Information School News

For World Book Day 2021, Information School Lecturer Dr Pam McKinney shares her thoughts. As a parent I have spent the last 8 years participating in world book day, making costumes for my children to wear to primary school based on their favourite characters. But WBD is far more that a glorified dressing up competition (although I won’t lie about the competitive aspect of making a good costume!). WBD encourages children to engage in reading for pleasure, and numerous studies have shown that reading for pleasure is directly related to academic success, through increasing vocabulary and confidence in reading, and affecting performance across all subjects, not just English. As my kids get older and are at secondary school I can see the importance placed on reading in this context, with tests of reading age informing assessments of progress and ability, and the central role that a school library, staffed by a qualified librarian in supporting reading for pleasure. So I will continue to get...

Celebrate UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy week with the Information school Sheila Webber and Dr Pam McKinney Unesco’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week is an annual event to celebrate and promote Media and Information Literacy worldwide. This year the week of international (virtual!) events is taking place 24th-31st October, with the theme “Resisting Disinfodemic: Media and Information Literacy for everyone and, by everyone”. The Information School has co-organised two key contributions to the week: an expert panel on 28th October , chaired by Sheila Webber, and on 29th October a programme of exciting insights from Media and Information Literacy research . Both these free events are held in collaboration with FOIL: the Forum on Information Literacy. Sheila Webber and Pam McKinney are members of this new national network of information literacy researchers in the UK, FOIL, who aim to discuss and challenge ideas, and engage in critical reflection and enquiry about ...

Global Media and Information Literacy week   is a UNESCO-sponsored annual celebration of media and Information Literacy, with events organised around the world. This year’s theme is Media and Information Literate Citizens: Informed, Engaged, Empowered and the centre for Information Literacy Research (Information School, University of Sheffield)  is responding with events and activities on this theme --------------------------------------------------------- Free bite-sized webinar for Global Media and Information literacy Week: Dr Pamela McKinney: The Information literacy of food and activity logging in three communities. 11-11.30am UK time, Thursday 24 October 2019 (check the time in your country at https://tinyurl.com/globalmila ) To join the webinar go to https://tinyurl.com/globalmilabb just before the webinar start time. It uses Blackboard Collaborate (see here  for details on how to use it). You do not have to register for the webinar in advance, but i...

Experts from the iSchool present a free and open 30 minute webinar on Friday March 22nd 2019, 10.00-10.30 UK time (see here for times elsewhere in the world): Media and Information Literacy for Informed Citizens in the Digital Age. They will highlight the value of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) for citizens’ lives, and the contribution that information and library professionals can make to developing MIL. This celebrates the first European Media Literacy week , set up to recognise the societal importance of media literacy and promote media literacy initiatives and projects. Sheila Webber (Interim Co-Chair of the European Chapter of the Global Alliance for Partnerships in Media and Information Literacy, former Standing Committee member of IFLA's Information Literacy Section and Head of the iSchool's Libraries and Information Society Research Group) will chair the webinar. She'll give her perspective on the European Media Literacy conference held earlier in the we...

Information School Lecturer Pam McKinney is one of only a small number of Faculty of Social Sciences staff to win a 'Teaching Excellence in Social Sciences (TESS) Award for Outstanding Practice in Learning and Teaching' this year. The award follows research-informed teaching methods she has employed, especially around group work. You can read some of her research on the topic in her paper 'The use of technology in group-work: a Situational Analysis of students' reflective writing.' Director of Learning and Teaching for the School, Dr Peter Stordy, has this to say: "Pam is an inspiring and reflective teacher who is highly respected by both staff and students. She consistently attracts glowing comments in student module evaluations and motivates students to produce a high standard of work. Her tenacious determination to provide genuine opportunities to develop students' employability and team work skills distinguishes her from other excellent teachers. ...

Information School lecturer Pam McKinney and PhD student Jess Elmore will be attending the 2017 Librarian’s Information Literacy Annual Conference LILAC  in Swansea next week. LILAC is organised by the CILIP Information Literacy Group, and brings together Information Literacy practitioners and researchers with the aim of improving approaches to IL teaching across the world. Pam has a long history of presenting at LILAC with colleagues and students and is delighted to be representing the Information School at this year’s conference. Pam and Jess will be available in breaks and lunchtimes for delegates to discuss the on-campus and distance learning Masters programmes, and options for full and part time PhD study with the Information School.