Online conversation: information literacy as discourse between peers

The objective of this paper is to outline a fresh approach which seeks to harness students’ predilection for communication by exploiting its value as a learning tool to teach information literacy (IL). This approach was used in the first-year undergraduate core module Research and Professional Development. Inquiry-based learning, IL (particularly information discernment) and online peer assessment were used to create active online learning opportunities where students learnt by doing: they read, reviewed, reflected on and commented on other’s work (a draft essay) via a Virtual Learning Environment. These online conversations were informed by face-to-face workshops on research skills, critical thinking, plagiarism and referencing and the Assignment Survival Kit (ASK) www.staffs.ac.uk/ask . This approach not only produced a noticeable change in student achievement, but brought together e-learning and IL to deliver a range of IL learning outcomes including information discernment.