Information Fluency What? Why? How? Information Literacy Symposium Associated Colleges of the South Georgetown, Texas November 19, 1999 David G. Brown VP, Dean (ICCEL), Professor (Economics) Wake Forest University

Thought Starters WHAT? –Your Answers –My Answer –My Own First Year Seminar Class –Wake Forest Students in General WHY? –College Answer –Faculty Answer HOW? –Who Does What? –Where’s the Funding? –What’s the Role for the Consortium? YOUR CHARGE FOR TOMORROW!

Metaphors for Achieving Information Fluency Use a library--23 Drive a car--13 Write an essay--10 Speak French--8 Give a speech--6 Check the two that for you come closest! Play tennis--4 Program a VCR--3 Name State Capitals--3 Pass drivers’ exam--1 Understand tennis--0

Components of Information Fluency Evaluate materials on the web & in print--40 Know where to get help when stumped--39 Find materials on the web & in print--39 Recognize the perishability of information--35 Organize information against hypotheses--35 Place information on the web & in print--26 Create a Spreadsheet--18 Create a Web Page in html--9 Check all that apply & add others.

Group Ideas: Our students will graduate with “information fluency” when they can... Critically recognize, use, and present quality information. Use and present material on the Web critically and efficiently. Ethically find, synthesize, evaluate and present information effectively. Identify and communicate to create new knowledge using all available technologies.

Group Ideas: Our students will graduate with “information fluency” when they can… Find, evaluate, utilize, and present information in various formats. Identify a problem, find essential information, and solve the problem. Use scholarly methodologies and personal and professional encounters with information. Transform information into knowledge for their own purposes

Group Ideas: Our students will graduate with “information fluency” when they can… View technology as transparent because of its familiarity and ease of use. Find, comprehend, evaluate, and disseminate relevant and reliable information concerning an issue. Evaluate their own evolution as information users and generators. Select, evaluate, analyze, and present information effectively from multiple formats.

Group Ideas: Our students will graduate with “information fluency” when they can... Locate, evaluate, organize, and interpret information from various sources. Apply information to tasks. Present the results of an interdisciplinary project using multiple strategies. Use information to provide value. Identify a problem, find essential information, and solve the problem.

Our students will graduate with “information fluency” when they can Find Evaluate Organize & Use Data

These goals are achieved in liberal arts colleges by nurturing students with-- Concepts--relevant, useful Resources--reliable information Skills-- finding, analyzing, presenting Accessing and sorting skills are as important as knowledge!

FIRST YEAR SEMINAR The Economists’ Way of Thinking A Course Required of All Freshmen Wake Forest University

Brown’s First Year Seminar Before Class –Students Find URLs & Identify Criteria –Interactive exercises –Lecture Notes – dialogue –Cybershows During Class –One Minute Quiz –Computer Tip Talk –Class Polls After Class –Edit Drafts by Team –Guest Editors –Hyperlinks & Pictures –Access Previous Papers Other –Daily Announcements –Team Web Page –Personal Web Pages –Exams include Computer –Materials Forever

Results in My Own Course: Compared to Other First Year Courses More Same Less How much did you learn?2/31/3-- How much time did you spend?--2/31/3 How much did you enjoy the course? 3/3----

3600 undergrads 92% residential $850M endowment Winston-Salem NC 500 each: Med, Law, MBA, PhD #1 Wired College (USA--most recent survey) #3 Wired University (USA--most recent survey) #28 Research University (USA) 1300 SAT Average

THE WAKE FOREST PLAN F96: IBM 365XD, 16RAM, 100Mhz, 810MB, CD-ROM, 14.4 modem F97: IBM 380D, 32 RAM, 130Mhz, 1.35GB, CD-ROM, 33.6 modem F98: IBM 380XD, 64 RAM, 233 Mhz, 4.1GB, CD-ROM, 56 modem F99: IBM 390, 128RAM, 333 Mhz, 6 GB, CD-ROM, 56 modem Laptops for all New Every 2 Years Graduation Standard Template IGN for Faculty Keep Old Computers 75% CEI Users +15% Tuition 4 Year Phase In 1999 Software Load Netscape 4.5, Dreamweaver 2, SPSS 9, Maple V 5.1 Windows 98, MS Office Prof 97 CourseInfo

WHY INFORMATION FLUENCY? …the institutional answer Communication & Community! Level Playing Field After College Use Faculty/Students Demand Them Customized/Personalized Digitized Scholarship Marketable Difference

Consequences for Wake Forest +SAT Scores & Class Ranks +Retention & Grad Rates +Satisfaction & Learning (over 90%) +Faculty Recruitment

