This document summarizes a presentation on metaliteracy and the participatory role of learners in today's social information environment. The presentation covered key concepts of metaliteracy including its focus on learner empowerment and participation beyond just searching and retrieving information. It also discussed how metaliteracy aligns with the ACRL Framework and provided examples of metaliteracy learning projects including a digital badging system and MOOCs. The presentation concluded with a discussion of integrating metaliteracy into general education information literacy courses through curriculum design considerations and assessment approaches.
Metaliteracy and the Participatory Role of Learners in Today’s Social Information Environment
1. Metaliteracy and the Participatory Role of Learners
in Today’s Social Information Environment
1
Trudi Jacobson and Tom Mackey
#metaliteracy
Temple University
Fall 2017 GenEd Faculty Assembly
Monday, August 21, 2017
noon-4:00 (SERC 108A/B)
2. Today’s Workshop
12:45 Presentation
2:00 Breakout session 1: Individual Reflection
2:20 Break (flexible timing due to eclipse!)
2:35 Breakout session 2: Group
3:00 Reconvene: Reports and Wrap Up
2
Image by Luc Viatour
3. What we’ll talk about
• Metaliteracy
• ACRL Information Literacy Framework
• Metaliteracy-related projects
– Digital badging system
• Case Study: General Education Course
– MOOCs
• Q & A
3
4. GenEd at
Focused on making connections
• “both locally as well as globally”
• “from academic knowledge to experience”
• “across areas of study from a global perspective”
• “to current controversies from a local
perspective”
• “between what they learn, their lives and their
communities”
4https://gened.temple.edu/blog/welcome-to-the-general-education-program-site/
5. NMC Horizon Report 2017
Higher Education Edition
Solvable Challenge:
Improving Digital Literacy
“The proliferation of fake
news stories during the
recent US presidential
election illustrates the
importance of cultivating
skills for mindful media
consumption” (p. 24).
https://www.nmc.org
6. NMC Horizon Report 2017
Higher Education Edition
Solvable Challenge:
Integrating Formal and
Informal Learning
“With over 40% of the world’s
population accessing the
internet, recognizing the power
and prevalence of online
informal learning opportunities
is vital to keeping formal
education relevant” (p. 26).
https://www.nmc.org
7. 7
“Our “digital natives” may be able to flit
between Facebook and Twitter while
simultaneously uploading a selfie to
Instagram and texting a friend. But when
it comes to evaluating information that
flows through social media channels,
they are easily duped” (p. 4).
Wineburg, Sam and McGrew, Sarah and Breakstone, Joel and Ortega, Teresa. (2016).
Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning.
Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/fv751yt5934
8. 8
Wineburg, Sam and McGrew, Sarah and Breakstone, Joel and Ortega, Teresa. (2016).
Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning.
Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/fv751yt5934
“At present, we worry that
democracy is threatened by the
ease at which disinformation
about civic issues is allowed to
spread and flourish” (p. 5).
11. “Metaliteracy is an overarching, self-referential, and
comprehensive framework that informs other literacy
types. Information literacy is the metaliteracy for a digital
age because it provides the higher order thinking
required to engage with multiple document types
through various media formats in collaborative
environments” (p. 70).
11
Mackey, T. P., & Jacobson, T. E. (2011). Reframing Information Literacy as a Metaliteracy.
College & Research Libraries, 72(1), 62-78. http://crl.acrl.org/content/72/1/62.full.pdf
Reframing Information Literacy
as a Metaliteracy
12. Metaliteracy: Reinventing Information
Literacy to Empower Learners
(Mackey and Jacobson, 2014).
“While literacy is focused on
reading and writing, and
information literacy has
strongly emphasized search
and retrieval, metaliteracy is
about what happens beyond
these abilities to promote the
collaborative production and
sharing of information” (p. 6).
13. Metaliteracy: Reinventing Information
Literacy to Empower Learners
(Mackey and Jacobson, 2014).
“The use of the term
metaliteracy suggests a way
of thinking about one’s own
literacy. To be metaliterate
requires individuals to
understand their existing
literacy strengths and areas
for improvement and make
decisions about their
learning” (p. 2).
