Information School News

Information School PhD student Jessica Elmore (co-supervised by Sheila Webber and  Dr Peter Stordy) is recipient of the inaugural Mark Hepworth Memorial  Award. The award commemorates Professor Hepworth  (1955-2016).  Jessica  received the award for submitting the best abstract to the i3  (Information: interactions and impact) conference. Her paper, which  she presents on 29 June at i3, is entitled "Information Sharing in the  ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) classroom: a case study" She is shown here with i3 Chair Professor Peter Reid and Professor  Graham Matthews, from Loughborough University, where Mark was a  faculty member.

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. ...

PhD student and LIRG student dissertation prize paper winner Jessica Elmore has been published in Library and Information Research . Her paper An exploration of the information literacy experiences of home educating families (8-28) was co-written with Dr Peter Stordy

Dr Peter Stordy of the Information School is a co-investigator on a successful grant led by Professor Simon Tait in the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering. The project is entitled "Fostering evidence led research in the Water Industry - establishing a foundation that connects" and will involve the development of an open multimedia learning and knowledge resource for the water industry. The project is funded by UK Water Industry Research.

The Information School has won the award for Best Student Staff Committee at the Student Union's 2015 Academic Awards. The award recognised the Information School Student Staff Committee's success in: Making a difference to students in the department Ensuring that students' views are communicated the staff and that students are considered when decisions are made Achieving positive change and making improvements for students in the School Congratulations to all involved in the Student Staff Committee.  Pictured below with their award are Dr Peter Stordy, Committee Coordinator, and current undergraduate students Alaa Al Sairafi and Bent Bunge.

Congratulations to Dr Jorge Martins and the Information School's Student Staff Committee, coordinated by Dr Peter Stordy, who have been nominated in the 2015 Student Union Academic Awards. Jorge has been nominated for "The Best Feedback Award" and the School has been nominated for "The Best Student Staff Committee Award". The Academic Awards Ceremony will be held on 21 May 2015 and will be attended by Jorge, Peter and student reps from the Student Staff Committee. Good luck!

A paper on 'Taxonomy of Literacies' by Dr Peter Stordy, University Teacher in the Information School, has been published in the Journal of Documentation. The paper explores the different conceptions and types of literacy, and argues a need for a taxonomy of literacies that reflects more recent developments, comprehensively captures the current literacy landscape and might have affordances in the future. The paper can be viewed here .

Today a number of iSchool academics are presenting at the the University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Sciences learning and teaching conference. The talks are: Pamela McKinney and Barbara Sen : Situational analysis of group work: student reflective assessment Paul Clough : Utilising MOLE for multiple choice assessments: a case study in the Information School Peter Stordy : Back to the future: reinventing exams Sheila Webber : Futurelearning! Reflections on teaching in the Future Learn Play MOOC Briony Birdi: Supporting isolated adults via the Six Books Challenge in Sheffield: developing student cultural awareness and community engagement

The Information School would like to congratulate  Jess Elmore who has been awarded the 2014 Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) Student Prize for an outstanding research-b ased project. LIRG offers the Student Prize award to promote a greater awareness  among  students of the importance of research and to facilitate the dissemination of the results of outstanding projects.  The prize is awarded to a student who has completed a course leading to a first professional qualification recognised by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) in Library and Information Studies departments.   Jess' MA Librarianship dissertation was entitled  “We don’t go home. We carry on our lives: An exploration of the information literacy experiences of home educating families”.  The awarding committee believed the dissertation  "to be of an extremely high standard as well as having an original focus" which is fan...

Dr Peter Stordy of the Information School will be presenting today (4 July 2014) at the Higher Education Academy STEM (Computing): Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Databases 2014 conference in Southampton. The presentation will focus on teaching approaches and will discuss how success rates have been improved in a database design module within the Information School.

Dr Peter Stordy and Dr Andrew Cox of the Information School have been awarded funding from the University of Sheffield’s Faculty of Social Science for a project which aims to generate new sustainable ways in which the I nformation S chool S tudent- S taff C ommittee members can bring about a better student experience.   This project began in February 2014 and is based upon Appreciative Inquiry (AI).   AI is a strengths-based approach to change and aims to look towards the future and make changes and improvements based upon positive experiences and strengths.   To date, the project team of staff and students has explored the learning experiences which students have found to be positive and memorable during their time in the Information School.   These in turn have been used to help shape and inform student wishes for the future which will help to change and improve the student experience.

Peter Stordy successfully passed his PhD viva in January. His thesis explored Information School undergraduates' and academics' perceptions of Internet literacy.