Exploring Information Literacy Tools
According to the American Library
Association’s Association of College & Research Libraries website,
information literacy is defined as “a set of abilities requiring individuals to
recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate,
and use effectively the needed information”. “Information literacy forms the
basis for lifelong learning”.
National Forum on Information Literacy infographic source=www.pinterest.com
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First explain why you selected this option over
the Content Objects option.
While the idea of exploring content objects
seemed appealing, I chose to address the information literacy topic. The main reasons
that I chose this task instead was due to the fact that I am not a full-time
teacher and do not yet have a specific content or subject area that I teach.
Perhaps when I begin teaching in a particular area, I will be better able to
identify content objects that would be helpful to incorporate into my classroom
teaching. I have learned however, from my time working in a public library, as
well as the public school system, just how important information literacy can
be. In my experience, students today are often lacking in information literacy
skills. They often appear lost when asked to conduct research on a topic and
construct a paper reflecting their findings. This is part of the reason that I
am motivated to explore information literacy tools. When I begin teaching in a
classroom setting, I want to be able to help ensure that my students have the
necessary informational literacy skills in order to be successful in their
future academic and professional endeavors.
·
Identify 4-5 tools you found to support learning
information literacy skills. Describe where they fit into the NFIL infographic
and how you found the tool.
Thanks to the World Wide Web, there are a
plethora of online tools to assist individuals in learning information literacy
skills. One of the tools that was mentioned in our assigned course readings for
this week was a site entitled Common Sense
Media found at www.commonsensemedia.org.
This site was created with the goal of “improving the lives of kids and families
by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they
need to thrive in a world of media and technology”. It contains a wealth of
information including detailed reviews of various media such as TV shows, video
games, books, music, etc., as well as explanations of content and suggestions
for appropriate age groups for each item. I have had experience using this site
from my time working in a public library setting. There would be many times
that I would be asked by patrons about the appropriateness of certain materials
for their children or family and I would recommend that they consult this site
because it could provide them with the information that they could use to
determine whether or not they deemed the material suitable. I feel that this
would fit into the media literacy portion of the National Forum on
Informational Literacy infographic.
Upon
further research, I came across the sight www.digitalliteracy.gov. This is a
great sight to assist educators in finding tools that they can use to teach
their students digital literacy. Under the Find Educator Tools tab of the
sight, there are methods available to allow teachers to search for learning
resources and tools pertaining to various information literacy skills. I
searched and discovered some of the following tools that I feel could be very
helpful in teaching informational literacy.
This is where I discovered that there are
two other sites that are branches of Common Sense Media, aimed at teaching
users certain skills that are a part of information literacy. The first site is
www.cybersmartcurriculum.org.
Cyber Smart Curriculum was created
with the goal of educating users about safety and security online. It contains “lesson plans and videos, as well
as interactive components on safety and security online, manners and
cybercitizenship, cyberbullying, and digital citizenship”. I believe that this
tool would fit into the computer literacy and security & privacy portions
of the N.F.I.L. infographic. Another tool offered in conjunction with Common
Sense Media is the Common Sense Media
Digital Literacy Citizenship Curriculum, found at www.commonsensemedia.org/educators.
This site was developed by a nonprofit
online education advocacy group for the purpose of “educating kids early about
the basics of digital literacy and digital citizenship”. In my opinion, this
tool would also fit into the computer literacy and security & privacy
portions of the N.F.I.L. infographic.
Another tool that I discovered through this
site is entitled Bibliobouts, found
at http://bibliobouts.si.umich.edu/BiblioBouts.html.
This website was created as “a project at the University of Michigan funded by
IMLS that seeks to teach information literacy through gaming”. According to the
site, “BiblioBouts is an online tournament made up of a series of mini-games or
bouts, each of which introduces students to a particular subset of information
literacy skills within the overall research process”. This sounds like a fun
way for students to improve their information literacy skills and I would say
that I think that this tool could address a range of skills listed in the
N.F.I. L. infographic, including research and library skills, information
ethics, copyright, searching, critical thinking, etc.
TV
411 Adult Literacy Media Alliance was another tool that I discovered. The
address for this site is www.tv411.org. The
mission of the Adult Literacy Media Alliance is to “help adults gain the basic
reading, writing, and math skills needed to achieve their educational, career,
and personal goals”. In order to work toward achieving this goal, the A.L.M.A.
“creates multimedia learning materials and distributes them through broadcast
television, the Internet, and literacy and community-based programs across the
country”. This site also contains resources and materials for teachers working
with adult students in the acquisition of literacy skills. While this might not
seem as though it specifically addresses the issue of information literacy
skills, I believe that it might fit into the critical reading, critical
thinking, and critical literacy portions of the N.F.I. L. infographic because
acquiring traditional literacy skills plays a necessary part in the ability to
expand upon information literacy skills.
·
Evaluate the tools. Why did you include them in
your list? What is particularly useful about the tool? Looking at the NFIL
infographic, what areas do these tools neglect, and how can you justify leaving
those areas out of any information literacy learning for your students.
While I only touched on a few tools
available to support learning information literacy skills, I feel as though
each of the tools that I explored had something significant to offer and
therefore, were worth mentioning in my list. Many of these tools were expansive
in nature because they contained numerous helpful resources aside from their
designated purpose. In addition, I feel as though these tools addressed
different aspects of the information literacy skills found on the N.F.I.L.
infographic. When considering the areas of the infographic, I think that the
only area where I could not visualize these tools addressing was that of
Boolean logic etc. While it might fit into one of the tools listed, I could not
see the connection. I feel as though this area is not something that should
necessarily be “left out” from information literacy learning, but perhaps there
are additional tools that could be used so that students could be educated in
all areas of information literacy.
·
Reflect on how these resources or your
exploration/thinking about information literacy could transform your teaching
(i.e. your personal pedagogical stance/approach) and your students’ learning
(i.e. support their acquisition and construction of content knowledge).
Describe and evaluate that transformation.
I believe that using these and other
available resources for learning information literacy, as well as keeping the
concepts of information literacy in mind when designing lessons for my students
could help to transform the way that I approach teaching. Currently, I tend to
think in terms of and focus on the specific content that my students need to
know. Too often I neglect to consider the skills that should accompany the
acquisition of that specified content knowledge. I think that if I stop to
consider how I can incorporate various activities/ tools to address information
literacy skills within the context of my lessons, my students can grow
exponentially. As mentioned earlier in this post, the Association of College
and Research Libraries states that “information literacy forms the basis for
lifelong learners”. Therefore, it stands to reason that if I incorporate tools
and resources to help my students begin to acquire information literacy skills,
I will be assisting them in developing the skills necessary to become lifelong
learners, something that every teacher should desire for their students.
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