14. 14
“Metaliteracy prepares us
to ask critical questions
about our searches and the
technologies we use to
seek answers and to
communicate with others.”
Jacobson and Mackey, August 7, 2015, “Can’t seem to stop those ads
following you around? Why not become ‘metaliterate’?”
15. 15
Jacobson and Mackey, August 7, 2015, “Can’t seem to stop those ads
following you around? Why not become ‘metaliterate’?”
“We do not just accept the
authority of information
because it comes from an
established news
organization, a celebrity, a
friend, or a friend of a
friend. Metaliteracy
encourages reflection on
the circumstances of the
information produced.”
16. “How a Blogger Exploded the Hot New Theory About
Amelia Earhart With 30 Minutes of Online Searching”
16
Ruth Graham, Slate, July 13, 2017
18. Four Domains of Metaliteracy
Metacognitive:
what learners think
about their own
thinking—a reflective
understanding of
how and why they
learn, what they do
and do not know,
their preconceptions,
and how to continue
to learn).
Cognitive: what
students should
know upon
successful
completion of
learning activities—
comprehension,
organization,
application,
evaluation)
Affective:
changes in
learners’ emotions
or attitudes
through
engagement with
learning activities)
Behavioral: what
students should be
able to do upon
successful
completion of
learning activities—
skills,
competencies
Mackey and Jacobson (2014) Metaliteracy: Reinventing Information Literacy to Empower Learners
19. Learner Roles
Mackey and Jacobson (2014) Metaliteracy: Reinventing Information Literacy to Empower Learners
20. I’d love to
see my
students
take on the
role of…
Quick Reflection
22. 22
“A majority of U.S. adults – 62 percent
– get news on social media.”
News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016
(Gottfried & Shearer, May 26, 2016)
Evaluate content critically, including dynamic, online
content that changes and evolves, such as articles
preprints, blogs, and wikis
23. 23
“Computer Scientists Demonstrate The Potential
For Faking Video”
Aarti Shahani, Tech Reporter, NPR Business Desk
July 14, 2017, 4:57 AM ET
“Synthesizing Obama: Learning Lip Sync from Audio” SIGGRAPH 2017
Supasorn Suwajanakorn, Steven M. Seitz, Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman
24. 24
“How to Spot Fake News”
(Kiely and Robertson, November 18, 2016)
Assess content from different sources, including
dynamic content from social media, critically
26. 26
Understand the differing natures of feedback
mechanisms and context in traditional and
social media platforms
27. Place an information source in its context
(for example, author’s purpose, format of
information, and delivery mode)
27https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Seigenthaler_biography_incident
28. Understand Personal Privacy, Information
Ethics and Intellectual Property Issues
28
Pew Research Center: The Future of Privacy (2014) Lee Rainie & Janna Anderson
29. Value user-generated content and critically
evaluate contributions made by others: see self as
a producer as well as consumer, of information
29http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/page.cfm?id=27&cid=27
30. Apply copyright and Creative Commons
licensing as appropriate to the creation of
original or repurposed information
30
https://creativecommons.org/about/videos/wanna-work-together/
31. Determine the value of formal and informal
information from various networked sources
(scholarly, user-generated, OERs, etc.)
31
https://textbooks.opensuny.org/the-information-literacy-users-guide-an-open-online-textbook/
32. Share Information and Collaborate
in Participatory Environments
32
“Metaliterate individuals recognize there are ethical
considerations involved when sharing information, such as
the information must be accurate. But there is more.
Metaliteracy asks that individuals understand on a mental
and emotional level the potential impact of one’s
participation.”
“How can we learn to reject fake news in the digital world?”
(Mackey & Jacobson, The Conversation, December 5, 2016)
35. Metaliteracy in Practice
(Jacobson and Mackey, 2016).
