Social media, authentic learning and embedded librarianship:

Abstract

Recent studies and reports indicate that social media tools have changed the way that people access and disseminate information. Social information, or information that is communicated and made accessible through social media networks and tools, represents a growing collection of information used by consumers, researchers and even healthcare practitioners. Undergraduate students preparing to enter the healthcare field need to understand how to use social information to reach consumers and share scholarship with other healthcare professionals. Using the dietetics curriculum at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, as a case study, this paper describes how a liaison librarian highlighted particular areas of the curriculum that she could support through information literacy instruction and embedded librarianship. By collaborating with a faculty member and using objectives from both the Association of College & Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology and the Accreditation Council of Education in Nutrition and Dietetics’ 2008 Foundation Knowledge and Competencies-Dietitian Education, she developed an authentic learning experience for students in the programme. Formal and informal assessments indicated that the entire project met a significant need in the dietetics curriculum and successfully engaged students by having them negotiate the social web in an authentic learning environment. This article is based on a paper presented at LILAC 2012.

Investigation into Information Literacy and the Use of Web 2.0 Technologies in a Faculty of Architecture

“…As social media becomes more dominant in students' daily lives, librarians and faculty staff can provide opportunities for developing information literacy skills within the online environments in which students regularly participate (Miller, 2012). For instance, the majority of participants in this study possessed a basic or moderate level of skill with blogs, wikis, and podcasts and a moderate or advanced level with video sharing platforms, instant messaging systems, and Facebook-Twitter.…”

Information literacy curriculum mapping in the health sciences

“…The diversity of language with which these elements were represented in the 12 published articles' maps defied more detailed coding which might have illuminated more clearly what exactly librarians were mapping when they mapped curricula. For example, some elements were unlabelled (Kolstad, 2013), while others used unclear labels like "knowledge requirements" (Miller, 2012) and "results" (Argüelles, 2012). Only four of the 12 mapping articles (33%) referred to learning outcomes, using the phrases "learning objectives" (Bendriss et al, 2015;Allen, 2017), "course objectives" (Brooks & Bigelow, 2015), and "curriculum objective" (Williams & Ntiri, 2018).…”

Exploring the use of authentic learning strategies in designing blended learning environments

“…This creates an environment in which students are able to cultivate important skills like communication skills, critical-thinking skills and higher-order thinking skills that would benefit them when they start working (Levy and Murnane, 2005;Lombardi, 2007;Lam et al, 2009). Authentic learning strategies have been used to create more student-centred or learner-focused learning environments (March et al, 2011;Miller, 2012) and as a means to improve the way students obtain knowledge (Lombardi, 2007). With the support of technology, valuable experiences can now be obtained through safe and controlled environments and not just through internship or apprenticeship programs.…”