Information literacy is 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 skill is about developing your skills in finding, evaluating, using and managing information.
With technology in hands students tend to do a lot of online search on hear of everything they are not familiar with. Students do a lot of searching online for information. This does not make them expert, or even good, searchers. Thanks to Google, students can always find information on any topic. This does not mean that they have found true, accurate, useful information. Students need instruction and guidance in learning how to find, evaluate, select and use information, just as they need instruction and guidance in learning anything else. They are not born “information literate” and frequent, uninstructed Googling will not make them so.
Information literacy constitutes:
– Finding information online quickly
– Making judgments about the validity of information sources
– Selecting appropriate material or evidence to support decision making
– Being able to research effectively
– Keeping up-to-date with developments in your field
Steps Information literacy Includes:
– Planning research or posing a question — for example, “Is global warming real?”
– Organizing a way to search for the answer — divide students into groups and use a research model.
– Finding resources — such as databases, documentary films, Web sites (like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), print sources, and local experts.
– Evaluating the resources and thinking critically about them — Who made the message and why? What is left out of the message? How might others view the message differently?
– Expressing the information learned in meaningful ways — for example, student-produced podcasts, e-zines, and wikis.
Watch out the videos below to understand why this skill is significant:
1. What is Information Literacy?
2. Information Literacy: Skills for 21st Century Students
3. Information Literacy Why Is It Important
4. Components of Information Literacy
Share your thoughts on the importance of information literacy in the comment section below.
