Student experience of digital learning tools: information literacy training in higher education

Abstract

The paper presents a qualitative study of how students in higher education experience the use of digital learning objects as part of information literacy training. The study is inspired by the phenomenographical method and take a second-order perspective asking how students experience information literacy training and digital learning tools. The study builds on seven focus-group interviews with a total of 29 students from law, engineering, and nursing. The first part of the analysis presents results on students’ experience of the digital learning tools across the cases with focus on student motivation. The second part of the analysis focuses on the roles of the different actors in information literacy building. The analysis illustrates how the use of digital learning tools and face-to-face information literacy training is deeply related to the roles of the different actors taking part in the information literacy practice. The academic librarian is almost invisible to the students in two of the three cases, but student interaction with the digital learning tools promote visibility. The findings confirm related research on the importance of integrating information literacy training into curriculum and nuances our understanding of how students experience information literacy training and digital learning tools.