EPQ @ MDX: Supporting local students (A case study)

Staff from Library and Student Support at Middlesex University have recently resumed Extended Project Question (EPQ) support for students from local schools and FE colleges. Our aim is to develop information literacy and academic skills, as well as enabling access to our resources. During our presentation we will provide a brief overview of this level 3 qualification, who takes it and why. We will then discuss our approach to these workshops, how they have developed since 2014, practical issues encountered, and how we manage this offer collaboratively with our External Liaison and Outreach team. Our EPQ workshops use the games and activities based pedagogy developed for our in house information literacy workshops, but adapted to meet the needs of school and college students. The games and activities are not an end in themselves, but are designed to encourage scaffolding on previous knowledge and critical reflection. All our teaching materials are freely available via our EPQ LibGuide (http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/EPQ) which we are happy to share with our M25 colleagues

Does it really improve their marks? : a brief foray into measuring the impact of information literacy training at Middlesex University

The paper is a brief report on a survey of second year computer science students to see what if any impact library information literacy training had on the linked coursework. The results show evidence of higher marks, better use of research tools and better understanding of evaluation criteria by those attending the training unlike those who did not attend

Thinking about keywords and searching Summon as in-class group activity

This paper describes a short practical activity used at Middlesex University to teach students about the importance of keywords and thinking about alternative terminology before searching Summon. This activity is used at all levels and is a whole-class activity. It deliberately uses an image unconnected with Computer Science or Design Engineering, the areas in which we teach

Demythologising librarianship: future librarians in a changing literacy landscape

This statement explores the potential role of librarians in the development of information literacy and research integrity in higher education. We contextualise this in a critical reflection of our own professional careers and practice, within continually changing information, social and political landscapes. We illustrate our development through a critique of our core public work, Enhanced pedagogy for improved information literacy, and a number of other smaller but significant previous public works. We also examine some of the narratives which surround the ‘Google Generation’, academia and librarianship and demythologise the context in which we operate. To inform the future development of our professional role we investigate information literacy concepts and models, the obstacles to the wider adoption of information literacy in higher education curricula, the skills and attributes that the librarian of the future can bring to its achievement and how the public works are a continuous response to change. Our insight and understanding are further informed by the opinions of academic colleagues following a series of in-depth interviews. We consider their views and the implications these have for our own learning and the development of our professional identity, within both higher education and our own university. Throughout this statement we show how our previous and core public works have influenced and informed our thinking, our practice and the recommendations that we make

What’s the name of the game? How Summon saves time for fun games

Over the past two years the Liaison Librarian team supporting Computing and Design Engineering at Middlesex University have been changing their pedagogical practice to base their teaching on games and activities rather than ‘follow me’ demonstrations. This paper discusses the broader issues that prompted these changes to our information literacy training, the ideas and inspiration that underpin our new approach, the games and activities we have developed, the role of Summon as enabling technology, and the results of a survey undertaken to measure the impact of our teaching. It concludes with a brief look at future developments

Workshops, games and activities used in teaching information literacy skills (version 9)

The files in this site are the games and activities developed by Adam Edwards and Vanessa Hill to support teaching information literacy skills at Middlesex University. They are regularly updated and added to as we develop the collection. Some of the games will need laminating and cutting up for use in multiple sets. You can use these for your own teaching. We just ask that you tell us if you make new versions as we like to build on new ideas

On the temperature of surfaces

The concept of the temperature of a surface is introduced from the viewpoint of the physical chemistry of surfaces. The surface, near surface and microlayer regions of the interface are defined. Most methods measure the temperature of the microlayer or at best the near surface region and may err in representing the surface temperature. Methods based on capillary ripples actually measure the surface temperature since surface tension (or surface tension tensor when a monolayer has been spread or absorbed at the interface) is the main restoring force that controls their propagation. Light scattering methods are described for determining the elevation of very small amplitude capillary waves through the computation of various correlation functions from which the surface tension can be estimated. Procedures for estimating the surface temperature are described

The winner takes it all: enhancing the quality and impact of library workshops

Adam Edwards and Vanessa Hill will present on their work changing their teaching methods over the past two years and will alllow delegates to try out some of the games and activities they have developed. The presentation will cover the issues they faced in changing their pedagogy and their collaboration with academic and academic writing colleagues to facilitate the changes made. They will then discuss the inspiration they gained from the work of others such as Markless and Boyle and how this influenced their choices of teaching methods. The solutions they have come up with which will include practical demonstration of these games and activities and finally the impact this has had on the students they have taught, presenting the results of a survey they undertook in 2012. They will then reflect on the lessons learned and their plans for the future

Turbulent transport measurements with a laser Doppler velocimeter

The power spectrum of phototube current from a laser Doppler velocimeter operating in the heterodyne mode has been computed. The spectrum is obtained in terms of the space time correlation function of the fluid. The spectral width and shape predicted by the theory are in agreement with experiment. For normal operating parameters the time average spectrum contains information only for times shorter than the Lagrangian integral time scale of the turbulence. To examine the long time behavior, one must use either extremely small scattering angles, much longer wavelength radiation or a different mode of signal analysis, e.g., FM detection