besser--la verne university 1/30/02 1 the importance of information literacy ucla/pacific bell...

Besser--La Verne University 1/30/02 1

The Importance of Information LiteracyUCLA/Pacific Bell Initiative for 21st Century Literacies

Howard Besser

UCLA School of Education & Information

http://www.newliteracies.gseis.ucla.edu/

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard


The Importance of Literacies in the 21st Century-

_ Problem and Background_ Literacies in the Information Age_ UCLA/Pacific Bell Initiative for 21st

Century Literacies


The Importance of Literacies in the 21st Century:Background and Issues

_ Explosion in new sources of information_ Anyone can be an information “publisher”_ Access to information is unmediated and

unfiltered

_ …all these have both positive and negative implications


Increasing Web-based Info

_ The number of World Wide Web sites doubles every six months. In 1999, there were about 63 million hosts and 8 billion pages on the Web. Someone would have to surf more than 300,000 pages a day to see it all.

_ Frank Biocca, (2000). New media technology and youth: Trends in the evolution of new media. Journal of Adolescent Health, 27(2,

supplement), 22-29.


Increasing use of Media-based delivery systems-


Percent Time American Children 2-18 Spend at HomeIn Non-School Uses of Various Media and Technology,

Donald F. Roberts, Ulla G. Foehr, Victoria J. Rideout, & Mollyann Brodie. (1999, November). Kids & media @ the new millenium. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.


The Importance of Literacies in the 21st Century:

Literacies in the Information Age

_ Information Literacy_ Media Literacy_ Visual Literacy_ Cultural Literacy_ ...


Lifetime Learning & Literacy for productive employment

_ The heyday when a high school or college education would serve a graduate for a lifetime is gone… Today’s recipients of diplomas expect to have many jobs and to use a wide range of skills over their working lives. Workers must be equipped not simply with technical know-how but also with the ability to create, analyze, and transform information and to interact effectively with others.

_ Alan Greenspan, July 11, 2000. Speech before the National Governors’ Association.


Crisis in Reliability of new information sources (1/2)


Crisis in Reliability of new information sources (2/2)

_ Librarian’s traditional filtering role is diminished

_ “All information is equally valuable”


More important than ever to teach traditional Information

Literacy sklls_ Assess recency, relevance, thoroughness,

appropriateness of information_ Evaluate bias of information source_ Critical Thinking skills


E-Literate video


ACRL Information Literacy Analysis &

Recommendations-


ALA Definition

_ Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."


An Information Literate Individual should be able to:

_ Determine the extent of information needed _ Access the needed information effectively and efficiently _ Evaluate information and its sources critically _ Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge

base _ Use information effectively to accomplish a specific

purpose _ Understand the economic, legal, and social issues

surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally


ACRL #1

The information literate student determines the nature and extent of

the information needed

_ The information literate student defines and articulates the need for information

_ The information literate student identifies a variety of types and formats of potential sources for information

_ The information literate student considers the costs and benefits of acquiring the needed information

_ The information literate student reevaluates the nature and extent of the information need


ACRL #2

The information literate student accesses needed information

effectively and efficiently

_ The information literate student selects the most appropriate investigative methods or information retrieval systems for accessing the needed information

_ The information literate student constructs and implements effectively-designed search strategies

_ The information literate student retrieves information online or in person using a variety of methods

_ The information literate student refines the search strategy if necessary_ The information literate student extracts, records, and manages the

information and its sources


ACRL #3

The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and

incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system

_ The information literate student summarizes the main ideas to be extracted from the information gathered

_ The information literate student articulates and applies initial criteria for evaluating both the information and its sources

_ The information literate student synthesizes main ideas to construct new concepts_ The information literate student compares new knowledge with prior knowledge to determine the value

added, contradictions, or other unique characteristics of the information_ The information literate student determines whether the new knowledge has an impact on the

individual’s value system and takes steps to reconcile differences_ The information literate student validates understanding and interpretation of the information through

discourse with other individuals, subject-area experts, and/or practitioners_ The information literate student determines whether the initial query should be revised


ACRL #4

The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group,

uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

_ The information literate student applies new and prior information to the planning and creation of a particular product or performance

_ The information literate student revises the development process for the product or performance

_ The information literate student communicates the product or performance effectively to others


ACRL #5

The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and

legally_ The information literate student understands many of the ethical, legal

and socio-economic issues surrounding information and information technology

_ The information literate student follows laws, regulations, institutional policies, and etiquette related to the access and use of information resources

_ The information literate student acknowledges the use of information sources in communicating the product or performance


UCLA/Pacific Bell Initiative for 21st Century Literacies-

_ The Problem and Issues_ Project Dates & Staff_ The User_ Summit_ Policy_ Design Issues & Adaptive Systems


21st Century Literacies

_ Information Literacy_ Visual Literacy_ Media Literacy_ Cultural Literacy_ ...


