Monthly Archives: December 2020

Metaliteracy Featured in Two New Articles in Communications in Information Literacy

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The latest issue of Communications in Information Literacy (CIL) features two new articles that focus on metaliteracy.

In the Perspectives section, Trudi E. Jacobson contributes her essay entitled Analyzing Information Sources Through the Lens of the ACRL Framework: A Case Study of Wikipedia. Trudi’s article starts a conversation about the six frames of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education as explored in relation to Wikipedia and through the lens of metaliteracy. As Jacobson (2020) argues:

There are a number of components in Wikipedia that align with the Framework, suggesting that an analysis of Wikipedia might serve as a contained but rich case study of how the Framework can serve as a construct whose utility extends beyond individuals’ information literacy understanding and progress. Individual frames shed light on this resource, and metaliteracy, which influenced the Framework, highlights additional elements of Wikipedia, particularly as an immersive teaching tool.

(Jacobson, p. 374).

The Innovative Practices section of CIL features a new article by Tom Mackey entitled Embedding Metaliteracy in the Design of a Post-Truth MOOC: Building Communities of Trust. Tom’s contribution provides a descriptive analysis of the grant-funded Coursera MOOC Empowering Yourself in a Post-Truth World based on the metaliteracy framework and one of the key themes to emerge from the project related to building communities of trust. As Mackey (2020) argues:

This descriptive analysis of the Empowering Yourself in a Post-Truth World MOOC shows how metaliteracy is embedded in the course to prepare learners as informed consumers and ethical producers of information. Participants gain insights about their affective responses to information by reflecting on their preconceptions and conducting research to create a digital artifact. The course-specific learning outcomes in each module are based on the metaliteracy goals and learning objectives and associated components such as the learner roles, learning domains, and characteristics.

(Mackey, p. 357)

We welcome your feedback about these new metaliteracy articles and look forward to being in dialogue with you in 2021!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Tom and Trudi

Metaliteracy in Action in Non-Disposable Assignments: Creating a Website by First Year Students for First Year Students

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Trudi Jacobson, Distinguished Librarian at the University at Albany, SUNY taught a first year experience (FYE) course this fall, one which concentrated on introducing students to topics such as selecting a major, time planning, study skills, financial literacy, and of course metaliteracy. Students worked through the SUNY OER Services’ iSucceed College Success course which includes a robust metaliteracy module (another version of Lumen Learning’s College Success doesn’t contain the metaliteracy module). In order to give students an opportunity to put what they were learning into practice, Trudi asked them to work on creating helpful content for other first-year students. This information would be added to a website that can be shared with other first year students. Groups of three students tackled an FAQ and a number of zines providing tips for this particular population. Extra credit assignments yielded two more helpful resources, one in audio and one in video format. Five examples of a course infographic project were also added to the site. A student took photos for the header for each page. Students not only had become information producers, but also teachers as well.

The site is being promoted through social media, and soon will be shared with other instructors in the program as well as students in the University at Albany’s Writing and Critical Inquiry Program (another first-year course). Most of the advice on the site is not specific to UAlbany, so please feel free to share it with others who might be interested. Take a look!