Category Archives: Metaliteracy

Metaliteracy Explored in New Open Praxis Article about Digital Storytelling

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Circular diagram of the metaliteracy model.

What is the connection between the metaliteracy model and digital storytelling? Read the new article entitled Integrating Metaliteracy into the Design of a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Course in Digital Storytelling (Mackey & Aird, 2022) just published in Open Praxis.

According to the new article co-authored by Dr. Thomas Mackey and Dr. Sheila Aird:

This paper describes the redesign of Digital Storytelling as a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course that was taught in fall 2020 and spring 2021 at SUNY Empire State College. Metaliteracy is integrated into the learning design of this fully online course to enhance the virtual international experience. This pedagogical model encourages metacognitive reflection and the production of digital narratives as individuals and in collaboration with peers.

(Mackey & Aird, 2022)

An earlier version of this paper was presented by Mackey & Aird at the ICDE Virtual Global Conference Week 2021: Upskilling and upscaling for quality Open, Flexible and Distance Learning (OFDL) in October 2021. The paper was then preselected for publication in Open Praxis, the peer-reviewed journal published by the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE). To learn more about this digital storytelling collaboration, explore the Global Digital Stories blog managed by the two authors.

Mackey, T. P., & Aird, S. M. (2022). Integrating Metaliteracy into the Design of a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Course in Digital Storytelling. Open Praxis, 13(4), 397–403. DOI: http://doi.org/10.55982/openpraxis.13.4.442

There Is Now a Wikipedia Article for Metaliteracy!

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On May 11, 2022, the Metaliteracy article was accepted for publication in the English language version of Wikipedia! It will now be easy for those interested in the framework to find out more about it via one of the most common sources of information in the world.

This move from draft status to published article has been a number of years in the making. Two previous drafts were not approved. However, Gina Barrett of Canada, an experienced Wikipedia editor (Redwidgeon), took on the effort of addressing the issues with the latest draft. These attempts centered on Wikipedia’s notability requirement. As a part of this work, she identified a number of substantive works about metaliteracy beyond those of Tom’s and Trudi’s to be incorporated into the article. She also offered to work with a group of dedicated students from an international course last fall, Intercultural Perspectives on Information Literacy and Metaliteracy (offered by the University of Hildesheim, Germany and several global partners). These students, from the USA, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and India, had chosen to work on the Wikipedia metaliteracy draft article as their course project. While they had to wait some months to see if their work was ultimately successful on the Wikipedia platform, they now have the satisfaction of knowing that they met their goal of article approval. We would like to thank Feda Kulenovic, Ellen Ballato, Chris Jose, Goutami Rane, Luka Boskovic, and Rabea Schoershusen for their most professional work, as well as the international perspectives they brought to the project.

Just a little bit about the process of adding information to Wikipedia: While it is true that anyone can contribute, that does not mean that everything that is added remains. There are vigilant volunteer editors (contributors to Wikipedia are known as editors) and bots that do clean-up work, both minor and more substantive. As a part of this content checking, articles can be flagged for deletion if particular issues connected with Wikipedia expectations aren’t addressed. Beyond notability, another Wikipedia requirement relates to conflict of interest, meaning that Trudi and Tom are not able to work on the article themselves. For more information about editing on Wikipedia, this guide provides an overview.

Like all Wikipedia articles, the metaliteracy article is subject to revisions and additions. It will be interesting to follow both its Talk and History pages over time. While the article currently appears only in the English language version of Wikipedia, perhaps we will be able to celebrate new or translated metaliteracy articles in additional Wikipedias in the future!

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 Goals and Learning Objectives Now Available in All Eleven Official Languages of South Africa!

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Picture of "one world" text with image of the Earth as a sign.

In celebration of the start of the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages, the UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and OER contributed to extending access to resources on metaliteracy by facilitating the translation of the Metaliteracy Goals and Learning Objectives into all official languages of South Africa.

Prof. J.A.K. Olivier, UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and OER, Research Unit Self-Directed Learning, North-West University (NWU), South Africa, arranged for the translation of the Metaliteracy Goals and Learning Objectives into eight additional South African languages: isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa, Siswati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga.

This substantial expansion of the translated Metaliteracy Goals and Learning Objectives builds upon previous translations in two other official South African languages (the 11th official language is English), Afrikaans and Setswana, as well as French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Thanks to all of our translators! If you would like to contribute to this metaliteracy global project, just 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.

Explore Open Pedagogy and Metaliteracy During Open Education Week March 7-11

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The week of March 7-11 is Open Education Week (OEWEEK 2022). There are many events happening around the world, live and virtually, that address Open Education. We hope that you might be able to attend Open Pedagogy and Metaliteracy, given by Trudi Jacobson and Tom Mackey. We will be delving into characteristics of pedagogy and exploring how metaliteracy can scaffold the opportunities and challenges that open pedagogical teaching and learning methods introduce. This is our second Prestige Lecture as honorary Extraordinary Professors in the Research Unit Self-Directed Learning, Faculty of Education, North-West University, South Africa.

