1. InFlow: An
integrated model of
applied information
literacy
Sarah McNicol

2. About iTEC
• A four-year European project (2010-14)
• Creating educational tools and resources piloted in
over 2,000 classrooms across 19 European countries
• Working to develop a „sustainable model for
fundamentally redesigning teaching and learning‟

3. Comparing iTEC activities to
existing IL models

4. The starting point: iTEC Cycle 4
Learning Activities
See http://itec.aalto.fi/2013/01/cycle-4-full-pilot-material/

5. This led to the development of InFlow
https://sites.google.com/site/inflowinformationflow/

6. General principles
• It is a flow, rather than a series of discrete activities
• Can be undertaken in any order
• Makes the iterative nature of tasks explicit (you can
repeat elements several times)
• You don‟t always need to use all the elements
• Encourages student engagement with information
• Flexibility: resources, time, age range, subject…

7. Learning outcomes
Through using InFlow, students will:
• Learn how to work collaboratively, in teams with
other students and also with external collaborators.
• Develop metacognitive skills by reflecting on what
and how they learn and how they can progress.
• Develop creativity skills by designing outputs which
take account of the needs of potential audiences.
• Understand how to engage effectively with a wide
range of primary and secondary information
sources.
• Learn to ask for, listen to, act on and give
feedback.

10. Other ideas…
• Creating a model of local buildings (using 3D
printer)
• Creating a game (for younger students)
• Creating a QR code treasure hunt
• Creating a virtual museum (local
history/geography)
• Telling an multimedia story
• Redesigning the school map (tube map)
• Preparing students for individual research project
• Induction sessions

11. Links
• Inflow:
https://sites.google.com/site/inflowinformationflow/
• Or http://www.esri.mmu.ac.uk/resstaff/inflowmodel.pdf
If you want to design an activity online, one option is
Padlet. Here‟s an example:
http://padlet.com/wall/1wed9yjpjc
If you‟re interested in testing the model join:
http://collaborativeactionresearch.org/
And „apply for membership‟ of the InFlow project

12. Further information
• Articles:
McNicol, Sarah (2014) “Modelling information literacy for
classrooms of the future”, Journal of Librarianship and
Information Science, doi: 10.1177/0961000614526612
McNicol, Sarah (2013), “InFlow (Information Flow): An
Integrated Model of Applied Information Literacy”, School
Libraries in View, 36 (Winter).
• Email: s.mcnicol@mmu.ac.uk
• iTEC: http://itec.eun.org