Flexible approaches to eLiteracy for staff within a converged service
Lindsey Martin and Dawn McLoughlin
Edge Hill College of Higher Education
UK
Paper: 1/2 hour
Convergence & Continuity
Developing the eLiteracy of staff operating within a converged library, computing and media service is a staff development priority. A professional library qualification is no longer a pre-requisite for many Information & Media Service (IMS) staff and we can no longer assume that they have the necessary information skills needed to support our customers.
IMS have developed an innovative and flexible approach to developing staff eLiteracy that reflects the use of virtual learning environments and the application of an information literacy model. Use of virtual learning environments for access to essential service information is embedded within the daily routine of IMS staff.
Two teaching and learning opportunities are also provided for a range of staff that includes the help desk team, information assistants seeking further progression, MediaTech staff and learning technologists. There is a four week online module called Supporting Online Learning delivered through WebCT. It enables participants to experience online learning whilst exploring the issues involved in supporting students using the medium.
More recently, a three week information literacy module has been developed for the same range of staff. As well as delivering key information literacy competencies, it focuses upon the staff perspective including the wider context, customer care and information literacy, barriers to learning information literacy and the enquiry process. Bringing a range of staff together within a busy, customer driven service has been a challenge and has driven the development of open-learning materials and the forthcoming transfer to an online format using WebCT.
This paper will focus on the two case studies of Supporting Online Learning and the staff information literacy module. It aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches using module feedback questionnaires and critical incident interviews with participants.
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