Creative Approaches to Raising Achievement of Adult Learners in English Further Education

abstract

The IMPEL2 Project is a JISC‐funded eLib Project based at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle. It has been engaged in a 2‐year (1996‐98) investigation of organisational and cultural change in the increasingly electronic environment in UK Higher Education HE. The selection of Case Study sites was purposive; some had participated in the previous IMPEL1 study. A qualitative methodology, using analysis of documentation, semi‐structured interviews and questionnaires, has been used to examine complex and sometimes sensitive issues.

Through Case Studies at 24 Universities and HE Colleges and over 300 interviews, with a range of academic staff, library and information services staff and computer services staff, the Project team has gained insights into the impacts of electronic information provision on academic and student users, the impacts of resource based learning and training, and considered the implications for the training and development of library staff.

This article gives some of the findings of the IMPEL2 Project on supporting students in resource based learning. It considers why it is beneficial to support students and highlights the recent changes in HE which make academic support of students vital to their success.

The article outlines the evidence of the IMPEL2 Project which suggests that certain kinds of support are needed including the provision of appropriate resources, access to these resources, the teaching of skills to students and the provision of on‐going advice, guidance and support. Finally the implications for academic staff are considered.     

Providing access to electronic information resources in further education

This article aims to provide a baseline for future studies on the provision and support for the use of digital or electronic information services (EIS) in further education. The analysis presented is based on a multi‐level model of access, which encompasses access to and availability of information and communication technology (ICT) resources, access to and availability of EIS resources, and the third leg of staff skills and their development. The research was conducted within the third cycle of the JISC (Joint Information Services Committee) User Behaviour Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, in 2001/2002. Evidence was gathered from library and information service web sites and various stakeholders, including library and information service staff, academic staff and students to generate insights into the provision of access to EIS in further education. Sector‐wide funding initiatives have had a significant impact on ICT infrastructures, and these attract a positive response from students. EIS are represented on some library web sites but both web site development and EIS availability is very much less advanced than in higher education. Staff, however, lack sufficient dedicated access to ICT to be able to develop their own skills and use. There remains a low level of access to electronic information resources, with only limited access to these resources through library web sites. LIS managers face a number of challenges in enhancing this provision, including licensing arrangements, tight budgets that need to be spread across many discipline areas, and the absence of EIS designed specifically for the further education student. The other key challenge lies in the provision of time and opportunity for academic and LIS staff to develop their ICT and EIS skills, and, more generally in the further development of the role of Information and Learning Technology (ILT) Champions.     

高职院校图书馆用户教育之困惑和探索

在网络环境下,开展用户教育是图书馆提高用户信息素质、促进图书馆资源有效利用的必要途径。高职院校图书馆必须顺应图书馆发展趋势,在逆境中寻找机会、挖掘潜力、创造条件,使用户教育能真正开展起来,从而冲破束缚,提升图书馆的服务层次。     

Using action research to investigate the use of digital information resources in further education

Within the Third Annual Cycle of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) User Behaviour Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, six small‐scale action research interventions were undertaken in further education (FE) institutions. The aims of these interventions were two‐fold: (i) to develop understanding of the facilitators and barriers to the use of digital information resources by students in FE; (ii) to test the value of the action research approach in facilitating change and developing transferable knowledge in this context. The objectives for each intervention were developed in collaboration with the FE college site staff and students. The process generally involved identification and elaboration of the problem situation, development of an intervention that might help to overcome some of the barriers to more effective use of electronic information services and evaluation of the outcomes of the intervention. Both practical–deliberative and participatory action research methods were used, with interviews and focus groups used to determine the problem and assess the effectiveness of interventions. Six interventions are reported. These included: a database implementation, the development of a subject guide, training sessions, a major change project and a web site. The main findings on the use of digital information resources in FE were: (i) interventions can make the students more aware of resources available, but the immediate impact may be low; (ii) FE students are often part‐time and work in subject/cohort groups in the FE college, therefore targeted initiatives which are aimed at ‘their’ group are likely to be most effective; (iii) incorporation of the use of specialized digital resources in assignments is constrained by student preference for books and/or the Internet, a lack of new products aimed at the FE student market and physical information technology (IT) problems or the perceived lack of IT support. The action research methodology offers benefits not available through survey‐based methodologies. The challenges that arise from the integration of learning from different action research projects need to be balanced against the benefits accruing from embedding learning and knowledge creation in innovation and using research to promote change, rather than simply to measure it.     