“The similarities to metaliteracy are
striking: metacognition, information
creation, and participation in learning
communities all reflect elements
espoused by metaliteracy when it was
originally developed to significantly
broaden the conception of
information literacy that was
commonly accepted, at least in the
United States, due to the definition in
the ACRL Information Literacy
Standards.” (Preface)
36. From Standards to Framework
Determine extent of
information need
Access/Search
Evaluate
Use/apply
Consider
ethical/legal/social
issues
Scholarship
Authority
Information
Creation
Value
Searching
Inquiry
39. Threshold Concepts
Hofer, Townsend, and Brunetti describe threshold
concepts and their criteria, as based on the work of Jan
Meyer and Ray Land:
…Threshold concepts are the core ideas and processes in any
discipline that define the discipline, but that are so
ingrained that they often go unspoken or unrecognized by
practitioner. They are the central concepts that we want
our students to understand and put into practice, that
encourage them to think and act like practitioners
themselves. (Hofer, Townsend, and Brunetti, 2012, 387-
88)
39
40. 40
“Threshold concepts reflect the
perspective of experts in our profession
on the most important concepts in our
field, and also provide a developmental
trajectory for assisting our students in
moving from novice to experts in using
and understanding information in a wide
variety of contexts.”
Why Threshold Concepts?
41. Threshold Concepts
• A passage through a portal or gateway: gaining
a new view of a subject landscape
• Involve a “rite of passage” to a new level of
understanding: a crucial transition
• Require movement through a “liminal” space
which is challenging, unsettling, disturbing—
where the student may become “stuck”
44. Threshold Concepts in Disciplines
• Biology: evolution, photosynthesis
• Writing/rhetoric studies: audience, purpose, situated
practice, genre
• Geology: the scale of geologic time
• Economics: opportunity cost
• Accounting: depreciation
• History: no unitary account of the past
45. Threshold Concepts for IL
• Authority is Constructed and Contextual
• Information Creation as a Process
• Information Has Value
• Research as Inquiry
• Scholarship as Conversation
• Searching as Strategic Exploration
47. Curriculum Design Considerations
• Faculty and librarians co-develop assignments
• Align threshold concepts with learning
outcomes (or create new learning outcomes)
• Allow for confusion and uncertainty
• Revisit the concept more than once
• Position frames strategically across the
curriculum
48. Initial Ideas About Assessment
Need to avoid assessments that allow mimicry
Rather, declarative approach
where students represent their
knowledge, such as concept
maps, portfolios, logs, blogs,
diaries
(Meyer and Land, 2010)
51. ❖ A record of achievement
❖ Acknowledgement of an
accomplishment
❖ Indication of a proven skill
❖ Evidence of learning
❖ Verification of competency
❖ Validation of non-traditional
skills or experiences
What is a Digital Badge?
The Badge CC BY-SA Kyle Bowen
56. Implementations
• UUNI 110: Writing and Critical Inquiry
• UUNI 110: Writing and Critical Inquiry
• ECPY204U: Principles of Career and Life Planning
• AENG 240V: Writing America
• UNL 207: Information Literacy
• ESPY 120: Psychology of Academic and Personal Effectiveness
• Honors Program
• ERDG 500: Classroom Literacy Instruction
• IINF 200: Research Methods
• RPOS 250: Current Policy Debates Viewed Through a Social Science Lens
• GOG 160: China: People and Place
• CEHC 210: Critical Inquiry and Communication
• nciples of Career and Life Planning
• AENG 240V: Writing America
• UNL 207: Information Literacy
58. Demonstrate self-empowerment through
interaction and the presentation of ideas
(learners are both students and teachers)
Students earned the Empowered Learner badge
Team-based activities:
• Developing potential badge content
• Session with instructor of lower level writing
course
• Preparation for teaching
• Teaching lower level students
58
59. Value user-generated content and critically
evaluate contributions made by others: see self as
a producer as well as consumer, of information
59
Michelle Ebanks Barbara Masekela
61. • “When designed with students as the central drivers of
their learning, MOOCs can foster important lifelong
learning competencies related to self-regulation and
learner agency.”
• “This decentralized learning model, however, calls for a
supportive pedagogy that addresses the learning
processes needed for students to take on active roles as
participants, contributors and teachers.”
61
O’Brien, K., Forte, M., Mackey, T. P., Jacobson, T.E., “Metaliteracy as Pedagogical
Framework for Learner-Centered Design in Three MOOC Platforms: Connectivist, Coursera
and Canvas.” (under review). Open Praxis. 2017.
