Friday 29 November 2019
11:35-12:20 Parallel Sessions: Lightning Talks 1
Fighting fake news by teaching neuroscience and social psychology
Dr Graham Gardner, Librarian, Abingdon School
Graham will discuss his attempts to help students become more critical of online (dis)information by teaching elements of neuroscience and social psychology.
Many young people believe that, despite evidence to the contrary, they are already sufficiently critical of information they encounter online. Consequently, conventional approaches to digital literacy are likely to be ineffective in combating the rising tide of propaganda, fake news and ‘deep fakes’ in our post-truth era. Faced with widespread indifference and even antipathy towards fact-checking and source evaluation, Graham has established two pilot programmes to help students at Abingdon School become more aware of their vulnerability to online disinformation, and thus more receptive towards digital literacy initiatives.
Graham will outline the principles and content of the programmes, the challenges of implementation, and their impact so far. He will conclude by arguing that such programmes, supplementing curriculum-based information literacy taught at the point of use, could be invaluable for helping prepare students for the digital future (and present), and in the process raising the profile and status of school library resources and services.
Not letting the technological tail wag the educational dog: the case for a framework of inquiry skills
Darryl Toerien, Head of Library, Oakham School
As Marshall McLuhan famously said, “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.”
This co-evolution is both inevitable and increasingly problematic as our technologies converge on the computer, and the computer accelerates their ongoing development so the risk of these technologies becoming ends in themselves rather than means to human ends increases.
This creates several challenges for schools, which include but are not limited to vision and strategy, initial and ongoing costs, initial and ongoing training for staff and students, and the tension between existing and emerging technologies.
Of particular interest and relevance to the themes of the Conference, and the focus of this talk, is the tension between existing and emerging technologies as they relate to skills. Given the rate of technological change, it is understandable that emerging technologies are determining the skills that need to be taught. However, this allows the tail to wag the dog.
In this talk Darren will consider the value of a framework of inquiry skills – central to which are information literacy skills, and a growing number of which are dependent on “digital-age technologies” (Douglas Rushkoff) – ensuring that the technological tail does not wag the educational dog.
Building robust research skills and perseverance in secondary students (and beyond)
Susan Merrick, Teacher-Librarian and Subscriptions Librarian, ACS Egham International School
Despite the fact that students may receive some instruction on researching prior to entering secondary school, it is often patchy. In fact, by age 11 they will likely have developed research habits which will not serve them well in finding the sorts of information they will need for the more complex and demanding tasks in secondary school and beyond. Furthermore, they will probably be resistant to attempts to show them more effective research techniques.
Even when students have developed research skills, they often have the habit of giving up too soon. They seem to have no perseverance in their hunt for the ‘perfect’ source. In the age of instant outcomes online, they need to learn how to go beyond their initial results.
In this presentation, you will be given strategies for building a programme which will assist your students in developing the skills for: effective keyword searches; evaluating sources and identifying those which are unreliable; organising and managing of their research; referencing their sources; and dogged ‘sticktoitiveness’.
Collaborative information literacy teaching between schools and Newcastle University
Sara Bird, Education Officer, Newcastle University Library
Over the last 10 years, Newcastle University Library has successfully delivered an Information Literacy outreach offer to visiting A-level EPQ, History and English students, welcoming on average 2000 students per year from approximately 60 local schools, with a high proportion of repeat visitors. Our offer has developed in response to requests from teachers and now includes a taught session and online resources.
To meet the growing demand for links between local schools and the University, and to enable students outside the local area to access our resources, we developed our sixthformstudyskills.ncl.ac.uk website in collaboration with local schools. The website – which includes a variety of activities to meet the different learning preferences of students and covering various aspects of information literacy – has been a huge success, winning the LILAC Credo Award in 2016 and with peaks of 9000 and averages of 4000-page visits to the site per month.
In this session the presenter will describe the Library’s A-level information literacy sessions and showcase the sixth form study skills website so that delegates may make use of it in their information literacy teaching.
Using the Higher Project Qualification (HPQ) as a vehicle for building digital literacy capabilities for Years 10 & 11
Sue Wray, Director of Libraries and Learning Resources, Uppingham School
The HPQ is an examinable qualification which can ensure the School Library and the skills training it can provide for the GCSE year groups is taken seriously within school by both students and senior managers. Whilst most schools recognise the need for digital literacy capabilities in their students (and staff!), they often don’t know how to implement this as a whole school curriculum programme. [The exception being International Baccalaureate schools.]
This talk will showcase what the librarian at Uppingham School is doing as non-subject specialist supervisor to place her at the forefront of delivering the HPQ and the range of key skills needed for the qualification. She will also describe how it has raised the profile of the library into that of an academic department and the benefits that has brought.
13:30-14:15 Parallel Sessions: Lightning Talks 2
From sources to skills: school librarians as teachers – a case study
Terri McCargar, Latymer Upper School, Librarian
With no timetabled library skills/lessons programme at Latymer Upper School, the librarian has just three lessons with Year 7 (taken from Maths) for library induction, searching/using the LMS, and finding information books (DDC). When an enthusiastic new PSHE coordinator enquired about bringing students to the Library for a research project to create a wellness campaign, an opportunity to teach IL skills at the point of need suddenly arose.