地方高校图书馆网络信息服务策略

网络环境对地方高校图书馆信息服务的影响是多方面的,不仅仅意味着信息服务方式的改变。而且深刻地影响着作为服务对象的用户、读者和作为服务主体的全体馆员。因此,应转变服务观念;建立合理的网络信息资源保障体系;充分利用网络技术,拓展信息服务途径;加强基于网络技术的人力资源建设等。     

Engineering Students Training for Specialized Information and Documentation Mastery—an Account of User Education at Cranfield Institute of Technology

This paper provides a summary of how instruction and training in the use of library information resources is currently presented to engineering students at Cranfield Institute of Technology. The Cranfield campus of the Institute has an almost entirely postgraduate community, which means that the library aims to provide a personalized information service to meet the highly specialized needs of its users. Instruction is carried out both on a group basis and during one-to-one discussions with students, especially as they begin to prepare literature searches for their research projects. Emphasis is placed on conveying the importance of requesting more information about specialist sources, when this is actually required. The paper concludes with a brief discussion on how it is envisaged user instruction will evolve at Cranfield. This is likely to lead to the development of an information counselling and advisory role for library staff, targeted at specific groups throughout the duration of their research work, focussing on for example use of electronic information sources, the production of personal data bases, and the presentation of technical reports and theses.     

The use of hyper-reference and conventional dictionaries

A hyper-reference is an online electronic aid that provides immediate access to adjunct information with a direct-return path to the target information. Eighty undergraduate foreign language learners participated in a comparison of hyper-reference and conventional paper dictionary use on the measures of consultation frequency, study time, efficiency, and comprehension. Hyper-reference users consulted over two times as many definitions as conventional dictionary users. Analyses of efficiency (consults per minute) found a higher consultation rate for hyper-reference users than for conventional dictionary users. The study also compared bilingual (Spanish/English) and monolingual (Spanish/simplified Spanish) dictionary use. Bilingual dictionary users consulted 25% more definitions than did monolingual dictionary users. Bilingual dictionary users completed reading in 20% less time than monolingual dictionary users. Efficiency was also higher during bilingual dictionary use than during monolingual dictionary use. Differences in comprehension were not significant. Directions for further research and development concerning electronic text and hyper-references are offered.     

To be Hypermedia‐literate is to be Liberated: Reading,Writing, Arithmetic and Hypermedia Literacy as Basic Skills

Abstract

This paper deals with the ability to access, analyse, create and evaluate information through a variety of media. This ability is considered part of different kinds of literacy

The paper argues that the use of interactive hypermedia CD‐ROMs and networked services in society and in the classroom influences the way in which students acquire and retain both basic and high‐level literacy skills.

Media and computer literacy are new forms of literacy which have arisen as the result of the increasing use of electronic mass media and computer technology. Currently, media and computer literacy are evolving into a new form of literacy designated ‘hypermedia literacy’. Hypermedia literacy is considered to be the ability to use hypermedia CD‐ROMs and networked services as versatile problem‐solving tools and as a means of communication.     

高校档案的信息化建设与服务管理功能的关系初探

本文分析了建立与电子化管理方式相适宜的档案管理方法和手段的必要性,阐述了加强网络信息化建设以及实现档案资料的即时收集和信息资源的开发利用的重要性,并就加强档案队伍的现代化建设和提高档案服务质量提出了看法。     

电子阅览室管理与信息服务

电子阅览室是图书馆信息服务的新窗口，如何管理好电子阅览室，充分发挥其服务功能，已成为一个重要的研究课题。从健全电子阅览室管理制度与采用技术措施的角度分析了实现电子阅览室科学管理的措施，探讨了电子阅览室信息服务的主要模式。     

Wikipedia Use in Research: Perceptions in Secondary Schools

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that can be edited by users, is growing both in the number of content articles written as well as the number of registered users. Students rely on Wikipedia (Purcell et al., 2012) and Wikipedia, through tools, is enabling users to make better decisions regarding the information they find (Gray, 2013; Kyrios, 2013; Lamb & Johnson, 2013). However, are teachers and librarians in secondary schools learning to embrace the online encyclopedia? This exploratory study surveyed classroom teachers and librarians/library staff regarding their perceptions of the effects of Wikipedia use by students in research assignments, their perceptions of the need for school policy regarding the use of Wikipedia by students, and regarding their knowledge of the Page Assessment Guide designed to help users judge the reliability of the information on a page.     

