15 research outputs found
Re-writing the script : supporting academic integrity the library way!
An article published in the Guardian Newspaper this week asserted that: 'However much we
warn students of the dire consequences of plagiarism, some continue to take the risk, partly
because the consequences tend not to be so dire after all …’ Wolff, J. (2006). The article then
went on to reveal that a growing number of universities are 'turning to agencies that claim to
be able to detect plagiarism by sophisticated electronic searches’. Wolff, J. (2006). The two
messages that come across from the article are that, combating plagiarisms is best achieved by
putting fear into students; a don’t do it or else approach. The second message suggests that the
punishment is not meeting the crime. These messages are becoming more and more accepted
yet there is little proof of their effectiveness, indeed other approaches may yield better results.
So as the dramas of plagiarism are increasingly played out on centre stage isn’t it time to
re-write the script?
Combating plagiarism has become a major issue for Higher Education and not only in the UK.
At the 2nd Asia-Pacific Educational Integrity Conference in Australia in December 2005 a
great deal was said about policy. The main points were that institutions need to have
transparent policies and practices relating to educational integrity. The punishment structures
and penalties must also be transparent. Policies must be written in plain English, easy for all
students to understand. Institutions should aim to build a culture where cheating is not
acceptable. These are all excellent points but there were two which stood out above the
others:
1. a culture of crime and punishment does not foster learning
2. good policy is necessary but not sufficient in tackling plagiarism issues
The first point was addressed several times during the conference. Systems have to be in
place to punish those few who deliberately set out to cheat. Institutions however, appear to be
finding difficulty with creating policies and procedures that allow mistakes to be made,
lessons to be learned, without appearing to allow ‘students to get away with it’ This problem
could be helped by the second point. Policy is required most certainly, but if students are
simply told they must not plagiarise or terrible things will happen to them, then that
institution’s policy is ultimately doomed.In re-writing our script we can change the emphasis of our play. Instead of pointing out the
dire consequences of plagiarism we need to help students to understand that by not
plagiarising they are enhancing their own learning experience, their academic credibility and
developing the knowledge and skills for their future careers and personal development.
Dangle the carrot rather than swing the stick - provide the tools to understand and avoid
plagiarism while at the same time nourishing a sense of pride and satisfaction within the
student.
New scene, enter the library (stage left!)
This is the point at which Librarians can help. By providing a good Information Literacy
programme that teaches students to understand how to find and evaluate information, what
plagiarism is, how to reference their work appropriately. Librarians can assist students to
understand their responsibility regarding the use of information. This paper will look at how
libraries in two institutions are supporting and collaborating with academics to provide a
holistic approach to countering plagiarism, outlining practical examples of tactics and
strategies that provide dramatic improvement. This is an innovative approach which creates a
happy and constructive ending to the play
Do librarians like to learn online?
Information skills, academic literacy, information fluency and information
literacy – the terminology have caused considerable debate in the UK, but in
what ever guise information literacy appears it is having a huge impact on the
role of librarians. It is now seen as one of the major keys to problem solving
and life long learning.
A considerable amount of resources in the UK higher education (HE) library
sector is put towards enhancing student’s information literacy skills. Teaching
has therefore become a core part of a librarian’s role. Courses are being
designed and delivered by library staff to students in various formats including
face-to-face, online, blended learning, in formal classroom time and informally
on the enquiry desk. Library staff, both professional and non professional, are
expected to have an understanding on the concepts of information literacy
and online learning so that they can become effective teachers either in the
classroom or at the enquiry desk. The question is, how do library staff acquire
these skills and how do they view their roles in relation to information literacy?
Having recognised that information literacy is no longer just the province of
HE, but as an essential part of life long learning and digital citizenship, library
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schools are beginning to recognise a need for information literacy within the
curriculum. They are not however, actively developing librarians teaching
skills, library staff tend to obtain these skills through trial and error, short
courses and professional teaching qualifications. In addition, few library
oriented continuing professional development programmes in the UK provide
elements of online learning, so it is difficult to experience online learning as a
student. To overcome this, the CILIP Community Services Information
Literacy sub-group have created two online modules which are aimed at
enquiry desk staff and at those who are teaching Information literacy in a
more formal environment.
1. POP-i and LolliPop were designed to assist enquiry desk staff in
enhancing their own information literacy skills so that they can then
assist readers in becoming independent information seekers. POP-i
was piloted by Bradford Public Libraries. LolliPop was piloted by two
university libraries in the UK. Both are being adapted by other HE
institutions and public libraries.
2. SirLearnaLot aims to help library staff enhance their understanding of
pedagogy so that they can feel confident in designing and delivering
courses to students. SirLearnaLot will be piloted in the very near future
by at least two university libraries.
Both courses are written in HTML format which facilitates them being used in
any Virtual learning Environment. Both programmes will be freely available
under a Creative Commons License.
This paper will outline:
a) how POP-I and LolliPop were piloted with library staff
b) how the modules were evaluated
c) staff feedback re content and their online learning experience
c) how similar / dissimilar library staff are in relation to their learning
experience
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d) how the feedback has impacted on the design and delivery of the
modules, so the needs of the learner is paramount
The UK Information Literacy website
The UK Information Literacy website was launched in March 2006 and can be found at http://www.informationliteracy.org.uk. The website is dedicated to the enhancement of the important field of Information Literacy (IL). The site has been established through a partnership with the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Community Services Group (CSG) sub group on Information Literacy1, Eduserv2, Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL)3, the Museum Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)4, the Higher Education Academy Information and Computing Sciences Centre (HEA-ICS)5 and the Schools Library Group6. To find out more about the partners visit their websites listed at the end of this article
Defining Information Literacy for the UK
Information literacy (IL) was adopted as the theme for the Presidential year of Professor Sheila Corrall, the first President of CILIP, in April 2002. At the end of her year as President, she called a meeting of experts and practitioners at CILIP, which concluded that the term was not understood or used consistently across all sectors in the UK. A working party was formed, charged with producing a definition, as well as supporting material such as case studies demonstrating how IL can make a difference to individuals. A definition and lists of core skills were developed
PILOT 4.0
Information and digital literacy skills package aimed at postgraduates, post-doctoral students and other researchers. Features revised copyright section to reflect the recent changes in the law and highlight OERs. The start file is called serve_home2.html. If you have any problems with it, please contact Marion Kelt at [email protected] I will be happy to help. Original package produced by Imperial College, London. Link provided is to the new, mobile friendly version of PILOT
SMILE York St John
Designed for you to work through at your own pace, York St John’s online information and digital literacies study skills package SMILE provides guidance and supports on key academic and employability skills.
This new version builds on the work completed at University of Worcester, Loughborough University and Imperial College London as part of the JISC ReProduce project, and latterly by Glasgow Caledonian University.
It has units covering:
Making the transition
Understanding the question
Organising your time
Gathering, finding, evaluating, managing and communicating information
Plagiarism
Referencing systems
Your online presence (digital footprint)
SMILE 4.0
Online information literacy and communication skills package with more accessible menu and file structure. Added multimedia content. Start page in base directory, called start.html. Link provided is to the new mobile friendly version of this package