Despite insecurities about teaching (imposter syndrome) and the daunting range of skills to be taught, the Librarian offered to teach two lessons – and suggested also marking the finished projects for sources used.
The talk will discuss the challenges (sharing information via the teachers through Google Classroom, working with seven different teachers, the very limited contact time, the range of students’ skills and interest), the outcomes, and what has been learned from the experience.
Bigger and better: embedded digital literacy skills in Year 7 and 9
Donna Saxby, Librarian and Digital Literacy Coordinator, Kingham Hill School
Following the successful first year of Kingham Hill’s Digital Literacy (DL) course, the initiative has been consolidated and expanded to include collaboration with two additional departments and another year group.
Continuing to avoid digital literacy from being standalone or reliant on individual teachers, the course leaders have taken content from History, Geography, Art and Music to teach DL skills in context to both Years 7 and 9. The work covered is an extension of what is happening in the subject classes, and ranges from WWI Battlefields to Photo Collage, from the Geography of Crime to Castles.
This talk will provide an overview of the courses that have been developed, the wide range of skills taught, tips for successful collaboration across school, and ideas for delegates to try for themselves.
From zero to digital hero
Alison Kennedy, Head Librarian and EPQ Coordinator, St George’s School Ascot
In 2015 I joined St George’s, Ascot to set up a new purpose-built library facility and began subscribing to digital databases such as JSTOR, Questia, MASSOLIT and the Hodder Education A Level Magazines Archive.
Two years later our EPQ Centre Coordinator left the school and I took over this role. An exciting development as the decision had just been made to make the EPQ compulsory for all Sixth Formers.
In September 2018 the school made a massive investment in digital provision; we started using Firefly as a VLE, every girl was given a Chromebook and we moved to Google Docs for sharing of files.
This talk will chart the significant progress made over the past 4 years in our digital skills provision with specific focus on the EPQ Taught Skills Programme for the Sixth Form.
Building foundations in research skills: Y7&8 research projects in the library
Claire Knight, Head Librarian, Reading Blue Coat School
Building research skills is key for pupils in our society. Now, more so than ever, pupils are faced with an overwhelming amount of information. Teaching research skills so that pupils will be able to determine which information is good, accurate and useful is paramount. Teaching pupils how to use online resources, search engines and their intuition is also key.
This talk will describe how this can be achieved from the start of year 7, building a strong foundation for work further up the school, tying work into the curriculum at every stage.
15:40-16:25 Parallel Sessions: Workshops & Lightning Talks
Can you navigate the potential pitfalls of the open web?
Emma Wallace, Librarian and Julie Greenhough, EPQ Coordinator, St Benedict’s School
As a teacher and a librarian we have a unique, dually aligned perspective and pedagogical collaboration. This is shown through our co-teaching of the Extended and Higher Project Qualifications at key stage 5 and key stage 3. This has a focus on how pupils consume, create and communicate digital content to provide cognitive and technical tools that enable students to make educated decisions and build digital capabilities when navigating the open web.
In this workshop, we invite you to position yourself as a pupil navigating the potential pitfalls of the open web, from ‘fake news’ to ‘post truth’ by way of ‘alternative facts’ and ‘deep lies’ to illustrate that pupils are not as ‘digitally savvy’ as they may believe themselves to be. Our blended learning approach creates a culture of digital capability enabling the questioning of dominant narratives, the ability to find a range of evidence and the practical application of digital research skills.
Digital and media literacy: from public policy to the classroom
Sarah Pavey, Independent Consultant & Trainer, Sp4il and Stéphane Goldstein, Executive Director, InformAll
In April, the UK Government published a White Paper on Online Harms. Its scope is ambitious and it contains many far-reaching ideas, particularly about the role of online platforms in monitoring, reporting and curtailing online behaviours deemed unacceptable or dangerous, if not illegal.
Importantly, and beyond the specific issues around online harms, the document highlights the importance of critically appraising online information and distinguishing between fact and fiction, for both young people and adults. In this vein, it recognises the place of digital and media literacy in the school curriculum – although it’s questionable whether the curriculum in England and Wales properly addresses this right now.
Using the White Paper as a starting point, the workshop session will provide an opportunity to discuss how UK public policy is advancing in the area of digital/media/information literacy; the implications for the development of the National Curriculum, drawing partly on comparisons with the situation in Scotland; and the role of school libraries in helping to address the challenge of fostering these literacies among young people.
The session will also consider the place of current initiatives, such as NewsWise, that usefully complement what is formally taught in schools. The session will be interactive, with a short introduction from the two presenters, followed by discussion in small groups.
Challenges of teaching the skills programme to EPQ students
Dominique Collins, Librarian and EPQ Coordinator, Hurstpierpoint College
Delivering the taught skills programme to a large EPQ cohort can be challenging. Dominique will be discussing the strategies to ensure students both learn the requisite skills and become more effective online researchers. She will be looking at creating a scheme of work that can be delivered by multiple supervisors (and the challenges of training them), as well as focusing on the ‘online resources’ and ‘bibliography’ sessions, which are run by library staff.
