Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Build Your Own Research Database Using Docfetcher.Pptx, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

The Failure Of Skepticism: Rethinking Information Literacy And Political Polarization In A Post-Truth Era, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

Developing The Writing-Information Literacy Nexus: Results Of A Three-Year Illinois Wesleyan Mellon Grant, Chris Sweet, Joel Haefner

Christopher A. Sweet

This presentation summarizes some of the successes and challenges of a 3-year Mellon Grant that targeted both Writing and Information Literacy in the disciplines. Grant activities included collaborative assignment design, pedagogical workshops, enhanced writing tutor training, and additional professional development opportunities.

Starting From Scratch: Meaningful Integration Of Information Literacy Through Collaborative Course And Assignment Design, Chris Sweet, Meghan Burke

Christopher A. Sweet

Instruction librarians are all too familiar with well-intentioned research papers and assignments that reduce information literacy to a simplistic checklist (must include 4 peer-reviewed sources) or set of skills (use interlibrary loan, cite materials properly). Librarians and classroom faculty should recognize that information literacy cannot just be magically imparted to students through a single assignment or library instruction session. Becoming information literate requires repeated practice in a variety of contexts. How often have you wished for the opportunity to just sit down with a faculty member and start from scratch when designing an assignment –or even better- an entire course? …

Intellectual Property And Attribution In A Cross-Cultural Context: Understanding International Students’ Attitudes Towards Citation And Plagiarism, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

Beliefs regarding intellectual property and attribution in the United States vary greatly from those held in other parts of the world. International Students studying in the U.S. for the first time often struggle in writing classes with the when, why, and how of academic attribution and citation. Following the cultural norms of their home countries, these students often end up unintentionally plagiarizing portions of their writing. This presentation will examine cultural variations in regards to intellectual property and attribution. It will also provide guidelines for helping instructors and librarians who work with international students in writing courses.

The Role Of Information Literacy In Service Learning Courses: A Case Study And Best Practices, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

Service Learning is a quickly growing movement within higher education that empowers students to utilize classroom knowledge to solve a problem or effect a change within their local community. Information Literacy is critical for getting students to understand the “why” and “how” that should ground all service learning projects.

This presentation will begin with an overview of the service learning movement. Next, I will present a case study of my experiences as an embedded librarian in an Environmental Studies Senior Seminar. The presentation will conclude with a summary of emerging best practices for incorporating information literacy into service learning courses.

The Role Of Information Literacy In Service Learning Courses: A Case Study And Best Practices, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

Service Learning is a quickly growing movement within higher education that empowers students to utilize classroom knowledge to solve a problem or effect a change within their local community. Information Literacy is critical for getting students to understand the “why” and “how” that should ground all service learning projects.

This presentation will begin with an overview of the service learning movement. Next, I will present a case study of my experiences as an embedded librarian in an Environmental Studies Senior Seminar. The presentation will conclude with a summary of emerging best practices for incorporating information literacy into service learning courses.

Selecting, Implementing And Teaching A Web-Scale Discovery Tool, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

In the fall of 2010, Illinois Wesleyan University reviewed all the major web-scale discovery tools available to libraries. We chose to be a beta-test site for EBSCO’s Discovery Service (EDS) and conducted usability testing with students. We eventually purchased EDS and did a full roll-out this past fall semester. This presentation will address the philosophy behind web-scale discovery along with our experiences regarding selection, testing, implementation, evaluation, and teaching. The presentation will also include live search demonstrations using Wesleyan’s EDS interface.

Wikipedia And The Wisdom Of The Crowds: Re-Thinking Knowledge Creation, Reliability And Expertise In The Age Of Wikipedia, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

In the span of 10 years Wikipedia has grown to include 3.8 million articles. The site currently receives almost 3 billion page views per month in the United States. Wikipedia’s success is due largely to its reliance on crowdsourcing to create and distribute information. This Non-Org will address questions such as: What is the wisdom of the crowds? How is Wikipedia shaping today’s information landscape? How reliable are Wikipedia articles? and How should higher education respond to Wikipedia?

S.O.P.A., P.I.P.A And O.P.E.N.: What’S The Big Deal?, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

No abstract provided.

Departing The Desk: Reference, Change And The Art Of Letting Go, Christopher A. Sweet, Sue Stroyan, Stephanie Davis-Kahl

Christopher A. Sweet

What happens when librarians decide to radically change their reference service model? Our presentation will discuss the impact of the new model on librarians’ time and workload, student assistant perspectives on their new roles, and the student training program developed to support student assistants at the desk.

