Huntingdonshire Regional College’s journey with

Information Literacy and E-Safety

Abigail Cuthbertson Head of Learning ResourcesHuntingdonshire Regional College

• Context• IL and E-Safety in FE• Our example• Thinking of running a qual?• Future Plans

Huntingdonshire Regional College

• Small FE college near Cambridge.• Apprentices, Access courses, HE courses (through

Anglia Ruskin), BTEC courses, LLDD courses.• Vocational areas: Motor Vehicle, Engineering, Hair and

Beauty, Art and Design, Fashion, Photography, Childcare, Sport, Uniformed Public Services.

ResourcesStructured

Class Support

Drop In Support Assignment

Hand in

E&D

E-books / Online Resources

Reading Challenges

A space to learn

Book displays and celebrations

Independent Learning Sessions

Information Skills

E-Safety

Literacy Support

Numeracy Support

IT Support

Support Using Resources

Support with CVs and Job Applications

Flexible and responsive to staff and

student needs

Information Literacy for FE

• How to search the internet effectively.• Evaluating sources for academic value (bias,

credibility etc).• Awareness of plagiarism and how to avoid it

through referencing.• Range of starting points.• Range of levels of ability.

Functional Skill for life• Future Identities report.• 'IL empowers people so they can make informed

decisions...’ (Secker 2007 p2).• Digital divide: skills not access to technology.

'It is as absurd to try and solve the problem of education by giving people access to information as it would be to solve the housing problem by giving people access to bricks.' (Laurillard 2002 in Secker 2007 p4).

Information Skills - Difficult to Deliver• Timing in year – context.• Must be generic but engaging to varied subject

areas.• Staff to deliver it.• Range of ability in FE.• Perceived as dull!

• Previous experiences.

• Biggest problem: Learner perception of ability is much higher than actual ability.

• High levels of confidence is one of the noted iGeneration traits. (Rosen 2010 p47).

Confidence vs AbilityBlue = learner confidence level

Red = staff assessment of learner ability

Note-taking Time Management

0

2

4

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20

From summer 2011 surveys of staff and students at Huntingdonshire Regional College.

Very Confiden

t / Very

Able

Confident /

Competent

Okay

Not Confiden

t / Not V

ery Able

Not Sure

02468

101214161820

Confidence vs AbilityBlue = learner confidence level

Red = staff assessment of learner ability

Web Searching / Evaluating Sources Referencing / Bibliographies

From summer 2011 surveys of staff and students at Huntingdonshire Regional College.

Very Confiden

t / Very

Able

Confident /

Competent

Okay

Not Confiden

t / Not V

ery Able

Not Sure

02468

101214161820

0

5

10

15

20

25

Confidence vs AbilityBlue = learner confidence level

Red = staff assessment of learner ability

Essay / Assignment Planning

From summer 2011 surveys of staff and students at Huntingdonshire Regional College.

Very Confiden

t / Very

Able

Confident /

Competent

Okay

Not Confiden

t / Not V

ery Able

Not Sure

02468

1012141618

Encyclopaedia Britannica research amongst

secondary school students indicates '...a huge gap

between young learners' proficiency with technology,

which is often highly advanced, and their skills

in analysing and understanding the

information - and risks - presented by such

technology.‘ (Grant 2012)

Summer 2011

• Created Xerte Tutorials for Info Skills

Autumn 2011

• Delivered sessions to 36 classes

Winter

2011

• Reflections and feedback from LRC Staff and learners

Spring 201

2

• Foundation degree IT students worked on Xerte tutorials

Spring 201

2

• Head of LRC completed PTLLS

Summer 2012 – E-Safety• Decided to deliver BCS Level 1 E-Safety.• Response to employability concerns

around social networking.• Response to concerns around

safeguarding.• Funded qualification - college earns

money for each learner. • LRC is a curriculum area.

What does it look like?• 20 guided learning hours.• Workbook.• Xerte e-learning tutorials.• LRC sessions + homework.• Exam – 75% pass mark.

Impact• Raised profile of e-safety across the

organisation.• Employability.• Discussion between learners.• Ideas for Induction 2013.• Income – funded qual.

Benefits of Xerte for Info Skills

For the learner• Resource that learners can go back to – unlike

presentation from Librarian.• Engaging – continuous feedback on learning.• Learner feedback.• Supports varied learning styles and activities.

For the college• Staff utilisation – para-professional can deliver.• Can use as cover.

Thinking about doing something similar?• Check funding.• Target classes, not individual sign ups.• Think as a learner: what will I get out of this?• Differentiation stretch and challenge.• Can you staff it?• Do a basic teacher training qual.• Consider mode of assessment.

Your place in your institution

Future plans 2013-14• Funding changes College certificate/ready for

work scheme.• Induction 2013 activities.• Resources are recyclable.• Better sessions for each academic year – keep

reflecting, iterating and improving.• Safer Internet Day 2014 – work with Student

Council and Student Services.

Bibliography

• Campbell, A. et al. 2007. Learning, Teaching And Assessing In Higher Education: Developing Reflective Practice. London: Learning Matters.

• CEOP, 2013. Who Can I Tell If I’m Worried? [online] Available from: http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/11_16/report/ [Accessed: 3rd September 2012].

• Chatfield, T., 2012. How To Thrive In The Digital Age. London : Macmillan.• CILIP, 2003. Information Literacy: Definition [online] Available from: <http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-

involved/advocacy/information-literacy/pages/definition.aspx> [Accessed:13th April 2012].• CILIP, 2013. Health literacy skills need to be improved. CILIP Update, January 2013 p7.• Get Safe Online, 2013. Just How Safe Are You? [online] Available from:

https://www.getsafeonline.org/quiz/[Accessed: 3rd September 2012].• Government Office For Science, 2013. Future Identities Changing Identities In The UK: The Next

10 Years [online] Available from: <http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/foresight/docs/identity/13-523-future-identities-changing-identities-report.pdf> [Accessed: 20th February 2013].

• Grant, I., 2012. 'Generation Y-fi': library resources in the mobile age. CILIP Update, October 2012 p24.

• Hill, C., 2008. Teaching With E-Learning In The Lifelong Learning Sector. London : Learning Matters.

Bibliography (2)

• Molesworth, M. et al., 2011. The Marketisation Of Higher Education And The Student As Consumer. Oxon: Routledge.

• Parcell, L., 2012. Child Safety Online: The Kickstart Guide To Protect Your Child From Internet Dangers. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

• Petty, G. (2004). Teaching Today: A Practical Guide. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.• Powers, W., 2011. Hamlet's Blackberry: Building A Good Life In The Digital Age. London: Harper

Perennial.• Rosen, L. D., 2010. Rewired: Understanding The iGeneration And How They Learn. Hampshire:

Palgrave Macmillan.• Rowlands, I. et al., 2008. The Google generation: the information behaviour of the researcher of

the future. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives Vol. 60 No. 4, 2008 pp. 290-310.• Scales, P. (2010). Teaching In the Lifelong Learning Sector. London: Open UP.• Secker, J., 2007. The Information Literacy Cookbook : Ingredients, Recipes And Tips For

Success. Cambridge : Chandos Publishing.• Whitworth, A., 2009. Information Obesity. Cambridge: Chandos Publishing.• Vaidhyanathan, S., 2011. The Googlization Of Everything (And Why We Should Worry). California

: University of California Press.

Any questions?Abigail CuthbertsonHead of Learning Resources01480 379175abigail-cuthbertson@huntingdon.ac.uk