Online sources for literacy research:Library/researcher perspective

Bertram (Chip) BruceLibrary & Information Science

U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

How is literacy (research) changing?

1) What are the new media for literacy?

2) How do people find information?

3) How are teaching and learning

changing?

1) A free and simple computer link (Mosaic)

Think of it as a map to the buried treasures of the Information Age. / A new software program available free to companies and individuals is helping even novice computer users find their way around the global Internet / … an applications program so different and so obviously useful that it can create a new industry from scratch. Dec. 8, 1993, John Markoff, New York Times

In the future already

Science fiction itself has remained the same. We have caught up to it...We are a science-fiction generation. – Ray Bradbury We can’t think far enough ahead anymore. – Ron Shusett

Human-computer interaction(a history)

New digital tools

Computer-mediated work

Ubiquitous computing

New media

• web rings• video conferencing• digital libraries• virtual reality• the deep web• wireless

• internet radio• robot surgery• telepresence• ubiquitous computing• simputer• monkey & cursor

2) How do people find information?

• go to personal collection• ask colleague• send e-mail• go to web• go to library

Do we need …

• Books? Journals? Publishers? • Libraries? Librarians?• Schools? Teachers?• Universities? Professors?

Library technologies

• XML metadata and linking standards• Open Archives Initiative (OAI) --metadata

harvesting protocols• Digital object identifier (DOI) -- a unique

identifier of a piece of digital content; ‘The ISBN for the 21st Century’ --Norman Paskin

Digital library

• ‘Digital’, ‘Virtual’, ‘Electronic’ Library as network-based library without regard to place and time

• applies to collections and resources• integration of collections and services• standards and protocols• National Science, Math and Technology

Education Digital Library (NSDL)

Publishing trends

• publishers add value to online journal articles

• digital version becomes version of record• virtual journals become common• personalized services -- agent technology• new economic and subscription models• article-at-a-time publishing• journal or publisher branding

Academia issues

• publishing, e.g., Astronomy Digital Image Library

• promotion & tenure• collaboration• teaching• definition of knowledge

3) How are teaching and learning changing?

solve problems => find problems

textbook => multiple sources/media

follow directions => active learning

work alone => collaborate; diverse views

cover the curriculum => learn how to

learn

• Resources for inquiry teaching & learning

• Support for communities

• Tools for everyday problem-solving (personal websites, to-do lists, events calendars, …)

A cycle: The Inquiry Page

Repository model

contribution via web form

URL of stored entry

database of entries

Stone soup (Robins, 1999)

Collaboratory model

Collaboratory in context

Changing concepts of community

Parkland CC Library

Library

a collection organized for use =>

a system to support community inquiry