The New Knowledge Environment: Quality Initiatives in Health Sciences Libraries

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Emerging technologies as cognitive tools for authentic learning

Employing emerging technologies in learning is becoming increasingly important as a means to support the development of digital media literacy. Using a theoretical framework of authentic learning and technology as cognitive tools, this paper examined student responses to the infusion of emerging technologies in a large first year teacher education unit over two full iterations, using a design-based research approach. This paper describes the pedagogical context of the intervention, the methodology used, and it presents an analysis of themes emerging from the data relating to the use of emerging technologies

Jam To-morrow and Jam Yesterday, but Never Jam To-day: The of Theology Libraries Planning the Twenty-first Century

The future of theology libraries is far from clear. Since the nineteenth century, theology libraries have evolved to support the work of theological education. This article briefly reviews the development of theology libraries in North America and examines the contextual changes impacting theology libraries today. Three significant factors that will shape theology libraries in the coming decade are collaborative models of pedagogy and scholarship, globalization and rapid changes in information technology, and changes in the nature of scholarly publishing including the digitization of information. A large body of research is available to assist those responsible for guiding the direction of theology libraries in the next decade, but there are significant gaps in what we know about the impact of technology on how people use information that must be filled in order to provide a solid foundation for planning

Emerging trends on the topic of Information Technology in the field of Educational Sciences: a bibliometric exploration

The paper presents a bibliometric analysis on the topic of Information Technology (IT) in the field of Educational Sciences, aimed at envisioning the research emerging trends. The ERIC data base is used as a consultation source; the results were subjected to productivity by authors, journals, and term co-occurrence analysis indicators for the period 2009-2013. The productivity of Computers & Education, and Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, as well as the preceding authors from Canada, have been emphasized. The more used terms are the following: Information technology, foreign countries, educational technology, technology integration, and student attitudes. Researches performed here seem to have a largely qualitative character, highlighting computers and internet as the mostly explored technological objects. The largest subject matter trend refers to the integration of IT in the higher education learning context, and its incidence over the teaching methods

Review of research and evaluation on improving adult literacy and numeracy skills

The purposes of this literature review are threefold. First, this review summarises findings of the research from the last decade in six fields identified by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) as critical to its forward planning: (1) the economic, personal and social returns to learning; (2) the quality and effectiveness of provision; (3) the number of learning hours needed for skills gain; (4) learner persistence; (5) the retention and loss of skills over time; (6) the literacy and numeracy skills that are needed. Second, this review assesses this evidence base in terms of its quality and robustness, identifying gaps and recommending ways in which the evidence base can be extended and improved. Thirdly, this review attempts to interpret the evidence base to suggest, where possible, how returns to ALN learning for individuals, employers and wider society might be increased through effective and cost-effective interventions

iPad Innovations in Public Services: A Survey of the Use of Mobile Devices in ASERL Reference Departments

The availability of iPads and other mobile devices has provided new opportunities for communication, creativity, gaming, shopping, customer service, and more. With mobile devices surging in popularity among patrons, library innovators have started experimenting with these technologies in their services. Given the recent debut of these devices, the professional literature offers only a few studies about academic libraries that have harnessed mobile devices for reference, instruction, and outreach. In helping to expand this research, this paper presents the results of a survey of Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) reference departments about their use of mobile devices

Academic Librarians\u27 Practices and Perceptions on Web-Based Instruction for Academic Librarian Patrons as Adult Learners

Academic librarians are encouraged to provide library services, resources, and instruction to all patrons, including the adult learner. Statistics reported that worldwide, adults are a growing student population in colleges and universities; however, the adult learner as an academic library patron is often neglected. Academic libraries can establish value to its stakeholders and support the information needs of adult learners through an active commitment to the process of web-based information literacy instruction that includes outcomes assessments. The purpose of this study was to examine academic librarians\u27 practices and perceptions on web-based instruction for academic library patrons as adult learners. Three research questions guide this mixed-method study. The first research question focused on forms of web-based instruction. The second research question examined the Association of Colleges and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. The third question explored the use of outcomes assessments in web-based instruction. Quantitative data were collected through use of a survey distributed to the American Library Association\u27s (ALA) Information Literacy Instruction Electronic Discussion List (ILI-L). The qualitative method gathered academic librarians\u27 practices and perceptions through semi-structured interviews. Six themes emerged from the semi-structured interviews: 1) web-based instruction practices, 2) rationale for use, 3) instructional methods and strategies, 4) information literacy competency areas, 5) information literacy competency standards, and 6) formative and summative assessments. The findings, survey results, and emerging themes suggested implications for practices and further research on outcomes assessments in web-based instruction. There is also significant need for more web-based instruction designed specifically for the adult learner. These suggestions concern all academic librarians involved in the distribution and development of web-based instruction. Additionally, the interpretations and recommendations for future research were presented