WHY INFORMATION FLUENCY? …the faculty answer Interactive Learning Collaborative Learning Communication Visualization Different Strokes for Different Folks From Interactive Learning (Anker Publishing Co., November, 1999)

Personal Use of Computers by Wake Forest Faculty Source: 1998 HERI Survey 98% 91% Memos & Letters 75% Scholarly Research 41% Presentations 36% Data Analysis 22% On Line Discussion Groups

Computers Enhance My Teaching and/or Learning Via-- Presentations Better--20% More Opportunities to Practice & Analyze--35% More Access to Source Materials via Internet--43% More Communication with Faculty Colleagues, Classmates, and Between Faculty and Students--87%

With Ubiquity--- The Culture Changes Mentality shifts-- like from public phone to personal phone. Teaching Assumptions shift-- like from books in the public library to everyone owns a copy of his/her own. Timelines shift-- like from “our class meets MWF” to “we see each other all the time and MWF we meet together ” Students’ sense of access shifts-- like from “maybe I can get that book in the library” to “I have that book in my library.” Relationships shift-- like from a family living in many different states to all family members living in the same town

Our students will graduate with “information fluency” when they can Find Evaluate Organize & Use Data

Raise Awareness Pilot Programs Assure Universal Access Provide Learning Opportunities Measure/Certify Results Next Steps?

Actions to Raise Awareness Define Information Fluency Conduct PR Campaigns on Campuses Sponsor “The Fluency Bowl” Appoint Blue Ribbon Advisory Group ________________

Identify a Lead College Coordinate the “Eager” Departments from All Member Colleges Research Other Programs Pilot Programs

Assure Universal Access (Field of Dreams Approach) Provide “Client Machines” (e.g. laptops)--- either individually or at public stations Teach Assuming Access Negotiate a Consortium Contract for Access to Digital Images

Provide Learning Opportunities Fluency Camp Non-Credit Sessions (Required or Optional) Degree-Credit Course (Required or Elective) Fluency Across-the-Curriculum

Measure/Certify the Results Grade for Course Threshold Proficiency Test Fluency Certificate

Possible Roles for the Library Politic for “Information Fluency” Purchase & Manage Electronic Databases Suggest All College Standards Train All Students (Just in Time) Train Faculty and Staff Certify Information Fluency

Possible Roles for the Faculty Define “information fluency” minimums Set policies for the use of technology Teach assuming “information fluency” Judge the wisdom of a requirement Politic for adequate funding Monitor the quality of “fluency” training

Possible Roles for IS Research & Recommend Hardware and Software Choose “back office” components Implement and maintain infrastructure

Possible Role for the Consortium Suggested by Participant Teams Facilitate discipline specific conversations. Nurture a critical mass of faculty & even deans & vps on my campus. Provide more training opportunities. Swim with the Eager. Raise awareness of presidents etc. Get faculty more involved in a collaborative effort.

Possible Role for the Consortium Suggested by Participant Teams Well defined goals & outcomes. Gallery of ways to achieve goals Provide funding for VIPs who really help. Assess where we are now. Help us develop a campus strategy, even a coordinator. Find fundg for a mandatory faculty-staff boot camp.

Possible Role for the Consortium Suggested by Participant Teams Mentors within each department. Then student boot camp. Issue a report on the miracles already taking place on our very own campuses Share info on curricular change as it is tied to inf fluency. Underwrite skills develop for faculty. A good excuse for cross pollination.

Possible Role for the Consortium Suggested by Participant Teams Help with juried validation of technology projects for faculty who want more goodies. Road maps are important! How do we get there from here? More neat meetings with good dinners Assessment tools!!!! Curriculum enhancement opportunities.

Possible Role for the Consortium Coordinate Collaborative Teaching Design & Staff Hybrid Courses Coordinate Hybrid Courses for Alums Advance Forwarding-for-Life Swim with the Eager

Possible Role for the Consortium Suggest Standard Hardware & Software Coordinate Help Desks and Other Support Sponsor STARS Program Certify Information Fluency Solicit Funding

Who Must Approve a Consortium Initiative in Information Fluency? Dean or Provost 34 Faculty Senate (or committee) 24 Library Director 24 Consortium Board (ACS Presidents) 23 All Colleges (in the consortium) 21 Chief Information Officer 16 Students 7 Chief Financial Officer 4 Check all that apply & add others.

Issues for Tomorrow Concepts Leaders Necessary Approvals Funding

David G. Brown Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, N.C http//: fax: