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Editor's Notes

1. Nazlin Bhimani is Research Support & Special Collections Librarian at the Newsam Library & Archives, The Institute of Education, University of London. She is on Twitter @NazlinBhimani and often blogs at http://newsamnews.ioe.ac.uk.Definition: Digital literacy includes the ability to find and use information (otherwise known as information literacy) but goes beyond this to encompass communication, collaboration and teamwork, social awareness in the digital environment, understanding of e-safety and creation of new information. Both digital and information literacy are underpinned by critical thinking and evaluation (SCONUL, 2011).Because digital literacy is so much more than just about technology and it includes information literacy, critical thinking and evaluation, we refer to this as ‘literacies’.I will talk about the implications/keymesssages from the JISC-sponsored ‘Digital Literacies as a Postgraduate Attribute Project’ for the Library – the work that has been achieved since the findings which she, together with her colleague, Barbara Sakarya, has collated at http://libguides.ioe.ac.uk/digital_literacies – and work that is still in progress, time permitting.
2. The key messages for the Library from the ‘Digital Literacies as a Postgraduate Attribute’ project at the IOE were that students came with different experiences and expectations (because of these in terms of their prior learning, language proficiency and technological proficiencies); they worked in complex contexts (remotely, with different devices in different ways) and they expected a lot from the support systems we have in place at the IOE.So let me take this opportunity to tell you about what we are dong and what we intend to do (the latter, if time permits).I must emphasise that all the work we are doing to acknowledge these issues is work in progress... We are constantly experimenting and re-thinking how we support our students who are mainly PGs (though in 2011, the IOE took its first cohort of UG students).Let’s take each issue separately … first, diverse student experiences …
3. Despite this, the study found the students were resilient and persevered even when they came across problems. However, they were vocal enough to let us know what the problems were .... And we have tried to address these issues. Let me tell you about the complex contexts under which both the students and the library operates.
4. Technology has moved beyond the personal computer to everyday devices with embedded technologies and connectivity. Computing have become progressively smaller and more powerful.Web 2.0 or the Interactive Web, Open Access and the Digital Library have expanded – as has the idea of sharing resources, repurposing materials and generating new information expanded.Students now use so many different devices in so many different study spaces (virtual and physical) and want access from so many different consortiums that we have to consider our national agreements (SCONUL, Bloomsbury, M25, BL – Ethos etc) and how we provide access – the complaint about too many usernames and passwords just won’t go away!These complex contexts require training – not just on information literacy and the use of technology but on a range of different literacies which come under the ‘digital literacy umbrella’.
5. And finally, let me tell you about the way in which we have tried to provide parity of service for students working remotely, whether at home, work or in other parts of the country/world ….
6. We already provide training on Information Literacy but as of 2013, I have started to include digital literacy training in my 8-hour mandatory course which Mphil/PhD students have to takeAll the learning that takes place on the course is scaffolded by an IOE LibGuide – these are available at http://libguides.ioe.ac.uk. The guides give you information about the different collections, there are how to ... Guides (instructional guides) and information about the services provided by the library.The guides enable users to learn, or re-learn, what has been taught in the library workshops. They slide above shows the guides just in the ‘how to ...’ category that provide digital literacies training.In addition to this, we to the LibGuides, we have LibAnswers that provide online support and a knowledge base of FAQs. Students can text, tweet or post a question on LibAnswers (accessible at http://libanswers.ioe.ac.uk) – see: http://libanswers.ioe.ac.uk/browse.php?tid=21309 for answers on Information Literacy issues.Other supportTraining to acknowledge - Levels, Language and Learning (L3)We provide a range of IT and Information Skills Training at the IOE from beginners to advance (but are these geared to the same L3?)We are working towards simplifying access by moving to single login; implement a discovery layer that will allow students to find all types of resources via a single search;We provide support in different ways: F2F,1-2-1, Email, Telephone, Online (LibGuides & LibAnswers), Moodle, SMS and Twitter