News & Blog

Changes are afoot for the Information Literacy Modules. An upgrade to the Obojobo system on December 20 will result in a new viewer. The look of the Information Literacy Modules will be enhanced with a more beautiful color scheme and page layout.

IMPORTANT: We will make minor edits to some of the modules to make the new viewer compatible with our content. These edited modules will not be available until after Dec 20.

If you have questions, please email Infolit or contact Elizabeth Killingsworth or 407-823-4250.

Happy Holidays!!

In 2009, President Barack Obama designated October as Information Literacy Awareness Month.  The official proclamation notes the challenges of negotiating 21^st Century information overload and the significance of teaching information literacy to help students “be adept in the skills necessary to effectively navigate the Information Age.”

Information literacy integrates several key 21st century skills that provide students with the tools needed to access, evaluate and use information sources effectively and ethically – and to be successful in educational and workplace environments by empowering them as learners and workers to become informed decision makers.

Recent studies such as the ERIAL Project: Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries have highlighted some common roadblocks students experience during resource discovery, such as:

• uncertainty about effective research concepts and strategies,
• reliance on search engine authority,
• inability to effectively evaluate sources, and a
• lack of awareness of how or why to ask for help.

The UCF libraries provide many ways to integrate information literacy concepts and skills into your courses, including:

• Twelve information literacy modules (http://infolit.ucf.edu/faculty)
• Library instruction sessions (http://library.ucf.edu/Reference/Instruction/)
• Embedded librarians in your webcourses (contact Elizabeth Killingsworth)
• Research consultations (http://library.ucf.edu/Reference/ResearchConsultations/Default.asp)

We encourage you during Information Literacy Awareness Month to contact us about ways you can incorporate information literacy concepts and skills into your courses. You can consult the Information Literacy web site at  http://infolit.ucf.edu or contact us at infolit@mail.ucf.edu

Amazingly, a new fall semester is almost here. If you are just discovering the UCF Library Information Literacy Modules, or if you have previously used the modules, here are some reminders and news as you plan for the coming semester.

First, we’d like to thank you for using the modules! It warms a librarian’s heart to see the success of this project! As of June, almost 200 faculty have used the modules in over 170 unique courses, with over 47,000 assessment completions by over 12,000 students. We appreciate your support!

Creating New Instances
We’d like to remind you to create new instances for your courses and delete old instances so that scores from previous semesters do not co-mingle with your student scores for this fall. If you haven’t used the modules recently, you may need a refresher on setting up a module for your course. If so, instructions can be found here   http://infolit.ucf.edu/faculty/getting-started    If you’d prefer, we would be happy to help in person, by email, or by phone.

New Features
We also have a few new features:
• All 12 modules now have a 2nd set of assessment questions to increase the rigor of each module;
• Student scores now sync with WebCourses and are pushed into your grade book;
• Student scores now have a date and time stamp to more accurately reflect when a module was completed;
• Students now receive a confirmation email with their score.

Student Instructions
When assigning modules to your students, it may be helpful to include the following text along with the instance URL to the module:

Below are links to Information Literacy Modules that you will complete. You will login with your NID and your NID password.
If you don’t remember your NID, you can look it up here: https://my.ucf.edu/nid.html
If you’re unsure of your NID password, you can reset the password using this online form: http://mynid.ucf.edu
If you need help or have questions, you can use this FAQ: http://infolit.ucf.edu/students/help/ or contact the Ask a Librarian service: http://library.ucf.edu/Ask

Feedback and Help
All modules have been updated and revised as of May 2011. If you have feedback on any of the module content or on the system, please let us know. Your input continues to improve what we provide.

If you have questions about assigning the modules or about instructions to give your students, please let us know. You can consult the Information Literacy web site at  http://infolit.ucf.edu or contact us at infolit@mail.ucf.edu  We are always happy to help!

We’re proud to report that the Information Literacy Modules are being used in courses and programs across the university! Since the initial release of the modules in June 2008 to April 30, 2011, the modules have been used by 184 faculty members in 176 unique courses or programs. There have been 1520 instances created (or instructor-assigned versions) that have been accessed by 12,069 (unduplicated) students who have completed 47,215 assessments (includes multiple module topics) with an average score of 88.04%.

The modules are being used both in undergraduate and graduate courses. Interviews with frequent users of the modules indicate that faculty use the modules as individual assignments, as part of a larger assignment, as extra credit, or as an optional resource for students.

As always, please let us know if we can answer any questions regarding the modules!

Since the new Information Literacy Modules have recently been released, and as you begin a new semester, we want to remind you that you will need to create new instances for your classes so that scores from this semester will not be co-mingled with scores from previous semesters. You may also consider downloading any old scores you might need and then deleting old instances to avoid any confusion.

Also, you can use this link to view a brief module demo that highlights what is included in a module, if you would like more information!

We are pleased to announce that the Information Literacy Modules have been updated. Eleven of the twelve modules now have a 2nd set of assessment questions so that students will be tested with different questions upon their second attempt. Only one module remains unchanged. The RefWorks module will be updated in the next month to reflect features in the new version of RefWorks that was released on May 4th. As soon as the module is updated to the new version, you will be notified.

New features that make assigning the Information Literacy Modules even easier now allow you to send student scores directly to your Webcourses. To use this new feature when you create an instance, simply select your course from a drop down list, and then select the option to sync scores. A grade book column will be created and assessment scores will go directly into that column. Another new feature adds the date and time when students submit assessments. This feature can help you determine more accurately when students submit their assessments. Also, students will now receive an e-mail confirmation with their scores each time they complete a module assessment.

New versions of the information literacy modules will be available in May. The new versions will include an additional set of assessment questions for each module, and this new test bank will improve the rigor of each module. We’ve also updated content and graphics as needed for each module.

A system upgrade will also occur on May 5 and the system inaccessible. With this in mind, please make new instances of modules for your classes starting the week of May 9th to take advantage of this new test bank and new content. Note: You may want to delete old instances from previous semesters at the time you create new ones to eliminate confusion.

UCF’s Information Literacy Modules are designed to support skills and concepts that enhance students’ information competencies. They include a range of topics such as avoiding plagiarism, the differences between scholarly and popular sources, applying search strategies, how to use Google Scholar, and criteria for evaluating websites. Module content is designed to aid students in interacting with a rich variety of diverse sources and to foster skills about how to identify, access, and use information.

To see what’s included in a module, please link to our Module Demo — or see our FAQ to learn more about the modules and assigning them in courses.

For additional questions or comments, please contact us at infolit@mail.ucf.edu

Information Literacy Modules Demo

We’ve created a brief video to give you an inside look at some content and features included in the Information Literacy Modules. You’ll see an overview of content, practice, and assessment screens from three of the modules. You’ll also see examples of student assessment scores that may be download for your courses.

Currently, there are twelve modules covering topics that are designed to help students learn skills for accessing, evaluating and using information sources.

Click the Play arrow in the module demo screen to begin viewing the demo!