Peer Review

Data Literacy for Librarians

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Oct 5, 2023 by ICT Literacy

Bookmark

Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This online professional development program on data literacy for librarians was developed by the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis. This program focuses on seven foundational data literacy competencies and uses FRED® data to provide opportunities for hands-on learning.

Type of Material:

Online Course

Recommended Uses:

Assign modules as homework and discuss in class; build into a micro digital credential course

Technical Requirements:

Works on Windows browsers

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Learners will be able to:

Define data literacy competencies
Complete knowledge checks
Apply the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database skills to data literacy scenarios
Use Fred to adjust data graphs and chart to reflect changing factors

Target Student Population:

Graduate Students, Librarians, Professionals

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Basic ICT skills required, knowledge of economic, statistics, and data literacty is helpful

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The course is designed as series of one-concept modules that accumatively demonstrate specific aspects of basic data use. The information, which was developed by professional librarian and data experts with an IMLS grant, is accurate and current. The material is self-contained, although it links to external data sources. Quizzes and knowledge checks reinforce content throughout the course. The course can be used by different types of librarians at different points in their careers. Links work and are labelled appropriately.
Concerns:: A few links didn't work, also some text and activities seem out of order

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: The course has specific objectives, which align with ICT literacy standards. Little prerequisite knowledge is needed, although the target audience is librarians so it is assumed that one understands basic librarianship. The modules carefully build upon each other, and the activities are anchored by the FRED (federal reserve economic data) set. As such, the materials provides in-dept data literacy instruction which focuses on economic, census, and other government and proprietary data.Each module includes resources, a highly scripted hands-on activity, and a graded quiz. The material is not only useful for librarians in their daily practice but can be used by several other industry sectors.
Concerns:: The economic data set might not intrigue all librarians and it is the only dataset in the course; in that respect, it has a narrower scope than might be hoped. At the same time, the amount of content can be overwhelming

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The course structure and directions are very clear. The Canvas platform-based ayout is clean and professional looking; the course is easy to navigate and does not need advanced technology; the tools are available from the site. The course is very interactive: both in terms of manipulating the dataset and in taking quizzes to check for understanding; users cannot progress if they do not do well on the quiz. Users can also estabish collaborative groups. A help feature is present, and the source provides immediate feedback as well as will email the learner about progress. The site appears to be ADA-compliant.
Concerns:: Users need to register in order to access the free program.

Other Issues and Comments:: Substantail amount of content covered, may be overwhelming for some users. The data literacy focus is specific to economic and other government generated data and should not be confused with other types of digital data.
Creative Commons: