1. Using Learning Technologies
and Social Media in an
Undergraduate Information
Literacy Program
Presentation for Learning Technologies Librarian position
June 6, 2013
2. The Prompt
Please explain and demonstrate some ways that learning
technologies and social media might be employed in outreach
and instruction for an undergraduate-focused information
literacy program.
3. The Agenda
• Digital Natives and Demographics
• User-Centered Information Literacy
• Connecting with Patrons Where They Are
• Conclusions
8. Mason Demographics*
• Female: 54%
Male: 45.8%
• Full-Time: 61.6%
Part-Time: 38.4%
• Under 25: 77.2%
25-30: 12.2%
Over 30: 10.6%
• Fall 2012
89.4% of Mason Students
are Digital Natives.
Nationally (2010):†
Under 25: 57.37%
25-29: 15.21%
Over 30: 25.42%
*Source: George Mason University Institutional Research & Reporting.
http://irr.gmu.edu/factbooks/1213/Factbook1213_Enrollment.pdf
†Source: National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_200.asp
10. Designing Learning Objects
• Efficient (cost and time)
• Reusable
• Interoperable
• Durable
• Accessible
• Assessable
• Customizable
• Develops competency-based learning and higher order critical
thinking skills
• Course-based or remedial
11. Learning Management Systems
(LMS)
• Also called Course Management Systems (CMS)
• Blackboard
• Competitors: Desire2Learn, Moodle, Sakai
• Centralize course content online
• Wide variety in usage.
12. The Embedded Guide
Approach
• Embedding a course or subject guide accessible via a
dedicated link, button, or icon in a LMS shell
• Requires little to no customization of current instructional
resources
• Macro-level vs. micro-level
13. The Module Approach
• Constructing modules of library content or information
literacy tutorials that then get placed at strategic points in a
LMS shell.
• Does not require direct presence in LMS, but cooperation of
instructor of record to place librarian created content.
• Content may align with existing instructional resources, but
may need to be reformatted for compatibility with LMS.
14. Point of Need Approach
• Also called Just in Time Approach
• Embedding links to specific library resources at strategic points
within the course content presented in a LMS shell.
• Requires active collaboration with course instructor, but little
intervention on the part of the librarian.
• Content must be customized to align with syllabus and course
objectives.
15. The Library Course Approach
• Constructing an entire stand-alone LMS shell presenting
library resources and instructional materials on how to use
them.
• Time-intensive effort for librarians to design, deploy, and
assess entire course.
• May be offered as a supplement to existing curriculum or as
an optional course available to all within the LMS.
16. The Embedded Librarian
Approach
• Having a librarian present an in-class information literacy
session as well as having him/her interacting with students
through a course-specific LMS shell.
• A liaison librarian’s dream!
• Participate as an active instructor throughout the course.
• Deepest level of engagement and collaboration.
19. Social Media Usage
By Gender
Male 62%
Female 71%
By Age
18-29 83%
30-49 77%
50-64 52%
65+ 32%
20. Social Media Usage
As of December 2012:
67% of online adults say they use Facebook
16% of online adults say they use Twitter
15% of online adults say they use Pinterest
13% of online adults say they use Instagram
6% of online adults say they use Tumblr
Men use Twitter slightly more than women.
Women use Pinterest significantly more than men.
Women use Facebook and Instagram somewhat more than men.
21.
22.
23. Social Media Policy
• Purpose
• Audience
• Message
• Branding
• Customizable
• Flexible
24. Facebook
• “What’s on your mind?”
• Events
• Campus Pride
• Photos
• News
• Resources
• Collections
• Ohio State University Libraries
• Mississippi State University Libraries
• UCLA Powell Library
25. Twitter
• “What’s happening?”
• Don’t just self promote. Retweet.
• Follow your (campus Twitter) leaders.
• Interact.
• Temple Libraries
• University of Texas Libraries
• University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Library
26. Pinterest
• “Drop a pin or Create a board”
• Inspiration
• Visual
• Creative
• What interests you?
• University of Southern Indiana Rice Library
• UNLV Architecture Studies Library
• University of Louisville Library
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Honigman, B. (2012, November 29). 100 Fascinating Social Media Statistics and Figures From 2012. Huffington Post. Retrieved from
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Editor's Notes
Definition: First coined my Marc Prensky in 2001. The generation who has grown up with technology. “Native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet. They are, at least in theory, hyper-connected, multi-taskers, comfortable exploring and using technology. But are they really? Does not take into account differences in race and socioeconomic status. At least anecdotally, we know our students today can post photos to facebook, retweet a joke on Twitter, manipulate a photo to LOOK like it was taken with a vintage camera in the 1970s using Instagram, but do they know how to use the web well? Or even efficiently? Does this make them better researchers, or worse?I would argue that it makes them better able to use the tools, even if they are not using them most effectively.Take a look at Mason demographics compared to trends in higher ed.
Still you have to wonder, are digital natives and digital immigrants even on the same page? Are we thinking about how to use tools in the same way?
Or, are we even using the same tools? (Insert Zach Morris cell phone joke here.)
Don’t you just feel like this lady sometimes, trying to keep up with changes in learning technology and social media?Interview w/ Arthur Levine – NY TimesWhen we asked how they adapted to the tidal wave of new technology, one student said, “It’s only technology if it happened after you were born.” What are this generation’s strengths?These are kids who come with real digital skills, who are interested in global issues and who deal with diversity better than any generation before them.
They will typically have a number of different components, which range from descriptive data to information about rights and educational level. At their core, however, will be instructional content, practice, and assessment.Competency based learning is about learning mechanics of research.Competency-based learning or Competency Based Education and Training is an approach to teaching and learning more often used in learning concrete skills than abstract learning. It differs from other non-related approaches in that the unit of learning is extremely fine grained. Rather than a course or a module every individual skills/learning outcome, known as a competency, is one single unit. Learners work on one competency at a time, which is likely a small component of a larger learning goal.
Connecting a library to a LMS environment has a two-fold goal: to place useful library resources in the space in which students are completing their coursework, and to offer instruction on how to use these resources
There are many, many other tools out there. Adobe Captivate and Adobe Connect. But my philosophy is about meeting users where they are, rather than creating our own silos.
Recap: let’s meet our patrons where they ARE not where we want them to be. Whether it’s in instruction or in outreach, we need to be aware of what tools our students and instructors are using and meet them there in pedagogically sound ways.
