Do you often have teachers requesting new tools to help teach math? Richard Byrne, a blog guru, showcases his top five blogs for math teachers looking to make their curriculum stick! Meeting challenges to how traditional math instruction can be delivered electronically to students is not easy. This 1 site adds 5 possibilities for teachers. CMLE is giving it five stars-it just adds up! Each day this week he will highlight a different subject area for interested teachers. For a complete list of his top blogs go to http://tinyurl.com/b85mb99.
Tag Archives: Food for Thought
College Grads and Problem Solving on the Job
A report from Project Information Literacy – Learning Curve: How College Graduates Solve Information Problems Once They Join the Workplace is online and worthy of a thoughtful read (only 38 pages, well organized). Twenty three in-depth interviews were conducted with employers about their expectations and evaluations of newly graduated hires and their ability to solve information problems in the workplace. Five focus group sessions with 33 recent graduates were also conducted focusing on the challenges they encounter and the informaton-seeking preactices they use as they make the transition from college to workplace. For a complete understanding read the full report; if you only want the major findings, I include them here:
“All in all, our findings reveal two sides of the same coin. The basic online search skills new college graduates bring with them are attractive enough to help them get hired. Yet, employers found that
once on the job, these educated young workers seemed tethered to their computers. They failed to incorporate more fundamental, low-tech research methods that are as essential as ever in the
contemporary workplace.The major findings from our interviews and focus groups are as follows:
1. When it was hiring time, the employers in our sample said they sought similar information proficiencies from the college graduates they recruited. They placed a high premium on graduates’ abilities for searching online, finding information with tools other than search engines, and identifying the best solution from all the information they had gathered.
2. Once they joined the workplace, many college hires demonstrated computer know-how that exceeded both the expectations and abilities of many of their employers. Yet we found these proficiencies also obscured the research techniques needed for solving information problems, according to our employer interviews.
3. Most college hires were prone to deliver the quickest answer they could find using a search engine, entering a few keywords, and scanning the first couple of pages of results, employers said, even though they needed newcomers to apply patience and persistence when solving information problems in the workplace.
4. A majority of employers said they were surprised that new hires rarely used any of the more traditional forms of research, such as picking up the phone or thumbing through an annual report for informational nuggets. Instead, they found many college hires—though not all—relied heavily on what they found online and many rarely looked beyond their screens.
5. At the same time, graduates in our focus groups said they leveraged essential information competencies from college to help them gain an edge and save time at work when solving workplace information problems. Many of them applied techniques for evaluating the quality of content, close reading of texts, and synthesizing large quantities of content, usually found online.
6. To compensate for the gaps in their skills sets, graduates said they developed adaptive strategies for solving information problems in the workplace, often on a trial-and-error basis. Most of these strategies involved cultivating relationships with a trusted co-worker who could help them find quick answers, save time, and learn work processes.”
As information professionals, what does this mean in our information literacy work? Do we still stress the value of picking up a phone or paging through a print resource? The full report is available at http://tinyurl.com/8jpcqvs
23rd Public Library Report is Out!
Check out this new blog post from UpNext: The IMLS Blog about New Report Shows Trends in U.S. Library Service! According to the report, circulation, public programs and digital services are on the rise. Now in its 23rd year, the Public Library Report provides the most comprehensive data from the nation’s 17,078 public library outlets. It covers collection sizes, operating revenue and expenditures, and staffing, as well as performance indicators, such as public Internet computers, circulation, reference transactions and library visits. For the first time this year the report goes beyond the national level analysis to look at trends at the local, regional, and state levels.
Read the full post about the report at http://blog.imls.gov/?p=2645
Go directly to the full report and state by state data at http://tinyurl.com/ac39ajc
New Pew Internet Report: Library Services in the Digital Age
Patrons embrace new technologies – and would welcome more. But many still want printed books to hold their central place at public libraries.
The internet has already had a major impact on how people find and access information, and now the rising popularity of e-books is helping transform Americans’ reading habits. In this changing landscape, public libraries are trying to adjust their services to these new realities while still serving the needs of patrons who rely on more traditional resources. In a new survey of Americans’ attitudes and expectations for public libraries, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project finds that many library patrons are eager to see libraries’ digital services expand, yet also feel that print books remain important in the digital age.
“In the past generation, public libraries have reinvented themselves to become technology hubs in order to help their communities access information in all its new forms,” noted Kathryn Zickuhr, Research Analyst at the Pew Internet Project, and co-author of a new report on the survey findings. “While many patrons appreciate being able to access new digital resources at libraries, they also say they value having print books and other traditional resources at libraries and still want a personal connection with library staff. Many libraries are torn between expanding their digital offerings on the latest platforms and still providing quality resources for patrons who may lack experience with technology or the means to own the latest devices.”
The report explores:
• How Americans use public libraries
• Public priorities for libraries
• What new services people say they would use in the future
“The level of public eagerness for new services seems to be matched by wariness of changes in traditional library activities that patrons have used for years,” said Lee Rainie, Director at the Pew Internet Project and co-author of the report on these findings. “These findings paint a picture of a public that wants its libraries to be all things to all patrons. There is no clear roadmap of public priorities for libraries, so different communities will likely come up with different mixes of services as they move into the future.”
Read or download the full report: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/Library-services/
MLA Logo Request for Proposals
Are you a graphic designer who’s good at creating logos, or do you know someone who is? If so, the Minnesota Library Association is looking for you!
On January 15, MLA posted a Request for Proposals to kick off the process of redesigning the MLA logo. Please read through it and see if this is a project you’d like to take on.
A “notice of intention to bid” is due January 29 and proposals themselves are due February 15, 2013.
Questions? E-mail Kirsten Clark, MLA board member and logo committee member, at clark881@umn.edu.