Category Archives: metaliteracy mindset

Metaliteracy Presentation at OLC Accelerate Explores Online Courses in the Digital Media Arts

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How does metaliteracy support creative and collaborative learning in fully online courses? This year’s Online Learning Consortium’s Accelerate 2022 conference featured a presentation by Tom Mackey about applying metaliteracy in Digital Media Arts courses at SUNY Empire State College. The presentation, entitled Effective Strategies in the Digital Media Arts to Inspire Creativity and Collaboration examines how metaliteracy influenced the development of several online courses that envision learners as knowledge producers. According to the abstract for this presentation:

Online courses in the Digital Media Arts offer effective models for designing innovative learning activities in a wide range of disciplinary settings. Several courses in the Digital Media Arts at SUNY Empire State College, such as Digital Storytelling, Ethics of Digital Art and Design, and Information Design have been developed to include open educational resources (OER) to replace textbooks. In addition, openly-available digital resources have been curated in these courses to support individual and collaborative learning activities for producing original and remixed information. 

As part of this presentation, the learning outcomes for each course are shared along with specific pedagogical strategies that have proven to be effective in each class. These techniques are transferrable to a wide range of modalities and disciplinary settings beyond those described. The presentation includes several digital media projects produced by students as well as feedback from learners about the experience.

If you have questions about these fully online courses taught by Tom Mackey at SUNY Empire State College, feel free to reach out any time.

Metaliteracy Featured at the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL) Global program

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The application of metaliteracy in a Digital Arts course at SUNY Empire State College about Ethics of Digital Art & Design was featured at the 2022 Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL) Global program. IELOL Global is a leadership development program that is facilitated by the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and features narratives about collaborative work in relation to both local and global digital learning initiatives. Tom Mackey was invited to share a story about his teaching of metaliteracy in relation to one of the the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He presented Reflections on Quality Education: From Cyprus to Online to the 2022 cohort during the “Discovery Phase” of the program. The presentation explores the translation of a blended, international residency about Ethics of Digital Art and Design into a fully online course in the Digital Arts. He wrote about this course previously in an essay entitled “Translating a Blended Cyprus Residency Study in the Digital Arts to Online” for All About Mentoring, a SUNY Empire State college publication.

Mackey, T. P., “Translating a Blended Cyprus Residency Study in the Digital Arts to Online” All About Mentoring Issue 55 Autumn 2021, (pp. 37-42).

Metaliteracy Virtual Presentation at the “National level Symposium on Skilling for Higher Education” in India 

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A new presentation by Trudi Jacobson and Tom Mackey entitled Developing a Metaliteracy Mindset: Benefits for Yourself, Employers, and Society was featured as part of an invited talk at the “National level Symposium on Skilling for Higher Education” in India. Tom and Trudi were invited to present at the symposium by Dr. Tessy Thadathil, Vice Principal, Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce, Pune. This event was organized by the Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce in cooperation with the Symbiosis Centre for Skill Development. The Symposium was funded by Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), which was launched in 2013 to provide strategic funding to eligible State Higher Educational Institutions and supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. 

The metaliteracy session focused on shifting mindsets for a connected world:

How do you shift mindsets for today’s complex information environment? The opportunities for producing and sharing informative content today are myriad, collaborative, far-reaching, and fluid. In today’s global society, businesses need ethical information producers and self-directed learners who are able to keep up with dramatic changes to the work environment. In your personal life and communities, you may face the same change-related challenges. Regardless of the setting, you need to consider how you contribute to a connected world as an effective information evaluator and reflective information producer.

Explore the slides for this presentation and note the survey response to two questions about the metaliterate learner roles:

Third Academic Minute Program about Metaliteracy

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The June 27, 2022, Academic Minute program featured Trudi Jacobson, and, of course, metaliteracy. The episode is entitled, Students Reflect on their Roles and Responsibilities as Wikipedia Editors. It is the first in a week of episodes by professors and instructors who teach using the Wiki Education initiative. Although the program airs on a number of National Public Radio (NPR) stations, it is produced here in Albany, NY at WAMC. This makes Trudi’s affiliation, which is listed as North-West University (NWU) in South Africa rather than the University at Albany, seem a bit odd, but in order to appear on the program, one needs to be actively affiliated with an institution of higher learning. Trudi is Distinguished Librarian Emerita at The University at Albany, SUNY and both she and Tom Mackey were appointed Extraordinary Professors at North-West University (NWU) in South Africa, soon after presenting a metaliteracy Prestige Lecture as well as keynotes and workshops there in 2019. As part of their honorary appointments, their latest Prestige Lectures at NWU continue in a series this year and next.

This is the third Academic Minute episode that features metaliteracy. Tom Mackey recorded the first, Metaliterate Leaners, which aired on May 18, 2020. Trudi’s first was Renewable Assisgnments, Wikipedia, and Metaliteracy, from December 15, 2021. As indicated by the name of the series, these are quick listens. You might want to give them a try if you’ve not already heard them. This newest episode includes quotes from two students who made connections between their work as information producers on Wikipedia, metaliteracy and learning.

Feel free to use these short clips as part of your teaching practices related to metaliteracy!

-Trudi

New Metaliteracy Book Reviewed in the Latest Journal of Information Literacy

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Now that Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers has been published, what do the critics think? We were thrilled to read this review of our new book written by Jodie R Heap from Staffordshire University in the latest issue of Journal of Information Literacy, one of the premiere journals in the field!

According to Heap’s book review of Metaliteracy in a Connected World:

The flow of the text works well to introduce the reader to the concepts surrounding metaliteracy and then proceeds to provide evidence and a variety of examples of metaliteracy in action within Higher Education settings. The reader is supported in their understanding of how application of the metaliteracy framework and concepts could vary depending on the course. The activity section deserves particular appreciation —it provides various examples through which the framework could be applied, a useful scaffolding tool which not many texts offer.

(Heap, 2022, p. 131)

The reviewer provides an analysis of all six of the book’s chapters and argues that “It offers a useful jumping off point for both teachers and librarians in exploring the application of metaliteracy in the classroom” (Heap, 2022, p. 132).

We appreciate this review of our latest metaliteracy book published by ALA Neal-Schuman and look forward to seeing how it is received by authors and practitioners in the field and beyond. If you are aware of other reviews, feel free to send them our way!

Tom and Trudi

HEAP, Jodie R. Book review of Mackey, T., and Jacobson, T. 2022. Metaliteracy in a connected world: Developing learners as producers. Journal of Information Literacy, [S.l.], v. 16, n. 1, p. 131-132, june 2022. ISSN 1750-5968. Available at: <https://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/JIL/article/view/BR-V16-11-1>. Date accessed: 20 june 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.11645/16.1.3217.

American Library Association (ALA) eLearning Solutions Features Metaliteracy Webinar

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Registration is now open for an interactive webinar about metaliteracy offered by the American Library Association (ALA) eLearning Solutions continuing education program. Trudi Jacobson and Tom Mackey will facilitate this live event entitled Teaching with Metaliteracy: Developing Learners as Producers on July 14, 2022 at 1:30 pm CDT (2:30pm EST). Participation in this 90-minute webinar will lead to a certificate of completion.

According to the description for this workshop:

Participants in this event will go through the core components of this holistic framework, including learning domains, learner roles, characteristics, and the reinforcing goals and learning objectives. The instructors will explain the relationship between metaliteracy and the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Participants will explore options for learning design that will meet the needs of their students and start a plan for incorporating metaliteracy in their formal or informal teaching. The instructors will provide opportunities to discuss and adapt the metaliteracy goals and learning objectives to multiple disciplines and settings.

(Webinar Description)

The webinar is based on Tom and Trudi’s latest book for ALA Neal-Schuman, Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers, and will illuminate ideas from the text.

We look forward to seeing you at this next metaliteracy virtual event! If you have any questions in advance, be sure to let us know!

Trudi and Tom

Metaliteracy Explored in Deliberative Conversation about Identifying and Resisting Misinformation

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Picture of Tom Mackey presenting at Deliberative Conversation. Photograph take by Anita Brown.

A new metaliteracy workshop was facilitated by Prof. Tom Mackey as a Deliberative Conversation at the SUNY Empire State College Student Academic Conference on April 7, 2022. This was the first in-person student conference at the college since the global pandemic prevented such face-to-face gatherings for two years.

The interactive workshop provided an excellent opportunity to engage with students directly about Developing Metaliteracy to Identify and Resist Misinformation. This most current Deliberative Conversation was organized by Anita DeCianni-Brown, Collegewide Career Development Coordinator at SUNY Empire.

Photo of Tom Mackey and Students at Deliberative Conversation.

For additional background about the development of Deliberative Conversations at SUNY Empire State College, explore the paper by Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Rhianna C. Rogers and co-PIs (including Anita Brown) for the Rockefeller Institute entitled The Value of Deliberative Conversation in Participatory Action Research A Student Commentary on the Buffalo Project – Academic Year 2017-18 (Murawski, et. al., 2020).

The metaliteracy resources, questions, and techniques applied in this workshop are openly available and transferrable to a wide range of settings. Feel free to facilitate your own Deliberative Conversation at your institution based on this presentation.

Photo credit: Thanks to Anita DeCianni-Brown, Collegewide Career Development Coordinator at SUNY Empire.

Metaliteracy Featured in ALA Neal-Schuman Interview

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A new metaliteracy interview with Tom Mackey and Trudi Jacobson is featured in the ALAstore blog to coincide with the publication of their book Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers. Rob Christopher, Marketing Coordinator at ALA Editions | ALA Neal-Schuman conducted the interview and asked questions related to the origins of the metaliteracy framework, the timeliness of metaliteracy, the “learner as producer” dimension of the model, and the relationship of a “growth mindset” to lifelong learning. Here’s one excerpt from the interview that addresses the importance of a “growth mindset” and the development of a metaliteracy mindset:

If you have a fixed mindset, you are much less likely to delve into new areas that require time and energy to succeed. Your lifelong learning would not be able to develop in creative and inventive ways. But with a growth mindset, the world’s your oyster! You just need to make a commitment and follow through on it when you are serious about learning or accomplishing something new. And you have to realize that there will be stumbles along the way–it is inevitable. Making mistakes is such an important part of the learning process, and the value of these experiences can be drawn out through the metacognitive dimension of metaliteracy.

(https://www.alastore.ala.org/MJconnectinterview)
Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers (2022)