The virtual lecture explores themes from our new book for ALA Publishing, Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers. The event is open to anyone who would like to attend.

Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X5X1rwdRQ02n2DpjdSqNGw

Metaliteracy and Its Role in Self-Directed Learning

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In a Prestige Lecture presented as a virtual event for North-West University (NWU) in South Africa, Profs. Tom Mackey and Trudi Jacobson explore the topic of Metaliteracy and Its Role in Self-Directed Learning. This talk is based on their new book for ALA Publishing Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers. Tom and Trudi presented as part of their honorary appointments as Extraordinary Professors in the Research Unit Self-Directed Learning, Faculty of Education, North-West University (NWU), South Africa. They appreciate the invitation from Elsa Mentz, Director of the Research Focus Area Self-Directed Learning and Professor in Computer Science Education and Jako Olivier, UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and OER and Professor in Multimodal Learning at NWU. The entire presentation is available online via YouTube. Registration is open for their next Prestige Lecture scheduled for Tuesday 8 March 2022 8:00AM-9:00AM (Eastern time). Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X5X1rwdRQ02n2DpjdSqNGw

Workshop on Teaching and Mentoring with Metaliteracy

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A new metaliteracy workshop by Prof. Tom Mackey was presented online for the Center for Mentoring, Learning, and Academic Innovation (CMLAI) at SUNY Empire State College. Tom conducted this interactive workshop as part of his appointment this year as Dr. Susan H. Turben Chair in Mentoring. The presentation, entitled “Metaliteracy in Teaching/Mentoring Practice,” was recorded and is available via SUNY Empire’s LEARNscape platform. The session provides a theoretical overview of the metaliteracy model and explores ways to integrate metaliteracy roles and objectives into learning activities. Specific examples of metaliteracy in practice are provided from courses that Tom teaches, including Digital Storytelling, Ethics of Digital Art & Design, and Educational Planning. Participants of the workshop learned about the theory and practice of metaliteracy and considered learning activities to apply in their own teaching. The themes and techniques discussed in the workshop are transferrable to a wide range of settings.

Recorded Session: Metaliteracy and Teaching/Mentoring Practice

Connecting Metaliteracy, Open Pedagogy, and Wikipedia Editing

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Trudi Jacobson has written a post for the WikiEdu blog under the title above. In it, she very briefly explores these elements as they are explained in the new book she wrote with Tom Mackey, Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers (ALA/Neal-Schuman, 2022). She mentions that in chapter 3, the authors show how ”metaliteracy provides a comprehensive scaffolding and framework for the learning, and indeed the teaching, that takes place in open pedagogical environments” (p. 85). Chapter 4 includes course-based case studies, one of which is centered on the educational Wikipedia editing program offered by Wiki Education.

Image credits: Jfhughesus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Illustrated by Jasmina El Bouamraoui and Karabo Poppy Moletsane, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Metaliteracy Featured in Two Prestige Lectures at the Invitation of Northwest University (NWU) in South Africa

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Picture of the cover for the book Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers

Profs. Trudi Jacobson and Tom Mackey have been invited to present two Prestige lectures as part of their honorary appointments as Extraordinary Professors in the Research Unit Self-Directed Learning, Faculty of Education, North-West University, South Africa, These virtual events explore themes from their new book for ALA Publishing Metaliteracy in a Connected World: Developing Learners as Producers and are available to everyone.

Register for either or both lectures at the links below:

Prestige Lecture 1: Metaliteracy and Its Role in Self-Directed Learning (SDL) with Profs. Tom Mackey and Trudi Jacobson

Friday 11 February 2022 8:00AM-9:00AM (Eastern time). Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mj8jdegwSpCTJRnbqPuXtA

This first lecture will trace the origins of the metaliteracy framework in relation to changing conceptions of information literacy and revolutionary changes in the social information environment. We will explore the evolution of metaliteracy as a distinct model with core components that include a focus on learning domains, active learner roles, associated characteristics, and reinforcing goals and learning objectives. 

Prestige Lecture 2: Open Pedagogy and Metaliteracy with Pros. Trudi Jacobson and Tom Mackey

Tuesday 8 March 2022 8:00AM-9:00AM (Eastern time). Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X5X1rwdRQ02n2DpjdSqNGw

The use of open pedagogy provides students with the opportunity to engage deeply in their own learning, but the responsibilities involved may be unfamiliar and stressful. The metaliteracy framework provides scaffolding that encourages student success. This lecture will delve into how metaliteracy and open pedagogy can work hand-in-hand.

Join us for both lectures exploring the metaliteracy framework and its application in pedagogical situations.

In 2019, Tom and Trudi presented a Prestige Lecture in person at NWU in South Africa at the invitation of Jako Olivier, UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and OER and Professor in Multimodal Learning about Exploring the Foundation of Metaliteracy in Theory and Practice.

We hope to see you at the newest lecture series available online! Be sure to register today!

Tom and Trudi