Pedagogy
63. Demonstrate ability to connect learning and
research strategies with lifelong learning processes
and personal, academic, and professional goals
https://www.coursera.org/learn/metaliteracy
68. Breakout Session One
• Use this time to reflect on what you have
learned about metaliteracy. What elements
are you already using in your classes, and how
are each currently applied?
• Identify the elements of metaliteracy that are
new to you and your teaching. How would
these newer elements enhance your learning
goals for students? How might you begin to
incorporate them?
68
69. Breakout Session Two
• Working with other faculty and the librarian at
your table, share what you developed in
breakout session one. We will ask one person
per table to give a brief overview of key ideas
when we reconvene.
69
71. Tom Mackey, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Academic Programs
and Professor
Office of Academic Affairs
SUNY Empire State College
Tom.Mackey@esc.edu
@TomMackey
Trudi Jacobson, M.L.S., M.A.
Distinguished Librarian
Head, Information Literacy Department
University Libraries
University at Albany, SUNY
Tjacobson@albany.edu
@PBKTrudi
71
Editor's Notes
Trudi
Trudi
The NMC Horizon Report 2017 addresses Selected Trends such as Advancing cultures of innovation and Deeper learning approaches and also Selected Challenges such as Improving digital literacy and Integrating formal and informal learning
“Learning institutions are challenged to encourage self-directed learning experiences and to guide students toward the wealth of resources available, such as online courses that reward students with certificates or digital badges, or public assets published by libraries, museums, and cultural centers.”
NEW MEDIA CONSORTIUM JUST RELEASED Digital Literacy in Higher Education, Part II Similar to metaliteracy this report also features content creation, empowerment, and information literacy as core, and states: “Digital literacies ultimately combine information and media literacy” but metaliteracy goes beyond this.
Tom… mention the original article from 2011…
Tom: “Metaliteracy also includes a metacognitive component and openness to format and mode that is less pronounced
in information literacy” (p. 6).
Tom: “Metaliteracy also includes a metacognitive component and openness to format and mode that is less pronounced
in information literacy” (p. 6).
Tom
Tom
“Kota Yamano, a Tokyo-based blogger, found the same photograph printed in a Japanese-language travelogue published in 1935, almost two years before Earhart and Noonan disappeared. The caption underneath the photo says nothing about the identities of the people in the photograph, which apparently depicts a regular old harbor, rather than a harbor and two missing celebrities.”
Trudi
Expanding the idea of empowerment. Students often don’t see themselves in these roles. It is important that they have the mindset and abilities needed to undertake these roles successfully
“…in order to ascertain the value of the material for that particular situation“ Understand for example that Wikipedia is developed by a community of users and that while there have been hoaxes such as the infamous John Seigenthaler case, the community was able to correct the false information originally presented, but this required critical thinking and listening to the original victim of this hoax, John Seigenthaler himself and then making the necessary corrections within the context of this open environment.
And go beyond factcheck.org--- this is just one example to illustrate the point but of course we need to check multiple sources of information and fact check on our own.
As part of the critical thinking process we need to understand the context for information, and the differences in how information is transmitted through traditional sources and social media. In this example the feedback mechanism is the open environment of Speaker’s Corner in London where individuals and groups express their views in a peaceful way.
We also have multiple feedback mechanisms through social media such as online reviews for hotels, movies, books, airline seats, as well as status updates via Facebook, Twitter, etc. How do we understand these sources of information and critically evaluate these sources, making sure we understand the origins of the information and who transmitted the information and to what extent anonymity had an impact on the reliability of the information. How do we effectively contribute to the feedback mechanisms ourselves as active and responsible digital citizens.
“…in order to ascertain the value of the material for that particular situation“ Understand for example that Wikipedia is developed by a community of users and that while there have been hoaxes such as the infamous John Seigenthaler case, the community was able to correct the false information originally presented, but this required critical thinking and listening to the original victim of this hoax, John Seigenthaler himself and then making the necessary corrections within the context of this open environment.
“So, metaliterate individuals don’t just post random thoughts that are not based in truth. They learn that in a public space they have a responsibility to be fair and accurate.”
Trudi
Shows a blog created by a student in an information literacy course at the University at Albany, Spring 2017
More than what some of the students in the course did, took the ML concepts and ran with them. Also invited others to follow her on tumblr
Trudi: “Metaliteracy also includes a metacognitive component and openness to format and mode that is less pronounced
in information literacy” (p. 6).
