Health information seeking behaviour: the librarian's role in supporting digital and health literacy

This paper is based on Rachel Butler's dissertation carried out at the University of Sheffield as part of the MA Library and Information Services Management. The study examines people's online health information seeking skills, with the specific aim to identify how libraries and health services can work together in supporting digital and health literacy. A survey approach is used to explore online searching habits as well as librarian and health professionals’ views on health literacy. The key findings indicate that whilst the majority of respondents consider themselves to be health literate, there was an overall agreement that effective education and support could be achieved through the collaboration between libraries and health services, and specifically to signpost information and to provide targeted education. The limitations of the research for dissertation are recognised leading to recommendations that further study focuses on the impact of signposting and education on health literacy.F.J.     

Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand: a review of the Teaching and Learning in Action feature

Appointed at the turn of the year Donna Iriving is the incoming Teaching and Learning in Action Regular Feature Editor, in this quarters issue Donna presents and overview of Regular Features over the past five years to share examples of your best practice.     

Put your instruction to the test: Half a dozen question types for evaluating students

There are different types of questions that can be used to determine whether students learned what they were taught in an information literacy (IL) session. This article summarizes best practices from the education literature for constructing short-answer, alternative-response, matching, multiple-choice, interpretative, and essay questions, as well as includes question examples from the author’s own experience delivering IL instruction.     

Bridging the Gap: Information Literacy and Learning in Online Undergraduate Courses

This study explores how libraries can enhance information literacy in online undergraduate courses at Purdue University, a large Midwestern research university. The article investigates undergraduate students’ perception of the importance and their awareness of libraries’ services for online learning, challenges of using information to complete course assignments, and the ability to gather and evaluate information to complete online coursework. The findings contribute to four aspects of the Libraries’ programmatic efforts to support undergraduate students taking online courses. These include showing a need for IL, helping students stay connected to resources and support, pedagogic strategies, and strategically targeting courses.     

Strategic library and information services models for the visually impaired persons: The South African Library for the Blind perspective

The South African Library for the Blind (SALB) contributes to the quality of life of print-impaired people encouraging independence through access to information, informed decision making, and taking pleasure in the enjoyment of recreational reading. In realizing the vision, SALB implemented two strategic models; agent mini-libraries and comprehensive mini-libraries. Management and administration of the services rendered is covered in detail. The project was pioneered in one of the provinces and has been rolled out to other provinces. The paper highlights how visually impaired people experience in a tangible manner, assistive technologies, training and interaction with community members and use libraries.     

微课在英语专业学生信息素养教育中的应用初探

本文在对英语专业学生的信息素养教育现状进行调查和分析的基础上,探讨了微课在英语专业学生信息素养教育中的应用问题,提出英语专业信息素养教育微课平台建设、教学设计、模块开发以及微课资源应用的原则和方案。     

The construct of media and information literacy in Singapore education system: global trends and local policies

This paper discusses the representation of information literacy and media literacy in the Singapore education discourse as part of its twenty-first century competencies framework. Through examining the conceptual definitions, purposes/aims, and means of these two significant twenty-first century competencies in the global context and the Singapore education policy, the authors argue that despite both information literacy and media literacy have been widely recognized as crucial skills in the knowledge-based economy, they are perceived as separate concepts, given differentiated emphasis, and implemented using similar approaches by various governmental and educational agencies in Singapore. To facilitate the acquisition of these critical competencies, this paper argues that an overarching framework featuring the seamless integration of information and media literacy in school curricula and public education needs to be in place to clarify conceptual concerns and guide its practical implementation.     

Equity in opportunity-to-learn and achievement in reading: A secondary analysis of PISA 2009 data

Using data from PISA 2009, the present study investigates firstly how equally students are exposed to opportunities to improve their reading skills (OTL) depending on the school they are enrolled in, and secondly the links between OTL in reading and achievement at the school level. A multidimensional within-item IRT is used to model the OTL. The intraclass correlation of both OTL dimensions issued from the IRT analysis – reading fiction and reading non-continuous tasks – is high, especially in differentiated education systems, showing an unequal exposure to OTL in reading according to the school. Robust correlations between the two OTL dimensions and reading achievement are observed at the school level. In addition, the results of a multilevel regression analysis show that a substantial proportion of the between-school variance in reading can be explained by OTL and by the school social intake. The proportion of between-school variance explained jointly by OTL and social intake is higher in differentiated education systems than in comprehensive ones.     

‘It’s very much taken as an insult if I say anything’: do new educators have a right to speak their mind?

This article describes the challenges beginning teachers face in schooling contexts that have become increasingly subject to direct political intervention. To tell the story it focuses on the experiences of five teachers in their first year of teaching in an urban jurisdiction in Australia, examining the ways in which they taught literacy, and were required to teach literacy. Government-driven political agendas of national testing, teacher standards and performance pay were all gaining traction as they commenced their first year of teaching. The ways in which these new educators felt they were discouraged from voicing their own opinions about these issues are examined and the consequences of silencing new educators are considered. The article concludes with recommendations for teacher education programmes to better prepare teachers for the politics of teaching.