New iteration: Rethinking Digital Literacy to Serve Library Staff and Users eCourse

For Immediate Release
Thu, 03/15/2018

Contact:

Colton Ursiny

Administrative Assistant

ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions

cursiny@ala.org

Chicago—ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions announces a new iteration of our popular eCourse, Rethinking Digital Literacy to Serve Library Staff and Users. Paul Signorelli will serve as the instructor for a 4-week facilitated eCourse starting on Monday, May 14, 2018.

What is digital literacy? Do you know how you can foster digital literacy through formal and informal learning opportunities for your library staff and users?

Supporting digital literacy still remains an important part of library staff members’ work, but sometimes we struggle to agree on a simple, meaningful definition of the term. In this four-week eCourse, training/learning specialist Paul Signorelli begins by exploring a variety of definitions, focusing on work by a few leading proponents of the need to foster digital literacy among people of all ages and backgrounds. He  explores a variety of digital-literacy resources – including case studies of how we creatively approach digital-literacy learning opportunities for library staff and users, and explores a variety of digital tools that will help to encourage further understanding of this topic.

Now, who is ready to build their digital-literacy skills and help their users become digitally literate as well?

eCourse outline

Part 1: Digital Literacy: Initial Definitions and Explorations

  • An overview of various definitions of digital literacy
  • Several components of digital literacy
  • Exploring Doug Belshaw’s extensive work on defining and fostering digital literacy

Part 2: Digital Literacy: Crap Detection and Other Skills and Tools

  • Exploring Howard Rheingold’s approach to crap detection and other digital literacy/net literacy skills
  • Participation, collaboration, creativity, and experimentation as digital-literacy skills
  • Building our digital-literacy toolkit

Part 3: Digital Literacy in Learning

  • The varying digital literacy needs of our youngest students, of teens, and of adults
  • Exploring various online resources supporting our digital-literacy training-teaching-learning efforts
  • The myth of the digital native

Part 4: Fostering Digital Literacy: Creating Within a Digital Environment

  • Creating a framework to promote digital literacy
  • Designing workshops and other learning opportunities
  • Keeping up in an evolving digital literacy landscape

About the Instructor

Paul Signorelli served as director of staff training for the San Francisco Public Library system before becoming an independent writer-trainer-instructional designer-presenter-consultant. Much of his work involves fostering community and collaboration face-to-face and online through libraries, other learning organizations, and large-scale community-based projects including San Francisco’s Hidden Garden Steps project, which has its origins in a conversation that took place within a local branch library. He remains active on New Media Consortium Horizon Report advisory boards/expert panels, in the Association for Talent Development (ATD--formerly the American Society for Training & Development), and with the American Library Association; adores blended learning; and remains a firm advocate of developing sustainable onsite and online community partnerships that meet all partners’ needs. He is co-author of Workplace Learning & Leadership with Lori Reed and author of the upcoming Change the World Using Social Media (Rowman & Littlefield, Autumn 2018).

Registration for this ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions facilitated eCourse, which begins on May 14, 2018, can be purchased at the ALA Store. Participants in this course will need regular access to a computer with an internet connection for online message board participation, viewing online video, listening to streaming audio (MP3 files), and downloading and viewing PDF and PowerPoint files.

ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions (ELS) produces high-quality professional development events and materials for the library profession. ELS events cover modern issues on a wide variety of topics in formats that include live workshops, asynchronous eCourses, and print publications. We help ensure that today’s library employees have access to the professional development opportunities they need, whether they are brushing up on the basics or expanding their horizons with cutting-edge tools. Contact us at elsmarketing@ala.org.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide.