1. ”
A “Lightning Round Session” & “Pep Talk
Florida Library Association Annual Conference
March 2, 2016
Daytona Beach, FL
Transform Lives
“Information Literacy Champions”…

2. Presented by: DeVry University South Florida & DeVry Online
• Dr. Mary Howrey
Director of Library Services
DeVry University South Florida, Miramar, FL
E-mail: mhowrey@devry.edu
Phone: 954-499-9851
Linked In Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-howrey-8740027
Blog: http://readdevry.blogspot.com
DeVry South Florida Website: http://www.mir.devry.edu/academics_library.html
DeVry University National Library Services Website: http://library.devry.edu
• Dr. Sarah Nielsen
Associate Professor, English, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
DeVry Online, Downers Grove, IL
E-mail: snielsen@devry.edu
Phone: 954-499-9860
Linked In Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsnielsen
Co-Editor, DeVry Journal of Scholarly Research
Website URL: http://newsroom.devry.edu/scholarly-research/

3. “Our DeVry U Information Literacy Mantra”--
Librarians with a “ZEST ” 4 Life-Long Learning
• Information literacy is the core of librarianship.
• Reading, life-long learning, research, problem-solving and critical thinking
are what we facilitate best for our clients!
• The Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) adopted the
Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education in February 2015.
• This presentation provides a practical “How-to” for Florida librarians in all
types of libraries—school, public, academic, special, corporate & medical.
• Information literacy is the foundation for 21st century workplace skills.

4. Reflections on…
ACRL’s “Framework for Information Literacy”
• Information literacy, as defined by ACRL, consists of six threshold concepts.
• These concepts are a way of thinking, knowing, doing and feeling as
individuals encounter problems in their daily lives and seek resolution to
these problems.
• The threshold concepts imply that learning and scholarship occur in a
larger community of learners. These concepts apply to one’s K-12 school,
college or university setting, professional networks, workplace and/or
voluntary associations.
• Examples of networks that illustrate the threshold concept, “Scholarship as
conversation” are-- Researchgate.net, LinkedIn, Listservs, the Florida
Library Association’s Annual Conference, User Groups.

5. The Six ACRL Threshold Concepts “in Action”…
@ DeVry University/Keller Graduate School of Management
• Faculty and librarians developed a six-week online course
at using the Pearson eCollege® platform.
• Course development ran from June 2013 – April 2015.
• Librarians were supported by two faculty—(1) one of our
Computer Information Systems(CIS) Professors (also our
eCollege® Champion) and (2) our Senior Professor of
Psychology.
• An “Information Literacy Champions” pilot course ran in
April – June 2015 university-wide with an initial enrollment
of 21 faculty & librarians / At the end of the course, there
were 6 Faculty & Librarians Champions who certified.

6. Components & Timeline of the eCollege® Course
Components Timeline Learning Outcomes or Product
Course Curriculum Guide June 2013 – September 2014 Terminal Course Objectives and Learning Activities with Readings
Outlined Weekly with Course Requirements (such as APA Style).
eCollege® Course Shell September 2014 to present Six weekly modules with Learning Objectives, Activities and Threaded
Discussions, Pretest of Information Literacy Knowledge and
Classroom Practices/ Project management model and methodology
to research adopted.
Webliography with Resources September 2014 to present Included meta-literacy theory and a variety of information literacy
models, websites, and selected readings for required course
assignments plus enrichment.
Weekly Announcements & E-mail gateway April 2015 – June 2015 (when pilot course
operated)
Faculty & librarian course-takers informed about weekly
requirements through a bulletin board and e-mail announcements.
Dropbox April 2015 – June 2015 (when pilot course
operated)
Weekly assignments submitted for grading based on the 1,000 point
system.
Gradebook April 2015 – June 2015 (when pilot course
operated)
Each week’s assignments including threaded discussions are assigned
points/ Course-takers and instructors view points earned/ The Final
Project and Presentation valued at 600 points/ Course Final Pass/Fail
Level set at-- 80% or 800 points.
Webinars using Adobe Connect (2) Week 1 and Week 6 of online course Each of the two webinars are two hours in length/ Week 1: An
Introduction to the Course and Learning Teams/ Week 6: Final Project
Reports and Presentations Due (any format—PPTX, website, video).
Final Information Literacy Learning Project
Reports & Presentations
Week 6 5-Page Paper Due plus Presentations via Adobe Connect Webinar
(two hours total for the Final webinar with each course-taker
presenting 20 minutes at the Final Week 6 webinar).

7. ACRL Threshold Concepts Introduced Weekly in the
“Information Literacy Champions” eCollege® Course
•Research as inquiry (Week 1)
•Searching as strategic exploration (Week 2)
•Information has value (Week 3)
•Authority is constructed and contextual (Week 4)
•Scholarship as conversation (Week 5)
•Information creation as a process (Week 6)

8. Week One: Research as inquiry
Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions
whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.
Learners who are developing their information literate abilities—
Investigate database features found in the DeVry University/Keller Graduate School of Management
licensed database service, EBSCOhost--
(a) by conducting Boolean searches in EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete database, and
(b) by setting up a “MyEBSCOhost” account across all of the licensed EBSCOhost databases
Complete the Information Literacy Survey Pre-test (20 points)
Participate in two threaded discussions for the week—
(a) “What information literacy skills/concepts do you think will benefit your students?” (40 points)
(b) Information Literacy and Future Careers (40 points)
“As librarians and educators, how can we better prepare students with the skills needed
for workplace success after college graduation?”

9. Week Two: Searching as strategic exploration
 Searching for information is
often nonlinear and
iterative, requiring the
evaluation of a broad range
of information sources and
the mental flexibility to
pursue alternate avenues
as new understanding is
developed.
“Information Literacy Champions” Program
Search Strategy/
Research Project Plan Team_________________ Date__________
What Do I
Need to
Know?
Which
Keywords?
Potential
Problem?
Problem
Solution
Which
Database
or Source
Alterna-
tives?
When
due?
Who?
Name of
Team
Member
Assign Priority #
to Topic

10. Week Three: Information has value
 Information possesses several dimensions of value--as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence,
and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information
production and dissemination.
“EBSCO Journal Alerts Feature” Discussion (40 pts.)
Explain the advantages of this type of current awareness service for continuing professional development.
What problems or barriers can you see in using this tool? How can it be made more popular and useful to our students?
“What are Core Resources in Your Teaching Field?” Discussion (40 pts.)
To keep current in your major teaching field, faculty often subscribe to journals through their professional associations
such as IEEE, ACM, APA, SHRM, PMI, ACRL, MLA.
Identify how you utilize the EBSCOhost Journal Alerts feature to stay current in your teaching field(s).
Explain the advantages and limitations of current awareness services (such as Inside Higher Education, Chronicle of
Higher Education, Academic Impressions, TedTalks) for continuing professional development.
How might you use other DeVry Library resources and databases to update your academic knowledge?
Please share examples of new knowledge or insights gained.

11. Week 4: Authority is constructed and contextual
 Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information
need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may
recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of
authority required.
Investigate ERIC resources on one of these two topics: (1) information literacy/library research or (2) career development.
Evaluate how “Best Practices” in your teaching field are supported with the ERIC full-text documents (ED)and ERIC journal
articles (EJ) retrieved on your topic of choice. What do the experts in the field say about effective information literacy
practices, library research and/or career development coaching?
ERIC Results on Information Literacy or Career Development (40 pts.) (Submit via the Dropbox)
Streaming Resources in My Teaching Field (Discussion) (40 pts.)
Explain how TED, found at http://www.ted.com, is able to build a community of learners and “construct knowledge” via its
website.
ERIC as an Open Web Database (Discussion) (40 pts.)
Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) has been indexing journals and research reports for over 50 years.
Visit the open ERIC website at http://www.eric.ed.gov to locate articles.
In your opinion, what are the strengths and weaknesses of this open web database for locating resources in higher education?

