conceptions of geospatial information: implications for information literacy education
DESCRIPTION
According to Nazari's contextual methodological model emerged from her PhD study, people's conceptions and experiences of information in real-life contexts play a key role in illuminating competencies they need to effectively make sense of, and use information. In this presentation, Nazari presents four conceptions of geospatial information as emerged from the conceptions of a group of GIS educators and students in a joint online distance learning GIS partnership programme in the UK and US. Drawing on the conceptions, she presents several competencies identified in the context of each conception and discusses their implications for information literacy education. Hope you find it useful :)TRANSCRIPT
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Conceptions of Geospatial information: Implications for Information Literacy Education
Maryam Nazari
University of SheffieldDepartment of Information Studies
Information Literacy: Research and Strategy Seminar, Centre for Information Literacy Research, University of Sheffield, March 2008
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Overview
• The study background
• Methodology
• Conceptions of Geospatial information
• Implications for information literacy education
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Information literacy
A set of competencies which helps individuals:• to recognize when they have a need for information• to determine their information need and their
needed information• to find, evaluate, and use information effectively
Learning how to learn lifelong learning
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Two big questions
IL in IL in the GIS ODLthe GIS ODL
What does IL mean in disciplinary areas?
How can it be illuminated?
Competencies neededto accomplish GIS tasks
Nature and characteristics of GIS discipline
To explore real learning and teaching experiences
Various meaning and conceptions
Various meaning and conceptions
To explore real learning and teaching experiences
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
A rationale for this study
Information Information Literacy EducationLiteracy Education
What does it mean in disciplinary areas?
How can it be illuminated?
Competencies neededto accomplish information
and learning tasks
Nature and characteristics of GIS
Some other disciplines but NOT Geographic Information System/ Science (GIS)
Phenomenography and Survey but NOT
Exploratory Case Study
Librarians but FEW Academics and
educators
Face to face but NOT Online Distance Learning (ODL) programs
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Methodology
Real information andlearning needs
Perceptions, and teaching and learning experiences of,
GIS and geo/spatial information
Real IL educational needs
An embedded An embedded
exploratory case studyexploratory case study
Identify
Explore - Academics and students
- 30 GIS ODL courses
- 3 ODL programs
- semi-structured interview
- questionnaire
- students’ reflection
- document study
- To identify competencies GIS students need: a) to be able to find, evaluate, and use geospatial information; b) to solve problems geo/spatially
Explore
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Exploration of Geospatial information conceptions
Data collection– In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 27 academics
and 7 students
Questions- How would you describe geospatial information (GI)
and what makes it unique?- How would you describe the physical format of GI?
Data analysis- Grounded theory methods
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Conceptions of GI
Spatial Temporal
SpatiallyTechnology-mediated
Spatially contextualised
Geospatial Geospatial informationinformation
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Conceptions of GI - 1
Spatial
Geospatial Geospatial informationinformation
Location
Attributes
Locational (e.g. name of streets, postal codes)
Non-locational (e.g. diseases, pollution, sand, water etc)
Represents the earth feature
Information about the location
Information about the target phenomenon in the location
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Conceptions of GI - 2
Temporal
Geospatial Geospatial informationinformation
It represents features of the earth in certain point(s) of time
It is about a dynamic-temporal phenomenon i.e. the earth
It has a life span e.g. census data
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Conceptions of GI - 3
Spatially contextualised
Geospatial Geospatial informationinformation
needs to be spatially conceptualised and contextualised
socially and geographically constructed phenomenon
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Conceptions of GI - 4
Spatially technology-mediated
Geospatial Geospatial informationinformationGI is
readable and usable by GIS
It needs to be formed and transformed
- x,y,z coordinates;- latitude-longitude;- spatial identifier
GI is originally in any format
- Text; e.g. names of streets, lakes etc- Number; e.g. table of census data, columns of spreadsheet etc- Visual formats; e.g. maps, graphs, digital maps and images, scanned aerial photographs etc.
but readable and usable in certain formats
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Forms of mediation
Formation
Manipulate
Analysis
Handle
Communicate
Map
Apply
Display
Overlay
Transformation
Organise
To make sense of GI
To make use of GI
With the involvement of spatially and non-spatially enabled technologies and tools
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
User input
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Forms of user input and needed competencies
Conception User input Competencies
C1- Spatial Spatial way of thinking of GI
- To conceptualise GI as a spatial phenomenon
- To understand, visualise, represent GI as 3-D information
C2- Temporal Spatial and temporal way of thinking of GI
- To conceptualise GI as a dynamic and temporal phenomenon
- To understand, visualise, represent GI as 4-D information
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Forms of user input and needed competencies
Conception User input Competencies
C3- Spatially- contextualised
- Contribution to the formation and making sense of GI as socially and geographically constructed information
- Contribution to the contextualisation of the data spatially
- To have awareness of this feature of GI
- To have knowledge of the contextual issues around the GI
- To conceptualise and contextualise GI as a spatial and temporal phenomenon within its social and geographical context
- To apply the GI as spatially-contextualised information for various purposes e.g. making plans, decisions etc
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Forms of user input and needed competencies
Conception User input Competencies
C4- Spatially technology-mediated
- Contribution to the spatial formation and transformation of GI in the forms of various cognitive and operational activities
- To understand the way that technology (GIS) perceives GI
- To select appropriate operations to form and transform GI
- To evaluate and select appropriate spatially and non-spatially enabled tools and technologies for certain operations and purposes
- To use various spatially and non-spatially enabled tools and technologies
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Implications
• Librarians and information literacy experts• To move from generic IL models (e.g. Big6,
SCONUL, ACRL) toward a specified IL framework which meets the specific needs of GIS learners
• To enable students to identify their information and learning needs by thinking and questioning critically
• To re-think the construction of IL tutorials
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
• GIS educators The variation in the ways of perceiving GI calls for an IL
approach that:• makes students aware of the user input element and
enables them to diagnose their information and learning needs
• enhances the GIS curriculum by integrating the competencies explicitly in the GIS course objectives
• facilitates students learn how to interact with, and use, GI more effectively within technological environments (ODL)
Implications – cont.
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
University of SheffieldDepartment of Information Studies
The John Campbell TrustGlobal Exchange Program Award
- Ms. Sheila Webber (my supervisor in Sheffield)- Dr. Robin S. Smith (my GIS advisor in the ICOSS)- Mr. David DiBiase (my advisor in Penn State)- Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) - Global
exchange program award- The John Campbell Trust – CILIP- GIS instructors and students in the Universities of Leeds
and Southampton, and Pennsylvania State University
Maryam Nazari, University of Sheffield
Thank you very much
• Questions?
Please refer to:• Nazari, Maryam, and Sheila Webber. 2008. Conceptions of geospatial information: implications
for information literacy education. Presented in: IADIS Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems 2008, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 22 – 27 July.