5 Standards, 6 Frames
Quick overview of the larger structures of the two
The standards were, on the whole, linear, while the framework provides tools to think with, in the words of Gardner Campbell. He says “Conceptual frameworks are not things to do. Conceptual frameworks are tools for understanding, tools to think with” and this is a primary difference from the standards—they were things to do. A framework informs all that one does.
http://www.gardnercampbell.net/blog1/?p=2703#comments
Affective element (habits of mind), behavioral and cognitive (behaviors demonstrating understanding), underpinning ideas encompass both ML and the threshold concept you find in each frame
Transformative—cause the learner to experience a shift in perspective;
Integrative—bring together separate concepts (often identified as learning objectives) into a unified whole;
Irreversible—once grasped, cannot be un-grasped;
Bounded—may help define the boundaries of a particular discipline, are perhaps unique to the discipline;
Troublesome—usually difficult or counterintuitive ideas that can cause students to hit a roadblock in their learning.
Can enter into the conversation, language
This aligns with the deeper learning experience of the Horizon Report, certainly when you compare it to the Standards
Information literacy as informed by metaliteracy
These information production projects align well
Translation of the ML Learning goals and objectives into learning mechanism
Visual icon that represents an achievement, demonstrated skill or ability - similar to traditional merit badges - What distinguishes a digital badge from a traditional merit badge is metadata – information embedded into the badge image that tells you how the badge was earned, what kind of learning took place - can include evidence, verification by issuing authority (like a certificate), validation of non-traditional skills that often occur outside of the classroom
Credly metadata
Credly is a badge issuing platform a badge repository – allows students to collect, store, and share their earned badges
Focus on digital citizen badge for grant - covers concepts such as information ethics, personal privacy, and online identities. Goal to refine digital citizen badge for educators and to use this as a model for other discipline specific applications.
First conceptualized in 2012 by members of the Metaliteracy Learning Collaborative. The Metaliteracy learning objectives were used as the foundation for the design of the badging system, which includes four digital badges and the Metaliterate Learner uber badge. Each badge is a title that students can claim and display once they have mastered a particular series of learning activities. Badge does not indicate end of learning but rather transformed learning -- new ways of thinking and practices that can be applied to future learning experiences.
Metacogntition, self-reflective learning activities
Requires viewing by instructor
Model where librarians work with disciplinary faculty – lesson planning, set up course pages, they are responsible for assigning and reviewing work
metaliteracy is largely grounded in metacognition and affective aspects of learning - encouraging self-reflection and self-awareness of their own learning processes and how they feel about their learning. Activities are reflective in nature -- often require short written assignment or worksheet or digital creation submitted through an online form in the system -- Students can resubmit. Because of this the metaliteracy exercises could not be automated, and require an instructor to review, provide feedback, and approve the work. In order to accommodate this process we came up with a model where the librarians are working with the faculty to incorporate these metaliteracy badge quests into their own courses, and faculty are reviewing the work of their own students.
Digital badges have been valuable for encouraging instructors to incorporate these concepts into their courses and have facilitated collaborative lesson planning and instruction.
Consultation to integrate badges and create course pages
Integration into course syllabus and assignments
Flipped model: i.e. assigned quest paired with library instruction
Trudi
The badge system has drawn interest across disciplines and opened up opportunities for collaborative partnerships as we work with faculty to integrate the metaliteracy badges into their courses and customize the system for their needs.
Just highlights from a couple of library-based information literacy courses that incorporate ML/Framework
Learning objective within Demonstrate ability to connect learning and research strategies with lifelong learning processes and personal, academic, and professional goals (mentioned earlier)
Not only did students work through the Empowered Learner badges and quests (as flipped classroom content), in their teams, they were asked to write one of our missing badge units
They also had the opportunity to put into play the learner as teacher element from ML
Greg’s course
Tom
mention the new article and these key points.
Stephen Downes and gRSShopper aggretator
MOOCs as open and lifelong learning; pursuing knowledge and both academic and professional credentials; alternative credentialing; online discussions; peer assessments;
Here’s a summary of what we’ve been talking about…