12. Week 5: Scholarship as conversation
 Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries
occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.
1. Streaming Resources in My Teaching Field: A Learning Activity (50 points) (Submit via the Dropbox)
Locate three instructional videos or podcasts in your teaching field that support information literacy competencies or
threshold concepts in classes you teach for DeVry University or Keller Graduate School of Management.
Submit a one page Word (.docx) paper (of 250 words or less) via the Week 5 Dropbox.
In the paper you prepare, identify: (1) the process you employed to locate these instructional videos or podcasts, (2) the
criteria you used to evaluate the authority of these resources, and (3) how your students’ information literacy skills and/or
critical thinking are enhanced by interacting with these instructional resources.
Be sure to cite and reference these three instructional resources using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition (2010).
2. Streaming Resources in My Teaching Field (70 pts.) (Submit via the Dropbox)
Discussion (40 pts.)
View the TEDX video on “How to use experts—and when not to.” (17:00 min.) (Release Date: 2010). Discuss the importance of
exchanging ideas with “experts” for enhancing knowledge in one’s academic field or practice area.
http://www.ted.com/search?q=how+to+use+experts

13. Week 6: Information creation as a process, or
“Adult Learning Projects” **Taken from: Tough, 1971**
 Final Information Literacy Project were clearly delineated. (Papers with a 5-page limit/APA References)
Consult this classic e-book on the methodology of “learning projects”-- Allen Tough (1971), The Adult’s Learning Projects,
found at-- http://ieti.org/tough/books/alp.htm.
 “Freedom of Topic Choice for Adult Learners” produced a broad range of Final Information Literacy Project Topics &
Presentation Media during Week 6 of the DeVry University eCollege® course.
(Examples: Annotated Bibliography of Educational Research Resources; Website for Evaluating Web Resources; SkillSoft®
Tutorial; Use of Smart Boards in K-12 Classrooms & Implications for University Teaching; Higher Education Costs;
Embedded Librarians) (Media Selected--PPTX, website, video production for the Week 6 “Information Literacy
Champions” presentations (June 2015).
 Unanticipated Course Outcome--
Individual Learning Projects Resulted in the eCollege® course rather than the Team Projects expected.
 Unanticipated Course Outcome--
6 Certified Information Literacy Champions compared to the 21 course-takers at the start of the eCollege® course.
Three DeVry Online faculty, one DeVry University campus-based faculty member, and two librarians affiliated with DeVry
University and the Chamberlain College of Nursing certified as “Information Literacy Champions” in June 2015.
 Recorded Adobe Connect Final Project Presentations from the “Information Literacy Champions” pilot program are
found online at— https://dvg.adobeconnect.com/pzutdw4ag2/.

14. DeVry University’s
eCollege® Course Outcomes & Publication Prospects
An article about our DeVry University pilot course experience was published in
the ALA Learning Roundtable’s Learning Exchange Newsletter, December 2015--
http://www.ala.org/learnrt/newsletter.
A forthcoming article appears in Florida Libraries, Spring 2016 issue.
DeVry University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved the
eCollege® course as a Research Project in January 2016. Now, the “Information
Literacy Champions” Instructional Team of librarians and faculty can report data
gathered on the course outcomes and “Final Information Literacy Champions”
Learning Projects. Publication is okay in our Team’s professional publications.
The next course is offered in the July/August 2016 session. Faculty, librarians,
administrators and colleagues will discover, through group teamwork and
individual research, the six ACRL threshold concepts over a six-week session and
receive 12 CEUs of credit.

15. IRB approval = “human subjects research guidelines“ met. Informed consent and
confidentiality apply the responses of our course-takers. Research methods mean that--
Each course-taker agrees-- (1) to complete the Information Literacy Survey pre-test and
(2) to participate in a short telephone interview at the end of the eCollege® course.
“Mixed methods” research data gathered will be reported in the library/information
science and adult education literature.
The University of Miami’s Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)
Certification Program is a requirement for IRB approval. CITI covers important “human
subjects research guidelines” in a series of 9 modules totaling 18 hours online. For
information about CITI, visit— https://www.citiprogram.org.
Our Team hopes to reach students across the curriculum in all junior/senior BS degree
programs. Our “Information Literacy Champions” course will likely expand to include
additional topics of: health literacy, financial literacy and 21st century workforce literacy
relevant to the DeVry Education Group’s total curriculum.
In conclusion, the ALA motto rings loud & clear to our Team and entire
University community—
“Information Literacy Champions”… Transform Lives!!
DeVry University IRB’s “Seal of Approval” July 2016
“Information Literacy Champions” Research Project & Course