Harnessing technology to improve workplace information skills

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Harnessing technology to improve workplace
information skills

• Elizabeth Mallett
• Research and Innovation Projects Manager
• Library and Learning Resources Centre

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Information overload?
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IDC white paper (2005) reported workers spending
an average of 14.5 hours/week reading and
answering email and 9.5 hours/ week searching for
information, of which 3.5 hours were spent
searching and not finding. De Saulles (2007)
calculates 3.7 billion spent annually by UK SMEs
on time wasted looking for information they
cannot find.
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Government initiativesEmployability

• See recent CBI report Future fit Preparing
  graduates for the world of work

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Employability is A set of attributes, skills
and knowledge that all labour market participants
should possess to ensure they have the capability
of being effective in the workplace to the
benefit of themselves, their employer and the
wider economy.
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Employability skills include

• Self-management
• Teamworking
• Business and customer awareness
• Problem solving
• Communication and literacy
• Application of numeracy
• Application of Information Technology

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The eight essential graduate skills identified
by John Moores Univ are

• Analysing and problem-solving,
• Teamworking and interpersonal skills,
• Verbal communication,
• Written communication,
• Personal planning and organising,
• Initiative,
• Numerical reasoning,
• Information literacy and IT skills.

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Information literacy skills in an employability
context

• Value and context of information
• Finding information
• Organisation information
• Creating information
• Using information
• Sharing information

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addresses the following university
agendas

• Employer engagement a flexible programme for
  employers on effective information management in
  the workplace
• Employability an integrated portfolio of
  information management skills for students
• Bite-sized learning inform research into
  curriculum design for learning in the workplace

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Using the resources

• LOG
• Audio/video
• Multimedia/flash
• Mobile

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Tensions - agendas and expectations

• Whose skills agenda is it?
• Who determines access to this learning?

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Addressing these tensions

• Bite size
• Free
• Multi-format

By gointernationalgroup.com on Flickr
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• Multi-format
• Responds to learner needs and preferences
• Adds flexibility

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Recognising achievement

• What form should recognition take?
• Formal or informal?
• The OU RAP

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Recognition solutions

• Integrate into Foundation Degree mandatory
  courses.
• Develop self-assessment and record of competence
  tools

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References

• De Saulles (2007) Information literacy amongst
  UK SMEs an information policy gap, Aslib
  Proceedings, vol. 59, no.1 pp.68-79
• CBI report Future fit Preparing graduates for
  the world of work at http//highereducation.cbi.or
  g.uk/uploaded/HRE_091_Future20Fit20AW.pdf

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Contact details

• Elizabeth Mallett
• Tel [phone]
• e.a.mallett_at_open.ac.uk
• Twitter _at_LizMallett
• iKnow website (go live date 21 Sept 09)
• www.open.ac.uk/iknow