Volume 3, Number 2 |
Information Competence - California Style!
Judy Swanson
With the explosion of print and electronic resources, and the ubiquity of personal computers, unprecedented demands are being placed on today's university students. Fifteen years ago, students were expected to produce research papers using a typewriter and the limited resources available in the local library collection. Today students are expected to navigate an overwhelming mass of information which comes from a profusion of resources. Faculty expect their students to be information literate, but the mastery of information literacy skills has never been explicitly addressed.
In 1995, the California State University Commission on Learning Resources and Instructional Technology (CLRIT) was charged with developing and recommending policy guidelines to the Chancellor. These guidelines were to be used to facilitate the effective uses of learning resources and instructional technology throughout the CSU system. The Committee's first task was to formulate consensus on a definition of "information competence," a term that means different things to different people.
The Commission was able to reach an agreement on a one sentence definition:
The Workgroup then funded a project being developed at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The project team, under the direction of Paul Adalian, Head of Reference, created a multi-faceted program, that incorporates a self-paced WWW instructional module and an interactive electronic workbook for each of the 10 competencies identified as critical by the CSU Workgroup.
The team's goal was to create Web-based instructional modules that simulate a realistic learning environment and visually appeal to students. The InfoComp team is comprised of Paul Adalian as Project Manager, two reference librarians who provide the content for the modules, and one multimedia specialist and one part-time student assistant who are responsible for taking the content and presenting it in an electronic format. The team is also developing Macromedia Director based CD-ROM presentations for each of the modules, to aid instructors in the classroom.
Due to limitations imposed by the Web on file sizes, use of colors, and animations, creating both Web-based and CD-ROM based instructional material has been a challenge. In order to impress upon the team that we needed to constantly keep in mind the average user of the Web, a 28.8 kbs modem was purchased and attached to one of the computers in the multimedia work area. This gave everyone, who were used to fast T1 connections, a sense of the transfer technology that most students are using. As we all sat around the computer and modem, and sat, and sat, the team was able to visually, not to mention viscerally, grasp the need to keep file sizes small. This meant that while we could create simple animations using Gif Builder, any attempt to duplicate what we were doing in the Director environment would be a waste of time. Some thought was given to using Macromedia Shockwave, but the team decided not to use technology that would require the use of browser plug-ins.
Instead, other methods were employed to make our Web-based modules appealing. The CSU project relies heavily on graphics, images, sample pages, excerpts from full-text sources, citations, and other relevant materials. Java scripts are incorporated into the quizzes. Java applets are used to allow students to move words around on a Web page in order to create their own search statements. (Much like how one uses magnets with words on them to create poetry on refrigerator doors!)
Another Web innovation that the project has taken advantage of is the use of frames. Our use of frames allows students to learn about a database dynamically. This technique is currently being used by Cal Poly to teach about the library's on-line catalog. In the top frame is the Web-based catalog, and in the bottom frame is the electronic workbook. The workbook frame is where students answer questions based on the results of the use of the catalog.
The use of frames is also used to teach students evaluation skills. In this context a Web site, on smoking, for example, is placed in the left frame. In the right frame is a workbook, designed by the content providers, which asks questions about what is on the Web site displayed on the left. This use of "real time assessment" has proven invaluable in allowing students to critically evaluate information sources.
Another component of the project is the offering of a 3 unit Information Competence Class. As an adjunct to this project this class integrates information competence skills with an emphasis on the production and application, as well as the consumption, of information. Students are taught to present information in a non-print format using an HTML text editor and Microsoft Power Point. The class final is to present their chosen topic as a Web site. The Power Point presentation serves as an introduction to the topic and covers the methodology used to obtain the information.
We hope that the CSU Information Competence Project will be used throughout the CSU system. Work is currently underway to incorporate more subject specific disciplines into the project, thereby making it more attractive to a variety of faculty. The team is also looking into the possibility of offering this class in the distance education environment.
Ten Core Competencies as identified by the CLRIT Workgroup
[Judy Swanson is the Multimedia Specialist at the Kennedy Library, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.]
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Internet Trend Watch for Libraries is a publication of LEO: Librarians and Educators Online. All contents(c) 1996-1998 by LEO. For information about LEO's services, visit our web site, call (617) 499-9676, or e-mail us at itw@leonline.com.
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