Contributors’ biographies
Liz Hart
Previously Director of Information Services at Staffordshire University, Liz now operates as a consultant within Liz Hart Associates.
Dr Mark Hepworth
Dr Mark Hepworth is a senior lecturer at Loughborough University in the Department of Information Science. Before that he worked for Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He teaches information literacy, information retrieval and the development of user-centred information services. His research concerns understanding learners and their interaction with information and as a result he has worked with people in a range of contexts, in the UK and overseas, including management consultants, corporate financiers, informal carers, students, librarians, people with multiple sclerosis – either to help develop systems that support their learning or to help them develop an approach, skills and knowledge to learn independently. He is curriculum adviser for the national CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) committee on information literacy.
Brian Kelly
Brian works at UKOLN, a national centre of expertise in digital information management, which is based at the University of Bath. Brian became involved in the web in its infancy, when he helped set up a website in January 1993 while working at the University of Leeds. He moved to his current job in 1996. Brian is an experienced speaker, having given over 300 presentations during his time at UKOLN. Brian was presented with the Information World Review’s Information Professional of the Year award at the Inline Information 2007 conference. Brian’s current interests include making use of standards and supporting accessibility from a user-focused position, exploring the potential of Web 2.0 and developing best practices for individual and organisational use of Web 2.0. His recent publications include Time To Stop Doing and Start Thinking: a framework for exploiting Web 2.0 services, Contextual Web Accessibility: maximizing the benefit of accessibility guidelines and A Contextual Framework for Standards.
David Ley
David is Project Manager for Technology Research and Delivery at Becta and writes and talks widely about the possibility and application of emerging technologies in education. Becta ensures the efficient and effective use of technology in influencing strategic direction and the development of national education policy. The agency works mainly with government departments within the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
Dave Parkes
David is Associate Director of Information Services at Staffordshire. A librarian by trade, David leads a dynamic learning support team of librarians, educational technologists, trainers, IT professionals, study skills staff and web designers to provide a broad array of quality services, resources and learning opportunities. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, he writes and speaks widely on the provision of information and digital literacy, e-books and emerging technologies to universities, publishers, academics and other librarians. He sits on the Horizon Report Project board for 2010, and a number of publisher advisory boards. He has recently undertaken consultancy for the Oxford University Russia Fund to help develop e-book provision in Russian universities. He is also Head of the Special Collections and Archives and chairs Inspire West Midlands – the co-operative cross-sectoral access scheme involving all NHS, higher and further education, public and special libraries in the region.
Helen Walmsley
Helen is E-learning Models Co-ordinator at Staffordshire University. This role involves her identifying best practice models for e-learning based on theory and practice and presenting them to teachers to help them develop their practice. Helen manages an online community of practice and collaboration network with over 600 members.
Dr Geoff Walton
Geoff Walton is Academic Skills Tutor Librarian and Research informed Teaching (RiT) Project Co-ordinator at Staffordshire University. His specific subject responsibilities are for psychology and sport and exercise science. As RiT Co-ordinator Geoff is involved in identifying synergies between research, teaching, learning, information literacy, e-learning and inquiry-based learning. He recently completed a PhD which analysed the development of a blended approach (a mix of face-to-face and online pedagogical methods) for delivering information literacy to first year undergraduates. He is particularly interested in the cognitive processes involved in becoming information literate. His research interests also include developing the Assignment Survival Kit (ASK), developing a process for online peer assessment and investigating academic skills needs in undergraduate students. Geoff is information literacy training officer for the CILIP Community Services Group Information Literacy sub-group.