About
Helen has contributed significantly to the development and enhancement of the Library and Information Science (LIS) profession through her involvement in the Evidence Based Librarianship (EBL) movement. EBL is about moving the profession forward and advancing the skill and knowledge of LIS professionals. Helen is one of the leaders (along with Gill Hallam) in Australia in advancing the EBL concept for the profession, having Co-Chaired the 3rd International EBL conference held in Brisbane in 2005, working alongside the acknowledge global leaders in the EBL field. She is also on the International Program Committee for the 4 th EBL Conference to be held in the US in May 2007. Helen has published widely in EBL area, and has recently been invited to submit a paper for an EBL themed issue of the journal Library Hi Tech, to be published in 2006.
Helen's research includes two notable and unique contributions to the LIS profession: the creation (with Gill Hallam) of the unique DNA model of the 21 st century LIS professional as well as having developed, through her PhD research, a psychological model to the digital divide and internet use in the community. Helen is the first researcher in the world to explore the psychology of the digital divide within community, and is one of the few Australian researchers in the US-dominated field of digital divide research. Her research in this area is multidisciplinary, drawing on psychology, sociology, philosophy, information systems, information science and social justice.
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Current Research
Helen is currently finalising her PhD thesis, Establishing the human perspective of the information
society.
In 2007, she will be using her QUT Teaching Fellowship to work on the Enhancing the first year
student’s transition into the QUT information environment: the Reflective Online Searching Skills (ROSS)
Environment project. The Reflective Online Searching Skills (ROSS) Environment is an e-learning tool that fosters
the development of student skill and knowledge in online searching. The fellowship project aims to enhance the first year
student’s transition into the QUT information environment by integrating the ROSS environment into the first year curriculum
of all QUT faculties.
The ROSS environment positively impacts upon student learning by providing a scaffolded
approach, drawing upon reflective practice, in which to experience and master the online searching process. ROSS has been
used in both undergraduate and postgraduate units in the faculty of Science and IT. The project builds on Sylvia Edwards'
Teaching Fellowship 2002-2004 and the 2005 QUT T&L Small Grant (Edwards, Partridge & Meyers).
Receiving a rating of
excellence for the QUT grant, the project will act upon the recommendation that ROSS should be included in the first year
curriculum in all QUT faculties. The project directly supports the Enhancing the First Year Experience priority area for the
2007 QUT Fellowship Scheme; and, Objectives 1, 2 and 3 of the Draft QUT Learning and Teaching Plan 2005-09. The project
will lead to significant teaching and learning outcomes for both students and academics. For students, the outcome will be
the development, in their first year of study, the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate the QUT information
environment; thus empowering the students to successfully complete their university studies. Empowering students will lead
to a more positive learning experience, greater student satisfaction, reduced student stress and lower levels of student
attrition.
For QUT teaching staff the impact will be the opportunity for interfaculty collaboration and knowledge
exchange on a key teaching and learning issue, and the development of a potential university resource through the formation,
on completion of the project, of information literacy champions who can provide coaching and mentoring in the area of
information literacy generally, and within the first year experience specifically.
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Professional Milestones
In 2005, Helen was awarded the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Silver Pin for her service to the LIS field. In 2003, she won the Best Presenter Award at the 2 nd International Evidence Based Librarian ship Conference, Canada . In the same year she was also awarded Best Paper at the Informing Science and Information Technology Education Joint Conference, Finland, for the co-authored paper (with Gillian Hallam) Technology and the human dimension: using web-based technology to develop and record generic capabilities, a library and information case study .
Helen has won six teaching awards since joining the academic profession five years ago, reflecting her h3 focus on learning in many environments.
Publications
Many of Helen's publications are available from the QUT ePrints database.
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