The Right Place at the Right Time: Creative Spaces in Libraries

Purpose This essay explores the recent trend in libraries: that of the establishment of spaces specifically set aside for creative work. The rise of these dedicated creative spaces is owed to a confluence of factors that happen to be finding their expression together in recent years. This essay examines the history of these spaces and explores the factors that gave rise to them and will fuel them moving forward. Design/Methodology/Approach A viewpoint piece, this essay combines historical research and historical/comparative analyses to examine the ways by which libraries have supported creative work in the past and how they may continue to do so into the 21st century. Findings The key threads brought together include a societal recognition of the value of creativity and related skills and attributes; the philosophies, values, and missions of libraries in both their longstanding forms and in recent evolutions; the rise of participatory culture as a result of inexpensive technologies; improved means to build community and share results of efforts; and library experience and historical practice in matters related to creativity. The chapter concludes with advice for those interested in the establishment of such spaces, grounding those reflections in the author’s experiences in developing a new creative space at Virginia Commonwealth University. Originality/value While a number of pieces have been written that discuss the practicalities of developing certain kinds of creative spaces, very little has been written that situates these spaces in larger social and library professional contexts; this essay begins to fill that gap

A Review of the "Digital Turn" in the New Literacy Studies

Digital communication has transformed literacy practices and assumed great importance in the functioning of workplace, recreational, and community contexts. This article reviews a decade of empirical work of the New Literacy Studies, identifying the shift toward research of digital literacy applications. The article engages with the central theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic challenges in the tradition of New Literacy Studies, while highlighting the distinctive trends in the digital strand. It identifies common patterns across new literacy practices through cross-comparisons of ethnographic research in digital media environments. It examines ways in which this research is taking into account power and pedagogy in normative contexts of literacy learning using the new media. Recommendations are given to strengthen the links between New Literacy Studies research and literacy curriculum, assessment, and accountability in the 21st century

Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action

Outlines a community education movement to implement Knight's 2009 recommendation to enhance digital and media literacy. Suggests local, regional, state, and national initiatives such as teacher education and parent outreach and discusses challenges

Rethinking young children creating and communicating : research briefing 3 for digital childhoods

This briefing paper specifically considers children’s early communicative and creative experiences with digital technologies, addressing the following questions: »» What are children learning about the roles digital technologies play in supporting communication and creativity in their families and communities? »» To what extent are they able to harness these technologies for their own purposes? »» What use will they make of their knowledge and experiences when they start school

Capturing creativity using digital video

This paper evaluates the use of a creative learning activity in which postgraduate student teachers were required to collaboratively make short digital videos. The purpose was for student teachers to experience and evaluate a meaningful learning activity and to consider how they might reconstruct such an activity within their own teaching practice in their placement schools. Within UK primary schools (children aged 4 to 11 years) there is currently an increasing focus on creativity within teaching and learning and a desire to use ICT to enhance learning. This led the teacher educator in this case study to introduce a learning activity in which students created a short advert using digital video. The nature of creativity is considered, as is the collaborative element that frequently forms an element of creative learning activities. This collaboration was an integral element of the digital video activity. An existing framework of ‘meaningful learning’ is used to inform the analysis of the students’ responses to the learning activity. Student responses show that they valued the experience and developed a desire to use digital video in their own classroom practice on school placements. The combination of positive student responses, the collaborative nature of the activity and the scope for it to support meaningful learning make digital video a powerful tool for supporting creative teaching and learning

Auditing the ICT experiences of teacher education undergraduates

The importance of teacher education graduates having appropriate information and communication technology OCT) for learning competencies and experiences is well documented. However, without well developed processes for auditing the ICT experiences of undergraduates it should not be assumed that teachers enter their profession with the required ICT competencies to support their students' learning. This paper reports on the first phase of a project to audit the ICT experiences of teacher education undergraduates. It finds that the individual experiences of undergraduates can vary considerably depending on their choice of majors, electives or specialist teaching areas. It further finds that high percentages of students perceive themselves to have no competency with a range of ICT applications that would support the more motivational and interesting aspects of ICT integration for student learning