On behalf of the University of Michigan’s SI 641 / EDCURINS 575 : Information Literacy for Teaching and Learning class, I invite you to download a copy of our 170+ page book, Information Literacy in the Wild.

In this book, we share our experiences doing observations, teaching, and online resource creation related to information literacy in public libraries, K-12 classrooms, K-12 school libraries, college classrooms (online and face-to-face), academic libraries, educational outreach projects, the natural history museum, and more.

As their professor, I couldn’t be more pleased with their honest, unvarnished looks at what’s working in information literacy and what isn’t. So much of library literature is written as if there’s never a problem — everything goes off without a hitch. Ooh, doesn’t that make us jealous? But what I love about the deft hand of these writers is that they lift the veil and show you when the boat rocked and then what they did to right it.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our classmate Kristel Wieneke, we did a limited print run (shown above) for friends and family courtesy of the the University of Michigan Library’s Espresso Book Machine.

But we’re releasing it for free in digital format for everybody else!

You can download it for your eReader for free here:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/115254

Or you can download it in a formatted-for-print PDF here:
http://bit.ly/infowild

So if you want to know what happened when a bird unit flew into a Physics classroom, what Lady Gaga has to do with synthesis, what it means to use a chainsaw to cut cake, what a Tyrannosaurus rex has to do with information literacy, or what database-a-phobia is, we hope you’ll download our book.

Then share your feedback with us!
informationliteracyinthewild [at] umich [dot] edu

(And that’s not all … they also created some amazing IL online resources … but I’ll save sharing some of those for another day.)

PS - To learn more about the Espresso Book Machine, check out this video!

 4T VirtualCon:  Teachers Teaching Teachers about Technology - 4T Virtual Conference: Teachers Teaching Teachers about Technology via kwout

Here on the University of Michigan campus and in homes and schools around the country, we’re engaged in the 4T Virtual Con (the four T’s stand for Teachers Teaching Teachers About Technology). A project that grew out of the School of Education’s Master of Arts plus Certification program, the goal was to host a virtual conference for current students, professors, alumni, and educators both within and beyond campus walls. Sadly, interest far outweighed our capacity, so the conference doesn’t have room for any more registrations, but I’ll be sharing some archived Webinars with you.

We opened on Sunday with a keynote by UM professor Barry Fishman, who was on the committee that gathered input and created the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP).

His presentation gave a terrific overview of the theories, beliefs, and elements behind the NETP. There are many opportunities for librarians within the NETP, as its visionary scope goes far beyond “tools for tools’ sake.” Instead, it looks at how technology can better inform teachers, connect them with peers, and expand and extend our definitions and capabilities for learning.

You’re welcome to view the archived Webinar here (it is archived in Elluminate, so you will be asked to download a small, harmless Java script called “Play” in order to view it).

Enjoy - I think you’ll find many commonalities with L4L (the AASL Standards and Guidelines).

And GO BLUE!

That’s the question two researchers ask in a commentary for the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Now while the authors have come under a certain amount of attack, there are some very interesting points in this article that may point at why fewer people place demands on K-12 librarians to prepare students for college.

Is it possible … just a little bit … that some students aren’t getting the kinds of undergraduate experiences that require the diet of critical thinking and problem-solving that we anticipate?

If the researchers are correct, there’s a pretty low amount of cognitive growth happening for students. And why is that? The authors posit that it’s because everybody’s happy with how undergraduate education currently works. Students get time to socialize; administrators get a steady flow of tuition dollars; professors get time to work on projects; parents get a diploma to frame.

(Not sure I agree that everybody’s happy … I think most undergraduate professors at highly-ranked institutions are pretty happy, but I hear from ones at lower-ranked institutions that they see kids with poor study skills and little drive to learn … but then again, let’s get a reality check: nobody’s publishing my work in Chronicle of Higher Education.)

Take a minute to read this article in its entirety. Does it explain some of the placidity with which you see some parents, students, and colleagues when you make a plea for deep thinking activities? Does it explain why some governmental agencies and politicians don’t prioritize the very kinds of critical thinking skills librarians prize?

It’s a sobering essay, in any event. Read on.

Are Undergraduates Actually Learning Anything? - Commentary - The Chronicle of Higher Education via kwout