Beyond The Basics: How Can Librarians Teach What We Truly Care About?, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

Most research instruction sessions do very little in the way of inspiring creativity among students. The great majority of these sessions engage students only at the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Remembering and Understanding). This often occurs by necessity- someone has to teach students research basics before they can ever hope to use research as part of a creative process. At the same time, we didn’t become librarians because we were passionate about Boolean operators! How can librarians move beyond the basics and begin to teach big-picture information literacy concepts such as intellectual freedom, critical thinking, and ethical use of …

Writing And Refining Information Literacy Learning Outcomes, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

One of the cornerstones of effective information literacy assessment is having clearly-defined student learning outcomes. Learning outcomes specify what learners will know or be able to do as a result of a learning activity. Accrediting bodies often look for specific learning outcomes as one component of the review process. Most librarians have received little –or no- training in writing learning outcomes. This workshop will provide an overview of learning outcomes, their role in assessment and how to write them. Participants are encouraged to come with an instruction session or class for which they want to write or refine learning outcomes.

Nurturing Failure: Creating A Risk-Tolerant Library Culture That Embraces Change And Innovation, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

The culture of success is pervasive in our society. It is unacceptable to get anything other than an “A”. “Win at all costs.” “No room for error.” At the same time, we know that great inventions always come after a long string of failures. In the corporate world, a few very successful companies and entrepreneurs have learned that calculated risk and the freedom to fail are the keys to innovation and progress. This webcast will examine how creating a risk-tolerant culture can aid in keeping academic libraries both vibrant and relevant in the current economy.

Towards An Information Literacy Continuum: Examining The High School To College Research Transition, Christopher A. Sweet, Amanda Pilgrim, Dana Convery

Christopher A. Sweet

We know that many students have difficulties meeting faculty expectations for college-level research. Basic search strategies, critical thinking and evaluation skills are often lacking. Increased dialogue between academic librarians, school librarians and teaching faculty could begin to address some of these problems in a proactive manner. This presentation is a small step in that direction. Chris Sweet, Information Literacy Librarian at Illinois Wesleyan University, will introduce this topic from an academic librarian’s perspective. Dana Convery, English and Literature instructor at Prairie Central High School, will discuss high school research from the trenches. What research skills are being taught in the …

Wikipedia And The Making Of A (Wo)Man: Biographical Construction In The Digital Age, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

Did you know that according to their Wikipedia biography entries, Senators Edward Kennedy and Robert Byrd both died on January, 20, 2009? In reality, neither Senator died on that date. Robert Byrd is still very much alive and Edward Kennedy lived through August of last year. In a few short years, Wikipedia has come to dominate the field of easy-to-access information on just about any topic. Due to prominent placing in search engine results, the first stop for biographical information is often Wikipedia. Since Wikipedia entries are user-generated, errors and blatant smear campaigns are commonplace. Political hopefuls now carefully craft …

Going Green To Save Some Green: Library Contributions To Campus Sustainability, Christopher A. Sweet, Meg Miner

Christopher A. Sweet

In a time of shrinking endowments and reduced budgets can libraries really hope to make an impact on a global problem like climate change? In this presentation Illinois Wesleyan University librarians Meg Miner and Chris Sweet will argue that not only can libraries play a significant role in furthering campus sustainability but that dwindling budgets can actually be a catalyst for positive environmental changes. Miner and Sweet are both members of the Illinois Wesleyan GREENetwork and will draw upon their personal experiences in campus environmental efforts for this presentation; they will offer practical ideas for implementing “green” library initiatives that …

Video Games And The Da Vinci Code: Effective Use Of Multimedia In Information Literacy Instruction And Tutorials, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

Admit it, we've all had students nod off during instruction sessions! The material we need to cover is essential to student learning, but difficult to present in an engaging manner. Effective use of multimedia means utilizing technology to supplement (but not replace!) good teaching practices. This presentation will look at how to incorporate some freely available multimedia sources into your instruction sessions and library web tutorials.

Nurturing Failure: Re-Conceptualizing Library Leadership To Embrace Change And Encourage Innovation, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

No abstract provided.

Following The Public’S Lead: What Public Libraries Do Better Than Academic Libraries, Christopher A. Sweet, Aimee Dziekan

Christopher A. Sweet

No abstract provided.