1. Mary Antonesa, NUI Maynooth,
mary.antonesa@nuim.ie
Claire McAvinia, NUI Maynooth,
claire.mcavinia@nuim.ie

2.  9000+ students
 Undergraduate & postgraduate courses in the
Arts, Science, Engineering, Philosophy and
Celtic Studies.
 Ireland's second oldest university

3.  “Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to
parallel process and multi-task...”
 “We need to invent Digital Native methodologies for all subjects, at all
levels, using our students to guide us. The process has already begun”
 “Adapting materials to the language of Digital Natives has already been
done successfully. My own preference for teaching Digital Natives is to
invent computer games to do the job, even for the most serious content.
After all, it’s an idiom with which most of them are totally familiar.”
 Marc Prensky, (2001),"Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1", On the
Horizon, Vol. 9 Iss: 5 pp. 1 – 6 DOI:10.1108/10748120110424816
(Permanent URL)

4.  Qualitative Doctoral research using focus
groups:
◦ Librarians
◦ Academic Staff and Academic Support Staff
◦ Students
◦ Key informants
 Positioning IL outside of library land

5.  Transition to University
◦ “...more we put online, almost more intimidating”
◦ “Critical thing they find most shocking”
◦ “Student’s mindset and own independence –
understanding 3rd level responsibility...what they
expect 3rd level to be might not always be what is it”
“..==e we put online, almost more intimidating”

6.  Fourth Subject
◦ “Referencing is the big one..students’ attitude to
referencing... Part of what the academic world
demands...are we being pedantic”
◦ “Power and ownership...how would you feel if
someone took your work...information has a value
... Don’t know it has a value “

7.  Gaps in system
◦ “Onus has come on us as different people in a
university to make stabs at it... as such we don’t all
understand what our roles are ...its frustrating... “
◦ “Possibility of surfing your way through 3, 4 , 10
years of university is a sinch...”
◦ “massification of knowledge and diversification of
knowledge nobody can have any control of it”

8.  Medium does matter
◦ “Medium shifts how we see the information... It
feels different... The way we interact with that”
◦ “Dont use same thinking on academic side ...Don’t
know how to cite it and save it...When just the
books was easier to ask...They say don’t tell us, just
show us”

9.  Library instruction TO knowledge
construction
 Marsh argues that while these changes are no
longer new, they can be considered new
ontologically in terms of the “mindsets they
engender” (Marsh, 2007, P267).
 Multi literacy pedagogy (Brian Street)

10.  Literacy is more progressive than sequential
 Socially negotiated
 Depends heavily on context
 Need to focus on peoples’ interest
 Can’t be learned once and for all time
 Remix (Belshaw)

11. Literacies for Learning, (McGill & Littlejohn, 2005) [

12.  Case studying students’
use of the VLE and
materials:
◦ Survey of undergraduates
in language subjects
◦ Seven student participants
◦ One semester
◦ Video interviews
◦ Diaries
◦ Second questionnaire
 Context: local and
national evaluations

13. If you use your VLE, Why? (All sites)
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
If you use your VLE, Why?
30%
100%
90%
20%
80%
70%
60%
10%
50%
40%
30%
0%
20%
10%
0% Keep Track of Get copies of Get other course Online Online Quizzes Submit
Keep Track of
Get copies of Get other course Online Online Quizzes Submit
classlecture notes
class timestimes material lecture notes
discussions material
Assignments discussions Assignments
about the course
2009 A 2008 A 2008 B 2008 C 2009 D 2008 D 2009 E 2008 E 2009 F
about the course
2009 G 2009 H 2009 I Average
Average
Cosgrave et al, 2008, 2009

14. If you don't use your VLE, why not?
20%
10%
If you don't use your VLE, why not?
70%
60%
50%
40%
0%
30%
20%
My Lecturers don’t The information on it I can’t access it I find it difficult to use I don’t have access
10%
0%
use it isn’t useful to the web
My Lecturers don’t The information on it I can’t access it I find it difficult to use I don’t have access
use it isn’t useful to the web
2008 A 2009 A 2008 B 2008 C 2008 D 2009 D 2008 E 2009 E 2009 F
2009 G 2009 H 2009 I Average
Cosgrave et al, 2008, 2009

16. Instruments
Transformation
Subject Object Outcomes
Process
Rules Community Division of
labour
Extended Activity System (Engeström, 1987)

17. Object 1: Keep up to date

18. Object 2: Undertake and complete coursework

19. • Lecturers were not resistant to using technology ‐ in
fact they were generally enthusiastic about it
– Evidence of experimenting within the VLE
– Greater uptake of other e‐learning tools available once they
were comfortable with VLE
• Students did not necessarily want more use of
technology ‐ this was not their primary focus (Object)
– Staying on top of coursework could be dependent on ‐ or
independent of ‐ technology
– VLE used as a gateway into other resources
– Negative responses when resources not provided via VLE

20. Liz: Publishing to make a reading list accessible
to students

21.  Claire.McAvinia@nuim.ie
 Mary.Antonesa@nuim.ie