Presentation to the Holyrood Cross Party Group on Digital Participation on the evening of Wednesday 4th September

1. Information skills for a 21st century Scotland
An online information literacy
community of practice
And he’s back!
www.therightinformation.org/

2. Information Literacy definitions
"Information literacy is knowing when and why you need
information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and
communicate it in an ethical manner." CILIP (2004)
www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/advocacy/information-literacy/pages/default.aspx
“Information Literacy was defined as the ability to identify,
locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and
communicate information to address an issue or problem.”
Prague Declaration

3. The Scottish Information Literacy
Project objectives 2004 - 2010
• Develop an information literacy framework, linking
primary, secondary and tertiary education to lifelong learning
including workplace and adult literacies agendas
• Advocacy on behalf of information literacy for education and
the wider community
• Work with information literacy champions both UK and
worldwide
• Research and promote information literacy in the workplace
• Identify and work with partners, both in education and the
wider community
• Research the role of information literacy in continuing
professional development
• Research the health and media literacies agenda

4. Who were we?

5. Some achievements
• 2003 – The Drumchapel Project – where it all began
• 2004 – The ‘one year’ Information Literacy, the Link between
Secondary and Tertiary Education Project launched
• 2005-8 - the first draft of the National Information Literacy
Framework Scotland completed, piloted and evaluated
• Contact and work with Learning and Teaching Scotland and
learndirectscotland [now Education Scotland]
• Extensive network of partners and contacts from
school, FE/HE, workplace, lifelong learning, Adult literacies +
overseas
• Website developed and blog + PR activities
• Initial health and media literacy contacts

6. Information skills for a 21st Century Scotland
www.therightinformation.org/
Launched 11th June
2012
@ CILIPS Annual
Conference in Dundee
New online information
literacy community of
practice: Information
Skills for a 21st century
Scotland.
More than a website …
Hosted by Scottish
Library and Information
Council (SLIC)

7. Aims and activities of the community
of practice
• Developing core information literacy skills in further education
• Assessing the impact of information literacy training
• Advocacy for information literacy
• Instructing teachers in information literacy
• Information literacy as an employability skill
• Information literacy toolkits for young people
• Teaching information literacy skills in public libraries
• Links between schools and public libraries
• Use of electronic information literacy resources in public libraries
• Online training packages in higher education
• Workplace information literacy skills
• Social media

8. Some work to date
• FE training materials – Dundee College
• A comprehensive HE IL package – SMILE (Glasgow
Caledonian)
• Programme of awareness raising within the
profession
• Presentations at an international conference
• Further development of framework
• Project Blaster (primary school project)
• Plan training events within Scotland
• Book – Information literacy and lifelong learning

9. Project Blaster: information literacy for a digital age
A skills-based cross-curricular
resource to help primary
pupils learn basic research
skills
A six step guide that shows
teachers and pupils how to
find, select and analyse a
wide range of information for
school projects whether
online or print-based
Aims to help pupils build the
critical skills necessary to
assess the increasing amount
of information they will
encounter in their learning
journey

10. Finding and assessing information
Aims to help teachers and
students identify multiple
sources of information rather
than just relying on Google as
a starting point
Encourages pupils to make
connections between
information around them and
what they find online
Teaches pupils to critically
evaluate information through
class discussion and
comparing different sources

11. Information and Digital Literacy Provision
Abi Mawhirt
a.mawhirt@dundeecollege.ac.uk

12. Identified a Gap in Curriculum
• Special Programmes team short staffed
• Students unable to partake in full curriculum
• Teaching hours cut, timetables stretched
• New way to improve information literacy sought
© K Baikie, Licensor Dundee College

13. Literacy Information Skills Course
• Suitable materials researched and developed
• Close work with Special Programmes team
• College certificate course agreed
• First Literacy Information Skills class in Aug 2009
© Dundee College

14. Types of Activities
 Using a computer as a research tool
 Finding reliable online information
 Making use of library resources
 Understanding and using weights and measures
© Dundee College

15. Questions? Contact details
John Crawford
johncrawford705@yahoo.co.uk
Chair, Information Skills for a 21st
Century Scotland,
Information skills for a 21st century
Scotland
http://www.therightinformation.org/