I have used a mapping metaphor- textbook as basic guide, journal article as latest update on a blog. The students make their own 'map' reflecting their needs and experiences.
Pete Smith
Information Adviser
Sheffield Hallam University
Collegiate Learning Centre
Collegiate Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2BP
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Tel: (0114) 225 2525
-----Original Message-----
From: Information literacy and information skills teaching discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Drew Whitworth
Sent: 08 June 2009 13:56
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Kayaking and information liteacy
Quoting "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>:
> Hi,
>
> I'd be interested to hear people's comments on a kayaking metaphor
> for teaching information literacy found at
> http://markhepworthsblog.blogspot.com/. Plus I'm still interested in
> the metaphors other people use to help learners relate to IL. It
> doesn't have to be elaborate. It could be something that helps
> visualise one aspect of information literacy, such as, using
> 'finding a needle in a haystack' when talking about information
> seeking. In fact the latter required explanation when working with
> international students - and should be used with caution!
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Mark
>
Actually I disagree with the "Needle in a haystack" metaphor in the
first place: I don't think it is best to cast IL as purely a process
of _finding_, as if we know full well the right answer is "there" and
if only we looked hard enough, for long enough, it'll appear. I don't
think that's a good metaphor at all.
Better for me are those themes that play on constructive activities
like gardening, or environmental protection more generally.
Information is a constitutive part of the human environment, just as
much as is any "natural" resource. It can be polluted, enclosed,
degraded, exploited in unsustainable ways. Or it can be nurtured,
protected against pests and neglect, healthily managed in a
sustainable way.
As I've written elsewhere (in Susie Andretta's edited 2007 collection
"Change and Challenge" and now my "Information Obesity"), IL is about
nurturing in people (all people, not just "students") the
"communicative competence" needed to take care of the informational
resources one is not only using now, but building for the future.
Drew Whitworth
--
"Many substances, when ingested, make the concepts of work and authority seem
highly unimportant. This is why they are almost always made illegal."
http://www.MAdigitaltechnologies.com, http://www.informationobesity.com,
http://informationobesity.ning.com
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