ALFIN-EEES – Skills and Competences in Information Management for Learning to Learn Within European Higher Education

Project Coordinator and Partners

The project is hosted by the Universidad de Granada es Catedrática de Biblioteconomía y de Documentación, Spain and managed by Prof. María Pinto Molina and supported by Spanish Ministerio de Educatio and Spanish IL EHEA (Information Literacy European Higher Education Area.

Background

Alfin-EEES is an educational portal targeted on students' global learning processes. It is centered on the reinforcement and acquisition of skills, competencies and know-how of a generic nature, related to all key aspects of the management, accessing and use of information, the aim being to equip the students with autonomy in information handling and in acquiring new cognitive skills in today's knowledge economy. 

Core Objectives

The aim of the project is the development of information skills utilizing the special impact of digital literacy, understood as the set of attitudes referred to the use and management of information in any of the forms in which it appears as well as of the technologies usage that lead to this information.

The methodological platform for the development of Alfin-EEES has been based on the experience accumulated in the creation of the electronic portal e-COMS Electronic Content Management Skills (2004) and on the philosophy of the models Big Six Skills (1995), Declaration of Sorbona (1998), INTO Info (1998), Declaration of Bologna (1999), BONUS (1999), CERICE (2000), ALLAH (2000), Declaration of Prague (2001), I DESSICATE (2001), European Union (2003), Declaration of Berlin (2003), initiatory and-EUROPE (2003-05) that put special emphasis on the changes on the organization of the higher education based on permanent learning, in the development of skills and transverse and generic competences for the literacy in information confronting successfully the access and use of the information to be unrolled in the society, to reach the personal targets and to develop the proper knowledge and potential.

Details

As a generic target, Alfin-EEES tries to form generic competences of the students through education representation:

• systemic: related to the identification of existing knowledge, the mapping of concepts, the development of skills for the analysis and putting together of information, capacity for the resolution of problems and the capture of decisions, aptitude to tackle progress and to propose innovations;
• informative - technological: related to use of generic software and to the management, organization, recovery and access of information in any format;
• sets of instruments: relative to the aptitude of the student to analyze and to synthesize information, to organize it, to evaluate it and to reuse;
• personnel: centered on the aptitude to be employed as teams and integration in multidisciplinary teams, together with the acquisition of ethical values at the handling and use of the information;
• evaluative: to encourage the spirit of self-criticism and the capacity of interaction of the student with the system of education - learning.

The knowledge leading to the competencies set out in Alfin-EEES is meant to be assimilated by the students using the possibilities offered by the new technologies for e-learning and teaching: hyperlinks; schemes and maps; interactive examples with problem-solving; FAQs, which will give solutions to the most problematic questions; email, which will facilitate permanent and personalized tutoring; and forums, which will provide a space for virtually debating specific subjects and sharing knowledge.

Alfin-EEES serves to promote the alphabetization of information (information literacy) and initiatives, resources of those who consult it, multiplying the opportunities of electronic self-guided learning and encouraging values as the innovation, the creativity.

Each competency and sub-competency uses the same structure for presenting the information, although the more specific level, that of the sub-competency, is more complete. For each competency, a general chart presents the contents and procedures for learning. The chart for sub-competencies, which is more specific, is very detailed and includes the development of knowledge and specific skills for the training in question, facilitating numerous activities, recommendations and resources. The basic chart is based on the theory of meaningful learning and, in general, on the constructivist paradigm, as well as on the more general consensus on efficacy and efficiency in learning processes. 

Results

Alfin-EEES is an educational portal targeted on students' global learning processes. It is centered on the reinforcement and acquisition of skills, competencies and know-how of a generic nature, related to all key aspects of the management, accessing and use of information, the aim being to equip the students with autonomy in information handling and in acquiring new cognitive skills in today's knowledge economy.

The knowledge leading to the competencies set out in Alfin-EEES is meant to be assimilated by the students using the possibilities offered by the new technologies for e-learning and teaching: hyperlinks; schemes and maps; interactive examples with problem-solving; FAQs, which will give solutions to the most problematic questions; email, which will facilitate permanent and personalized tutoring; and forums, which will provide a space for virtually debating specific subjects and sharing knowledge.

Because of their relation to information management, six blocks of transversal content have been established in the configuration of the portal's content:

• Learning to learn: the concept of learning to learn is explained - how to learn to learn, and how to be autonomous and in charge of our own learning process
• Learning to seek and assess information
• Learning to analyze, synthesize, and communicate: how to read better, how to segment the information in order to subsequently reorganize it using the techniques of outlining, graphic representation and summary, and how to communicate the new knowledge in writing, using graphic presentations while respecting the contribution of the authors whose ideas have been used.
• Learning to generate knowledge: in-depth study of the processes of creation and innovation, the principles of scientific thought and the techniques for organizing projects, in order to familiarize the student with the principal phases of knowledge generation: creation, research and development.
• Learning to work with others: the ethical bases for coexistence and teamwork are posed, as well as how to recognize and approach conflict using negotiation techniques.
• Using technology to learn: operating systems, IT office applications, communication tools and the e-learning environments most often used in universities are introduced.