The Problem and Issues

_ If we solve Access Problem (technology, bandwidth, training), other impediments to an informed citizenry still remain

_ Need critical evaluation of resources (reliability, authoritativeness, thoroughness, recency)

_ Need skills to pare down from information overload_ Need critical thinking skills_ Need to deal with different users having different

backgrounds and capabilities


Project Dates & Staff

_ Summer 2000-Dec 2001_ $1 million_ Co-Directed by Aimée Dorr and Howard Besser_ October 21, 2000 Summit (planning involved 20

people from Pacbell & UCLA)_ Rest of project primarily UCLA_ Coordinator Sheila Afnan-Manns

([email protected])


Parts to the Initiative-

_ Summit_ User_ Policy_ Design/System


Summit (1/2)

Oct 21, 2000

_ Bring widespread attention to the underlying issues

_ 360 professionals from education, librarianship, public policy, and industry– 15% Higher Ed faculty, administrators, librarians

– 28% K-12 teachers, principals, superintendents

– 14% public and K-12 librarians

– 33% future practitioners, policy makers, librarians, educators

– 8% business community

– 3% government (governor’s office, state dept of Educ, …)


Summit (2/2)

Oct 21, 2000

_ Snappy video to highlight the problems (25 unsolicited requests to show video in 1st month after Summit)

_ Over 2 dozen exhibits and poster sessions explaining related projects throughout the country

_ Guest speakers (Alan Kay, Marcia Bates, Pat Breivik, Kathleen Tyner, Anna Deavere Smith, Tal Finney)


The User

_ Evaluative bibliography of literature and projects_ Analysis of what we know thusfar from several

different perspectives (curriculum design, library services, critical theory, information retrieval, user-centered design, …)

_ Examining model curriculum (train trainer)– Teachers

– Librarians


Policy

_ information literacy standards_ issues related to the "Digital Divide”

(measuuring)_ privacy and ownership concerns_ ...


Design Issues

_ Examine factors that inhibit efficient and effective use of an information system

_ Examine how best to design systems to match the literacy levels, technological capabilities, and other characteristics of the user

_ Principles, Practices, and Guidelines for Good Design for Facilitating Access (screen design, searching & navigation, metadata & description, info structures & organization, usability testing, …)

_ Build Adaptive Systems-


Good Design Principles

_ Promote good design practices throughout the Design community

_ Get the Design community to sign on to a set of Principles for Good Design-

_ Create Guides & Best Practices Documents-


Possible Good Design Principles

_ Don’t disenfranchise users who have slow processors, older browsers, low bandwidth, visual impairment, etc.

_ Clearly note the recency of any information resource

_ Make sure that a user can easily determine what organization/agency created or contributed to an information resource


Important Dimensions toGood Design Principles

_ screen design_ searching & navigation_ metadata & description_ info structures & organization_ usability testing_ …


Our Resources related toGood Design Principles

_ Screen Design - The visual design of the screen can impact usability. Color, font, the use of images, and layout of screen elements are essential design components.

_ Searching and Navigation - Ease of navigation and search/browsing options are critical components of usability.

_ Metadata and Description - Good metadata and site description will help users find the appropriate website.

_ Information Structures and Organization - How information is organized and categorized shapes access. For systems with an underlying searchable database, the structure of the database itself will determine the outcome of searches.

_ Usability Testing - Includes resources on how to evaluate sites and on testing

for usability.


Build Adaptive Systems_ Build Systems that adapt the same back-end

information to different user profiles (different knowledge bases, different technical capabilities, different cognitive structures)

_ User profiles may include advanced researcher in a particular subject area, general undergraduate student, high school student, …

_ Different profiles will need different user interfaces, navigation, searching vocabulary, file formats and sizes, ...


User ProfilesCombination of dimensions and purpose

PurposeCasual userK12 student, lifelong learnerInformation/hobbyScholar/preservationBusiness(Colorado Dig Proj)

Cultural touristCasual userScholar

(CIMI)

Design•User InterfaceNavigationBrowseSearchEfficient bandwidth use

Content•Mark-upVarious metadataProtection features

Design functional examples

•Differing screen arrangementsDiffering functional optionsVocabulary mappingDiminishing image size


Adaptive Systemswhat they’ll do

_ Can serve different audiences (general public, purposeful inquirer [cultural tourist], domain specialist)

_ Each profile audience will– see a level of discourse addressed to them

– experience a user interface appropriate to their profile

– use vocabulary they are familiar with

_ Yet all will be using the same back-end set of information


Adaptive Systemshow they’ll work

_ Passing search terms through a thesaurus to map specialist vocabulary to/from vernacular

_ Adapting vocabulary from curatorial language into common discourse; development of markup extensions to EAD/CIMI/CIDOC to allow description for different audiences

_ In general, specialized users will experience more text-based interfaces, while general users will experience more graphic/visual interfaces


Adaptive Systemsdevelopment plan

_ Research and experimentation_ Profile 5-10 different user communities_ Mechanize 2-3 different information

delivery systems_ Demonstrate the utility of this approach

(proof of concept) for further research and design


Joint CDL/UCLA project

_ Use MOAC, California Heritage Collections

_ Profile and construct a series of different front-ends for different audiences– Front-ends-– Target Audiences-

_ Evaluate


Profile and construct a series of different front-ends for different audiences:

Front-ends to include_ Screen design for searching and for display_ Browsing, probably with some high-level

categorization/grouping_ Searching_ Vocabulary mapped through thesauri


Profile and construct a series of different front-ends for different audiences

Target audiences might include

_ 4th grade students_ 12th grade students_ 4th grade teachers_ 12th grade teachers_ University faculty_ GeneralUndergraduates_ Some people outside the history/social studies

sector


What does this all mean forInfo Professionals?

_ Good set of Design Guidelines_ Feasibility of Adaptive Systems that deliver

the same back-end info tailored to different sets of user needs


Adaptive SystemsUCLA/Pacific Bell Initiative for 21st Century Literacies

Howard Besser

UCLA School of Education & Information

http://www.newliteracies.gseis.ucla.edu/

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/

http://www.ala.org/acrl/infolit.html