试析网络环境下高校信息服务导向工作

电子出版物与网络信息技术的应用,被人们视为继语言、文字、印刷之后知识生产和信息传播的第四次革命.这一"革命"在引发传统的图书馆工作发生巨大变革的同时,也带来许多新的问题需要及时加以解决.用户教育则是较突出的问题之一.本文通过对高校网络用户上网热情及存在的问题的分析,试提出高校图书馆在网络环境下文献信息服务导向工作的内容及措施,以求对高校图书馆的用户教育工作及读者正确利用网络信息有所帮助.     

试论网络化信息服务

本文分析了图书馆的网络化信息服务条件,认为网络化信息服务是一种必然趋势,并对网络化信息服务的策略和人员素质的要求进行了有益的探讨。     

A Transformation in Further Education: Technology,the electronic library and the Cinderella sector

This article reviews the literature on the changes in further education during the last decade. It considers the impact of these changes on students, academic staff and Library and Information Services staff. It highlights the growth in importance of electronic information services in teaching and learning and outlines the research to be undertaken by the JUBILEE in FE Project based in the School of Information Studies, University of Northumbria.     

基于UML的电子商务系统数据库的设计

电子商务的发展方兴未艾,相关产业的营销目前正处在从传统型向电子商务转化阶段,转变过程中需要应用和集成最新的信息技术,以达到对网络信息资源最有效的利用和共享.统一建模语言UML是一种定义良好,易于表达,功能强大且适用广泛的建模语言.介绍了如何应用统一建模语言来设计关系数据库,该方法把设计数据库的过程与设计整个软件的过程结合起来,提出了业务建模、系统分析与设计、模型映射构成的面向对象的关系数据库设计流程.     

石化装置设备防腐信息分析仿真系统的设计与实现

使用PHP、MySQL、Ajax、Autodesk DWF等先进软件技术工具开发符合用户实际需求的石化装置设备防腐信息分析系统。介绍了该系统的总体结构,详细描述了各模块功能设计思想,提出了以各装置设备采样点为中心索引,将该装置腐蚀信息、防腐测厚信息等数据相关联、采用图形化仿真界面对相关数据进行管理和应用分析的腐蚀信息管理方法,使得公司员工能够通过快速查询和分析设备腐蚀情况,极大提高了石化企业的防腐水平。     

Three Cases of Hashtags Used as Learning and Professional Development Environments

Hashtags offer exciting opportunities for professional development, teaching, and learning. However, their use reflects users’ needs and desires. To illustrate and problematize the ways hashtags are used in professional development settings, this study reports on users’ participation patterns, users’ roles, and content contributed to three unique hashtags. This mixed methods research employs data mining techniques to retrieve data. Using a collective case study methodology, the study compares and contrasts the use of three hashtags and offers insights into the use of hashtags as emerging learning and professional development environments. Results show that hashtags exhibit similarities, such as unequal user participation. Findings also reveal differences between hashtags. For instance some hashtags are used on an ongoing basis while others have well-defined start and end dates. Ultimately, these results question deterministic thinking with respect to emerging technologies and novel professional development environments.     

Evaluation of Guidance Services in Higher Education in Finland

The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC) implemented an evaluation of guidance services in higher education in 2000–2001. Altogether 25 higher education institutions participated in the evaluation. This article describes the evaluation process, findings and recommendations. The aim is to show how an evaluation process can serve the development of guidance policies and practices at the institutional and national levels. Additionally, the article demonstrates the use of evaluation methodology as a means of enhancing communication between staff and students. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

高校图书馆电子信息资源建设与服务

论文介绍了电子信息资源的类型、特性及在高校中的作用，探讨了电子信息资源的建设与服务工作。文章认为高校图书馆工作，必须加强对电子信息资源的整合，建立统一的资源检索平台，为读者了解与利用图书馆的电子信息资源和纸质资源提供更好的服务。