The online resources used include paid ones, such as JSTOR, as well as free resources such as Google Scholar (and the challenges it represents). She will look at online bibliography creators and their pitfalls and the opportunities of Turnitin.
Developing a Culture of Information Literacy
Andrew Stark, Head of Libraries and Information Services, The Southport School, Queensland
For libraries to remain relevant, they must undergo an occasional reconstruction phase. We need to acknowledge changing pedagogical expectations, the nature of differentiation and learning styles, and the requirement that, now more than ever, we need to ensure our community is digitally literate.
Easy access to mass electronic information has created a major paradigm shift within our profession. As a result, the more traditional practices of school librarianship have been found wanting and new approaches sought to reinforce the need for broad-based digital literacy skills.
In response to these challenges, The Southport School (TSS) has developed a triangular approach to enhance the understanding and mastery of digital and information literacies within its school community. This presentation will show how, by including students, teachers and, most importantly, parents in the learning process, TSS is creating a culture of digital literacy within its whole community and the impact that is having.
Journey to the centre of the curriculum: becoming a research activist
Emily Stannard, Librarian, Bradfield College
“The curriculum is at the heart of school life. Students and teachers spend more time and energy attempting to meet its demands than on anything else. If librarians are not embedded in the curriculum then our opportunities to contribute to the teaching and learning will be severely limited.” Graham Gardner, Librarian, Abingdon School
School librarians can feel like they are constantly at war. We battle with the rising number of children who don’t read and don’t want to read, and we fight for funding and recognition from senior management. Yet we need to remember that all those involved in teaching and learning have a common enemy: time. Nobody ever has enough time, but there are ways in which librarians can save time for both teachers and pupils that will firmly embed them within the heart of the school and make our other battles easier.
In this age of instant gratification, digital distractions and short attention spans, our skills as researchers make librarians the perfect add-on to any department. And, as the curriculum becomes ever more demanding, we can become masters in content discovery and curation, working in partnership with the subject expertise of the teachers.
Inspired by Graham Gardner’s talk at the JCS conference in 2018, Emily has taken forward his idea to develop and strengthen links with departments by speaking their language and offering research help for their topics. This talk explains what she has been doing and offers some helpful tips on how to become an invaluable member of each department using only an intranet, a library management system and one’s own resourcefulness!
Saturday 30 November 2019
World Café, led by Dr Jane Secker, round table discussions on digital capabilities
Dr Jane Secker, Senior Lecturer in Educational Development, City, University of London
During the World Café delegates will move between 5 tables to discuss aspects of a digital capabilities framework, opportunities and challenges of teaching in the specific area as well as sharing examples of good practice. Capabilities to be covered are: digital proficiency (resource discovery, collections management, ways to promote within school…), information literacies, media Literacy, research and innovation, digital communications (promoting your library, use of social media), visual literacy, digital identity and management, digital well-being, learning and self-development, teaching/supporting others.
11:20-12:20 E-resources to support research: delegates are able to attend two E-resources sessions within the hour slot
Beyond Fake News – Navigating and Evaluating Information in an Era of “Alternative Facts” with Source Reference (Formerly Credo Source)
Ben Jacobs, Director, Licensing and Business Development, Infobase Publishing
Tech savvy does not = media literate. Evaluating sources has always been a key tenet of information literacy, however the increased sophistication of fake news sites means that this skill is more important than ever. In this presentation, Infobase will show how Source’s curated content, paired with a proprietary suite of instructional videos and tutorials, so libraries can meet students research needs while cultivating information literacy skills to prepare them for lifelong success.
Bloomsbury Digital Resources
Pedro Morais, Senior Product Manager – Digital Resources, Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury Digital Resources provides creative online learning environments that support scholarly research and inspire students throughout the world. We seek to engage our users with academically rigorous, editorially crafted content that encourages people to think and explore. The presentation will cover a number of resources, including Bloomsbury Architecture Library, Bloomsbury Design Library and the award-winning Drama Online, to describe how online tools can facilitate research and support our users’ needs.
JSTOR Secondary Schools Collection – supporting students’ research needs and skills
Hugh Webster, Sales Manager (Schools), JCS Online Resources
The JSTOR Secondary Schools Collection doesn’t just provide a vast collection of archival journals and primary source content but also includes some great innovative tools and support to help good researching. Hugh will showcase the main JSTOR tools, their Research Basics (free) online course, and the benefits of ‘My JSTOR’ – as well as offer some handy hints and tips for good searching techniques.
This session will be valuable for existing subscribers as well as those not yet familiar with JSTOR.
Introducing Gale Schools
Allison Zink, Subscription Sales Executive, Gale, Cengage Learning (EMEA)
Gale presents its new multidisciplinary package, Gale Schools. Combined exclusively for the schools market, this vast package combines our largest general interest periodical resource, with local, regional, national and international newspapers and journals, and award winning Gale eBooks. The content is housed on our intuitive and newly designed platform which includes workflow features, such as Topic Finder and Interlink functionality, to help students get the most from the content.