Competency-Based Approach for Curriculum Development in Digital Curation ALISE 2014 Conference Jeonghyun Kim & William E. Moen University of North Texas ALISE 2014

Two Initiatives Mozilla Open Badges edX ALISE 2014 Knight, E. (2013). Web literacy badge. Retrieved from http://openbadges.tumblr.com/post/42434670053/erin-knight-webmaker-badges-roadmap edX. (n.d.) A sample certificate. Retrieved from https://www.edx.org/verified-certificate ALISE 2014

Competency-Based Education (CBE) Based on the broader concept of Outcomes- Based Education (OBE) To best prepare students to be competitive for employment A common approach used by professional disciplines, such as business, psychology, engineering, health-related, and tourism programs ALISE 2014

CBE Approach U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). Defining and assessing learning: Exploring competency-based initiatives. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002159.pdf ALISE 2014

Competencies in LIS Competencies necessary for library professionals Professional organizations have put effort into developing competency statements – e.g., ALA’s Core Competences of Librarianship Discussed competency-based approach in LIS education (e.g., Stoffle & Pryor, 1980; Thomas & Patel, 2008) ALISE 2014

iCAMP Project Funded by IMLS’s Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Three-year project (September 2011–August 2014) “To build capacity in UNT’s Library and Information Sciences (LIS) curriculum to increase the number of appropriately trained information professionals and disciplinary researchers and scholars for digital curation and data management responsibilities” Objectives Develop a Graduate Academic Certificate with four courses in digital curation and data management Deploy a robust technical infrastructure to support student learning, practical engagement, and training ALISE 2014

iCAMP Courses Course 1: Digital Curation Fundamentals Introduces concepts, principles, standards, and practices for digital curation Course 2: Digital Curation Tools and Applications Focuses on techniques, tools, and applications for curating digital data Course 3: Preservation Planning and Implementation for Digital Curation Develops and implements a plan for curating digital data Course 4: Advanced Topics in Digital Curation Unifies and provides a broader context for digital curation competencies throughout the previous courses ALISE 2014

iCAMP Competencies Competencies Competency Groups “The knowledge, skills, and abilities to carry out a wide range of professional functions in support of digital curation responsibilities” Derived from existing statements of competencies, job announcements, training materials, reports, etc. Competency Groups Communication & Interpersonal Competency Environmental Scanning Competency Management, Planning, and Evaluation Competency Systems, Models, and Modeling Competency Curating and Preserving Content Competency Curation Technologies Competency Services Competency ALISE 2014

iCAMP Competencies Curation Technology Competency Definition: This competency addresses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to identify, use, and develop tools and applications to support digital curation activities Specific competencies: Knowledge of IT infrastructure including operating system services, network services, and security services Work in a variety of computing environments: Unix, Linux, Windows Identify and utilize software, tools, applications, and systems that support digital curation activities Implement, configure, and maintain digital content management systems and repositories ALISE 2014

iCAMP Competencies Curation Technologies Competency Course 1: Discussing technical frameworks and practices Course 2: Using and practicing tools and various Linux command lines Curating and Preserving Content Competency Course 2: Evaluating the functionality of a digital content management system Course 3: Implementing a digital curation plan Systems, Models, and Modeling Competency Course 1: Discussing the conceptual models and their applications Course 3: Developing a digital curation plan ALISE 2014

iCAMP Competencies Management, Planning, and Evaluation Competency Course 1: Evaluating a data management plan Services Competency Course 1: Assessing various service models and examples Course 3: Exploring different aspects of designed researcher communities Environmental Scanning Competency Course 4: Exploring a particular topic of current interest Communication & Interpersonal Competency ALISE 2014

Portfolio as CBE Assessment Asked students to reflect on each competency group in the context of all modules/lectures/assignments /activities in the courses and their work placement Students addressed all four courses in their portfolio documents Students were able to ‘join up’ all aspects of the course and reflect on how the competencies come together in order to carry out the work of a digital curation practitioner Portfolio reinforced their learning across courses and identified further training needs ALISE 2014

Student Comments “I would definitely recommend this course to other students! It is applicable to a wide range of interests and areas. It covers a topic that is really missing from DLIS curriculum.” “The course covers a lot of technical topics related to digital data that is not explained or covered in other courses. This has been the best digitally focused class I've taken at UNT, by far.” “The chance to work with these tools, systems, and resources is absolutely invaluable. I think that this class carries great promise within the four-course plan.” “The range of theory and practical exercise work was also a great aspect of this course.” “I gained a lot of technical skills and experiences with the logistical operation of a digital repository through the courses.” ALISE 2014

Introduction to UNIX/Linux A non-credit course designed to introduce basic UNIX/Linux commands Covers a variety of introductory topics that teach students the basics of how to work in a console-based environment and on a server that supports multiple simultaneous users Upon successful completion of the course (a score of 80% or higher), students receive a Mozilla Digital Badge ALISE 2014

Challenges and Future Directions Target audience Four courses that comprises a Graduate Academic Certificate An ordered sequence of courses A need for continuous course improvement ALISE 2014

Dr. Jeonghyun (Annie) Kim Acknowledgements The iCAMP project (http://icamp.unt.edu) is supported by a generous grant from the U.S. Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, Librarians for the 21st Century Program, RE-05-11-0073-11, with additional support from the University of North Texas, College of Information and UNT Libraries. Dr. William Moen Dr. Jeonghyun (Annie) Kim Dr. Martin Harbert ALISE 2014