digital literacy” as the subject line.

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Creating a Culture of Learning

4 Nov

These days, who has time to learn new things? At this time of year, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the pace of work and life. As the days grow shorter, it seems there’s even less time to get everything done – at work, at home, and in our communities.

Yet educators, media and information professionals and librarians DO find time to learn new digital media tools and technologies. We learn when we go to conferences and get inspired by a demonstration. We learn when we exchange information with colleagues who have cool skills we lack. A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Rebecca Romanow, Interim Director of the Film/Video Program at URI’s Harrington School, taught me how to grade papers on an iPad.

For me, finding time to learn new digital tools happens during the times I set aside for “play-and-learning.” Right now, I’m teaching myself to learn PTCH, an easy-to-use video sharing app on my smartphone that lets me assemble short videos. I find myself playing with new digital tools in a variety of in-between situations. Especially when I’m feeling overwhelmed or when I am procrastinating, learning new digital tools gives me a kind of refreshing “break” that can inspire my creativity and productivity.

Want to learn more about how information professionals stay on the path of continuous learning when it comes to digital media?

On November 14 at 7 p.m. EST, I’m hosting an Google hangout called, “Creating a Culture of Learning: How Librarians Keep Up with Digital Media and Technology.” The event is free and open to the public and all are welcome to attend. We’re discussing how we stay on the learning curve with our students, colleagues and patrons as new devices, software and Internet-enabled services emerge. Confirmed speakers include:

  • Caroline Haebig, instructional technology coordinator, Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Haebig collaborates with teachers and administrators to improve student and teacher engagement using technology.  She is an active member of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Young Educator Network and was named as the ISTE Outstanding Young Educator 2012.
  • Jamie Hollier, a technology consultant and project manager with the Public Library Association and formerly the Colorado State Library. As part of its Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant, the state library conducted training across the state and developed a range of training tools available at http://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/techtraining/. Hollier was the project coordinator for the Colorado BTOP project.
  • Gwyneth Jones, aka The Daring Librarian, a middle-school teacher librarian at Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel, Maryland. She is a member of the ISTE Board of Directors, and was named an Innovator and one of Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers 2011. The Daring Librarian blog delivers “Ed-Tech Talk with Sweet Snarky Freshness.”
  • Bobbi Newman, aka Librarian by Day, is currently enrolled at Iowa State University pursuing her second master’s degree.  While working at a Missouri public library, Newman was among the first to replicate Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library’s “23 Things” model, and she has written and spoken frequently on how the library adapted and made the program work. Newman also co-founded the award-winning Libraries and Transliteracy Project.
  • Anu Vendanthan, director of the Weigle Information Commons at the University of Pennsylvania. The Commons has supported new media and video projects in the context of college coursework for several years. Anu writes and speaks extensively about the integration of technology into teaching and learning. Her research has explored gender-related aspects of the creation of videos by today’s college students. She has held leadership positions in K-12 administration, the federal government and non-profit organizations.

How can library groups and library leaders best support library staff in the quest to stay current? What are the perceived obstacles that interfere with the continuing education process? What resources or continuous learning models already are available to the profession, and what are their pros/cons?

To learn how to participate, please RSVP at alawash@alawash.org.

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