Competency K: Teaching & Learning
“Who’s that geezer? Julius Caesar?”
“Looks to me like Ebenezer!”
“No, that there is Ebenezer!”
“This is Sir Fredrick Von Klumpleezer!”
“And this is Sir Alfred Fleuther Hilary Bilary Blern!”
“Oh my goodness gracious, all the things you gotta learn!”Oh, Oh, Oh! All The Things You Gotta Know, The Hoober Bloob Highway
Introduction
Teaching and learning in the library and information science (LIS) environment nearly go together like peas and carrots. It is almost assumed that a librarian at some point will also be a teacher, or a teacher can be a librarian (in some situations). Embedded librarians are often considered a form of teacher or satellite faculty member at many universities, for example. It is unsurprising, therefore, how many Master’s of Library and Information Science (MLIS) students can also be teachers to themselves and one another. Pedagogy is baked into every aspect of library and information science (LIS) and we’ll discuss a few novel learning opportunities below.
Digital Storytelling for Engagement
Issacs et al. (2024) discuss the unique relationship between qualitative data and its ability to be used in storytelling as a means of teaching and learning. Whether that storytelling is personal, historical, or simply informational, we have much to learn from the oral and written history of ourselves and others. Digital Storytelling (DST) is, continued Issacs et al. (2024) most commonly a form of self-expression and a means to display an enjoyment of learning. This method of pedagogy also allows students and teachers to take command of their own learning abilities and skills instead of relying on someone else’s teaching methods.
Serious Games, Serious Consequences
Tempestini et al. (2024) discuss the nature of cybersecurity pedagogy for young people as a form of “serious gaming,” in much the same way that games for the elderly and those with cognitive impairment also represent examples of serious games. Those who are more well-versed in cybersecurity threats and the younger generation(s) tend to take these so-called threats less seriously because of their familiarity and desensitization with the subject matter. Therefore, these serious games are vitally important to assist in teaching the next generation(s) how to spot ever-present and ever-evolving threats in the online world. Cybersecurity is an important issue to become educated about, due to the ever-increasing number of digital archives and files in the library and information science (LIS) world. It is important to note that gamification of and storytelling of important educational materials seems to help humanity work while they play, and since play is an adaptive trait to teach vital skills to children for future adult behaviors, this makes sense that on a qualitative level, these activities help.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Rule Them All
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is, of course, also playing a large role in future educational prospects. Sajja et al. (2024) explain how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to personalize and become adaptive to an individual for a richer teaching and learning experience. Sajja et al. (2024) state: “Furthermore, the convergence of LLMs, chatbots, and web platforms has been instrumental in redefining pedagogical methods. Here, web-hosted chatbots, powered by LLMs, can simulate ethical dilemmas, guide reflections, and provide instant feedback, ensuring that future engineers not only excel in their technical prowess but also uphold the ethical standards of their profession. However, the effectiveness of VTAs in supporting students’ learning needs in these diverse fields, where multi-modal data plays a significant role, remains an area ripe for exploration.”
This complex sentence can be better simplified into the statement that learning language models and digital pedagogy in general have come a long way in assisting students and teachers in their goal(s) of streamlining the learning process. Once again, this e-Portfolio would not be possible without the internet, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the other various boons to education that computer science has formulated in recent years. However, there is still much to do to perfect these complex and rich opportunities for learning, and as illustrated by the dates on the scholarly research presented, is all more or less “brand new” and an exciting frontier of possibilities.
Conclusion
Teaching and learning (particularly in an online environment) would not be possible or as rich an experience without the help of library and information science (LIS) professionals. My training in emerging technologies throughout my Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) program has reinforced the idea that computers, technology, and gaming are fun, and that fun is fundamental to learning something new.
Artifacts and Evidence
Artifact 1
Assignment:
Course: INFO 210 Reference and Information Services
Description:
This discussion outlines the importance of information literacy in students, particularly with children. My suggestion was to use multimedia and other visual resources to broaden the playing field, and it stands to reason that immersive multimedia games could easily become a platform for this type of pedagogy via “serious gaming”. So many in my generation remember games like The Oregon Trail and the Amazon Trail, where students could travel along the paths that our ancestors and forefathers trekked, at various levels of speed while attempting to survive the very serious pitfalls of a settler’s lifestyle. These experiences in my youth still stick with me, and I look forward to someday creating these types of teaching and learning environments for the younger generation to enjoy. People will only learn and retain what they can remember, and things that we enjoy are more likely to be remembered in an enduring sense. This mentality merely outlines the increasing interdependence of human and computer interaction (HCI).
Artifact 2
Assignment:
Course: INFO 220 Visual Resources Curation and Arts Librarianship
Description:
This discussion describes the pedagogical nature of visual arts librarianship and how interactivity and information literacy are vital to the further development and education of visual library professionals. This methodology could indeed be an opportunity for Digital Storytelling (DST) and blend the interactive nature of in-person educational opportunities with immersive Digital Storytelling (DST). While no one can guess the future, I assume that multimodal and interactive visual experiences of this type that I describe in the Week 4 Discussion will continue to improve, grow, and expand until learning by gaming is almost an instinctive and expected way of learning something new, and a rich pedagogical methodology will form. Much as I mentioned above about cybersecurity and learning with “serious games” on the part of the newer generation(s), multimedia and audiovisual digital librarianship will continue to become more and more necessary as we delve into an interconnected and “always on” world. No one knows the future, but my educated guess is that learning and teaching as we have come to understand them will make great strides in the coming years and richly evolve into something we may barely recognize compared to its inception.
Artifact 3
Assignment:
Course: INFO 283 Library Marketing
Description:
While this evidence is not as strong as some of my others, this reflection is an example of the pitfalls of a digital and interactive pedagogy. I have never been a fan of either Pinterest or VoiceThread, and the interface for both is equally problematic and annoying. This, to me, hinders the enjoyment of the educational experience and thus makes learning more difficult. Accessibility and interconnectivity in an online asynchronous environment are crucial, and I don’t believe that either of the aforementioned tools has these qualities to speak of. Any class that I took, including this one, was a struggle as long as VoiceThread was used, and much of my evidence was very difficult to save, thus the reason that I no longer have any sort of evidence beyond a reflection to prove my frustration(s) in this class. We will, in the future, not only need to increasingly teach through “serious gaming”, but also have a way to save and review these games seamlessly, much like you would with any other typical video game.
References
Isaacs, M.-A., Tondeur, J., Howard, S., Claro, M., & van Braak, J. (2024). Digital storytelling as a strategy for developing 21st-century skills: A systematic review of qualitative evidence. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 33(5), 573–593. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2024.2343929
Sajja, R., Sermet, Y., Cikmaz, M., Cwiertny, D., & Demir, I. (2024). Artificial intelligence-enabled intelligent assistant for personalized and adaptive learning in higher education. Information, 15(10), 596. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15100596
Tempestini, G., Merà, S., Palange, M. P., Bucciarelli, A., & Di Nocera, F. (2024). Improving the cybersecurity awareness of young adults through a game-based informal learning strategy. Information, 15(10), 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15100607