Creating new digital tools through co-creation activities with students

Do we as librarians really know what students at our universities need to develop their information literacy? Yes, to some extent, but not necessarily completely. In Spring 2018, two librarians at Aalborg University Library have joined forces with two student project groups to explore the students’ views on what they need and how that corresponds with our knowledge and professional experience of what it takes to become information literate. We also focus on how best to accommodate these different needs in terms of digital tools. Teaching activities at Aalborg University are based on problem-based learning (PBL). The students work in groups with projects focusing on real problems, and they are responsible for their own learning. Thus, in our partnership with the two project groups, the students are the driving force in the development, and we are collaborators in their process. One group is exploring the idea of developing a knowledge-sharing tool for use in project-based group work. The other group focuses on developing a tool that can support the process of information searching. In our presentation, we will focus on the students’ ideas on how to create relevant tools for students, the actual tools, and our experience with engaging in co-creation-processes with students. Our co-creation processes are defined as an equal partnership with the students. However, although we have defined the scope of our partnership, we do not provide the solution. Our co-creation processes and their outcome are characterized by being deliberately unpredictable in order to further innovative ideas and creative thinking. &nbsp