Changing expectations: Preparing students for flexible learning

The report of the Dearing Committee (NCIHE, 1997) identifies a rapid and ongoing increase in use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support teaching and learning in higher education. This rapid expansion involves practices that are changing the traditional roles of both staff and students. The need to orient staff to the unfamiliar roles associated with student-centred learning and ICT-augmented teaching is well recognized. This paper argues that students also need to be prepared for their new roles. The paper provides a rationale for student development to prepare students for the transition to learning environments that include extensive use of ICTs as learning technologies. The argument is that both staff and student development are necessary and that these are complementary foci. The discussion then provides a detailed overview of successful student-development strategies that have been developed to support students starting studies at a purpose-built flexible learning campus.     

Examination‐related anxiety in students diagnosed with AD/HD and the case for an allocation of extra time: perspectives of teachers,mothers and students

This study details the perspectives of Western Australian teachers, students and mothers on the case for an allocation of extra exam time to students diagnosed with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Eighteen teachers of students with AD/HD (14 high and four primary), 15 students with AD/HD (10 high and 5 primary), and their mothers participated in a series of semi‐structured interviews (n = 48). Data analysis revealed that while 56% of teachers and 53% of parents support an allocation of extra exam time for students diagnosed with AD/HD, 67% of students are opposed. This paper details the reasons teachers, parents and students give for their support, ambivalence or opposition to the allocation of extra time for exams.     

A Preliminary View of Students’ Information Technology Experience across UK Initial Teacher Training Institutions

ABSTRACT

Students enter initial teacher education institutions with a wide variety of experiences of information technology. This report aims to create a national perspective of their abilities and needs based on data collected independently by a number of institutions from England and Wales. For this preliminary survey data were provided by eight institutions. The survey covers 1370 students, of whom 731 were primary and 639 secondary. The data were gathered over a three year period (ending 1990/91) using a variety of questionnaires designed to gather data on the students’ previous computer experience, their proficiency in using computers, and their attitude to information technology both personally and its use in education.

The data indicate that students entering initial teacher education have a wide variety of needs regarding information technology (IT). The proportion of students lacking any computer experience prior to their course varied from 8% to 60% depending on institution and course. The most common experience was word processing only. The location of this experience also varied, with school use more common for students who had just left school and use at work common for mature students. Differences were indicated with factors such as age, course and gender. A proportion of students (2% – 49%) felt anxious or very nervous when computers are mentioned. However, most students feel that it is important to use IT in their teaching, despite these anxieties. The provision of a differentiated IT experience for students is recommended. A more reliable annual survey using a common instrument is now underway. The questionnaire is available from the ITTE Association. ^{1 1}The questionnaire is available from the Association for Information Technology in Teacher Education, 219 Osward, Courtwood Lane, Croydon CRO 9HG, United Kingdom.

     

Libraries as Civic Agents

Libraries connect people with information, are vital to democracy and transform communities. Led and staffed by entrepreneurial thinkers, many libraries have reaffirmed their civic mission and even redefined their role in their community. They are not only relevant to their community; they are central players in engaging the public in civic discourse, weaving organizations and resources together, bridging divisions, and developing the capacity for their communities to solve problems. These libraries are places where people learn about complex public issues and practice deliberative democracy. By listening deeply to the concerns of people in their community library, staff are actively developing strategies to help the community work together. They are creating collaborative relationships between agencies and individuals, even convening stakeholders from opposite camps. They are civic agents creating civic agency.     

Teen Services at Baltimore's Pratt Library: A Long History and Sustained Emphasis

This article is a first‐person account of the development of teen services at Pratt Library in Baltimore, MD. The piece places special emphasis on the development of public access computing, particularly of computing by children, especially teens.     

A Critique of Internet Polls as Symbolic Representation and Pseudo-Events

The Internet continues to grow as an information and entertainment medium. Internet growth has implications for the news industry. Twenty-four hour news networks such as CNN and MSNBC regularly encourage viewers of their television programs to visit their Web sites. While visiting news Web sites, visitors are invited to participate in opinion polls. Unfortunately, these online opinion polls are not scientific and have little real news value. In spite of these limitations, news Web sites' Internet polls are often treated as serious topics in broadcast news discussions. This article examines media organizations' Internet online polls and critiques them as instances of symbolic representation and pseudo-events that have arisen largely out of the integration of print, broadcast, and Internet media.     

Information Literacy in Subject-Specific Vocabularies: A Path to Critical Thinking

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the benefit of library instruction to increase critical thinking skills among business students in the form of a vocabulary skill-building workshop. This learning opportunity represents collaboration between business librarian and classroom faculty to improve students' ability to articulate a research problem and identify information needs in order to proficiently analyze business information and make sound business decisions. Business schools increasingly rely upon standards set forth by the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) to formulate curricula and embed learning outcomes to prepare students to meet workplace expectations. These standards were utilized during workshop planning stages to implement critical thinking learning outcomes into the educational experience. Workshop curricula also relied heavily on the Guidelines for Information Competency set forth by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to emphasize specific learning outcomes more commonly associated with the teaching of library instruction.     

Place‐related identity,texts, and transcultural meanings

The spatial turn has been marked by increasing interest in conceptions of space and place in diverse areas of research. However, the important links between place and identity have received less attention, particularly in educational research. This paper reports an 18‐month research project that aimed to develop a theory of place‐related identity through the textual transactions of reading and writing. The research was an in‐depth qualitative study in two phases: the first phase involved the development of an interdisciplinary theory of place‐related identity, which was ‘tested’ in a second empirical phase. Two contrasting primary school classes were the site for the research that included the development of a unit of work, inspired by the book My place, as a vehicle for exploring place‐related identity. The data were interviews, classroom observations and outcomes from pupils’ work. The construct of transcultural meanings, established from the analytic categories of localising identity, othering identity and identity as belonging, was identified as a defining phenomenon of place‐related identity. The conclusions offer reflections on the development of our initial theory as a result of the empirical work, and the implications for practice and future research.     

Academic self-publishing: a not-so-distant future

Pandelis Perakakis is a clinical psychophysiologist, an active advocate of green open access and a proponent of a new research evaluation model called ‘author-guided peer review’. In 2012, he and others founded Open Scholar, a not-for-profit community organization concerned with the way scientists and the rest of the world access research. Its flagship project is LIBRE (LIBerating REsearch). Michael Taylor is a mathematician working on the impact of aerosols and the use of satellites for weather forecasting.