Framework Five: Thing 4: Managing Information

Managing Information: 

The CILN Framework's ACTUAL DEFINITION 

Understanding the scholarly practices within their discipline, learners engage with relevant information, related workflows and develop strategies for handling information of all kinds. They demonstrate the ability to identify, gather and synthesise perspectives relevant to a research topic. Information has value and, as creators and users of information, learners will understand their rights and responsibilities (ethics) when participating in a community of scholarship. Information use requires learners to provide appropriate attribution and citation to sources they use and to develop practical skills to manage the range and variety of information sources they employ. 

PART A TASK: Managing Information: my definition

Managing information: gathering and handling relevant information for a purpose; dealing with it in an ethical manner, understanding the responsibilities we might have for that information, whether for ourselves, our colleagues and/or the wider community. Understanding our responsibility leads to establishing robust systems which are effective and efficient. 

PART B TASK 

Personal Story: Managing flower images for a collage 

When we’re not in lockdown I usually spend time creating flower displays for the church I go to. And especially Easter Sunday! Endeavouring to find a way to emulate displays of the past, I had the idea of creating an online equivalent which could use lots of people’s flower/garden images and create a collage. My first priority was to request images and I used Facebook and Instagram to reach out to friends. Photographs soon started coming through but in quite a variety of different formats and through different tools! First job was to download them from FB, WhatsApp, email, instagram, MSM (this was a picture of a painting from a 4-year old sent in by her mum!)  and then to store them ready for working. I was determined right from the word go to make sure that I included at least one image from everyone who had contributed so it was vital that I downloaded and stored and named all the images systematically. I labelled each image with a number and the name of the person. (70 images in total). Spending the time at this point was crucial to being confident that I was handling their images appropriately and not leaving anyone out. The result was fun (at least I had fun), I completely enjoyed the process and was able to put it back onto FB and Instagram for Easter Day confident that I had fulfilled my intentions. 

Work Story: Action items in notebook 

At work I have failed miserably to have a consistent ‘place’ for a to-do list. I am messy and disorganised a lot of the time and fly from one thing to another at great speed. Essentially, I have the kind of memory which means that if I put something somewhere, or if I call something a name, or if I write something down, I generally remember it. There have been two other main things (apart from my memory) which have made the biggest consistent difference to me.  Neither are fool-proof, but help. 

1. 1. My notebook which I carry everywhere and scribble in (when I occasionally revert to post-it notes, that is usually a ‘bad thing’ for information management). At my best I date the top of every page, or at least put ‘meeting with x or y’. I can go back to the notes, follow up with a summary email and return to them if I meet the person again 
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2. 2. The key to the notebook (and an action list) is a system for annotating notes. Having been present in an annual lecture for several years on the trot, given by an academic for students on taking notes in lectures, some of the key messages mentioned had an impact on me. Primarily the academic was recommending techniques for the students to use to protect their future selves. Eg colour code an important sentence written down, or write QN for direct quotation you have written verbatim, or R for reference etc. Doesn’t matter what the system is, but have one. I do and this is what helps me manage actions. About once a week I flit through my notebook spot the items marked for action that I have not already done and make my to-do list.  
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Success at information management? Sometimes. Combined with my email inbox style of not using folders and leaving everything in one box, but quickly searchable in one place, and a pretty good memory for when a thing happened, as well as putting everything in the calendar are what I depend on. And a habit of looking ahead in the calendar. The other crucial thing for my own information management is knowing how I operate at my best with organising things. Last thing in day is not my best time, but 7.45 am is better. I feel that when I am completely focused I manage information ‘better’ but I’m not especially good at professionalism or collaboration because of two key issues: a) I form habits exceptionally quickly  b) it is imperative that I find ways of ‘seeing’ a system of organisation for myself in order to understand it, and that usually takes me engaging with writing and storing those items for myself.  

Framework Five; Thing 3 Critical assessment

Woohoo! I'm back into Framework Five. Not without a LOT of effort to squeeze some thinking time in to my remote working diary. But essential for the reminder of what we're about in using the Framework.

Our Framework definition of 'critical assessment' goes like:

“Learners critically examine the resources they are using, asking relevant questions about origins, context, and suitability for the current information need. They understand the importance of how authority, such as disciplinary expertise, is constructed and will determine the credibility of a source. They understand that the information they find is influenced by those who select and curate information, in addition to those who create it.” 

My version: 

Critically assessing resources means appreciating the rationale for how far to trust the item found, whether by determining how credible that source is, or who owns the material and incorporated it, for example, in a database, judging its current relevance and whether it can be ‘good enough for now’ or must be ‘perfect’. 

Examples:
1. Personal : finding shoes from Jones Bootmaker 

I love a particular pair of shoes I bought on a whim from Jones about 3 years ago. I was not impressed/quite sad that the heel splits quite quickly. I went back to them sometime ago and asked what could be done – apparently not a lot. Despite the heel issue they are sooo comfortable that I bought a second pair about a year ago as I was passing by the shop and spotted the same style. Now they are coming to the end of their life, so I decided to repeat the exercise in lockdown by ordering online. I knew the style (or so I thought) and the size and colour. I went on the Jones website, checking that I was on the correct website and not a look-alike one, searched high and low, tried using the filters eg style and price and eventually found two near-similar looks. But I was not convinced that they were 'the' shoes and I'm not the world's best 'returner' of items bought online so didn't want to make a mistake. I decided I was not prepared to order them as I was adamant I wanted the same thing again (comfortable shoes, the best ever!). I persevered with search, but this time found my current shoes and eventually a number inside which might or might not have been useful. Back to website, and entered the number and up came the shoes (not either of the pairs found earlier which appeared to be similar). Double check images carefully and style (zip down one side). Convinced, so I buy two pairs. They arrive - they are right. 

2. Work-related: Finding an Alison Hicks article. 
I knew that Alison had written a great article about 'situated learning' (in fact HM has sent it via email to me once before - or I thought she had). Finding the email in my inbox just impossible regardless of how I tried so.....I searched google scholar, I searched Alison Hicks' website for her bibliography, I tried other IL sources and citations. I found a possible contender but the closest to what I was looking for seemed to be a book chapter and I had thought it was an article.  Read it and wondered if it was right, but I want to cite it and need to be completely sure that I have this right. Resort to HM again for confirmation which I get. Thanks HM.

Interesting question for myself - did I critically assess a resource, or did I just persevere with a search. In the last example I regarded final confirmation from HM as 'authority' as I knew they knew (if you see what I mean) and I assessed whether what I had found had the message I thought I had remembered. In the first example I think that I critically assessed the search results I found and found them wanting because of the lack of crucial information. But it's is interesting that I found myself reverting to these types of examples.......