Information Literacy

1
Information Literacy

• Adapted from a presentation by
• Anke Tonn
• Nicholls State University

2
Information Literacy Standards

• The student who is information literate
• 1.accesses information efficiently and
  effectively.
• 2.evaluates information critically and
  competently.
• 3.uses information accurately and creatively.

3
Independent Learning and Information Literacy

• The student who is an independent learner and
• is information literate
• pursues information related to personal
  interests.
• appreciates literature and other creative
  expression of information.
• strives for excellence in information seeking
  and knowledge generation.

4
Information Literacy StandardsSocial
Responsibility

• The student who contributes positively to the
  learning
• community and to society and is information
  literate
• 1. recognizes the importance of information to a
  democratic society.
• 2. participates in ethical behavior in regard to
  information and information technology.
• 3. participates effectively in groups to pursue
  and generate information.

5

• Information Literacy is critical and should be
  integrated into the curriculum.
• The need for collaboration between teachers and
  librarians is of importance.

6
Teaching Faculty and Its Relationship to the
Librarian

• The library becomes the information center.
• Librarians will prepare students for an
  information based society.
• Both stress that information skills are survival
  skills.
• Both focus on the integration of information
  literacy instruction into the curriculum.
• The teacher needs to inform the Librarian to
  prepare for subject-related classroom teaching.

7
New Thinking

• Teaching higher thinking skills for students will
  make a difference if they apply it to information
  research.
• Through critical thinking, students will gain the
  ability to locate information and evaluate its
  reliability.
• Students will learn to analyze and synthesize
  information for research and personal interests.
• Critical thinking will help in decision making.
• These skills will make students become effective
  as life time learners.

8
AssessmentTeachers are often unsure how to
define the skills that are needed and how to
teach them, therefore

• We need to teach the cognitive skills that
  develop thinking processes.
• Teachers and Librarians need to define the
  progression of skills and determine what to
  expect from students.
• Teachers and Librarians need to develop
  assessment tools.
• Both need to find out where the individual
  student falls on the progression of skills.

9
Information Literacy Skill LevelNone

• Never used a physical library.
• Never used an information tool.
• Never used or copied from an index such as
  Readers Guide to Periodical Literature.
• Never used or printed from electronic data-bases
  or indexes such as Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
• Unaware of Internet-related legal and ethical
  issues.

10
Information Literacy Skill LevelNovice/Beginner

• Has used a physical library and located
  materials.
• May or may not have used an online library
  catalog (OPAC) or a licensed online database such
  as Oxford English Dictionary or MAS Ultra-School
  Edition.
• Demonstrates little knowledge of Web quality
  control or Internet related issues.

11
Information Literacy Skill LevelIntermediate

• Has used at least one OPAC and one licensed
  online database to identity and locate print
  materials in a physical library, as well as
  electronic materials.
• Evaluates the usefulness of print and electronic
  materials by applying general criteria including
  authority, accuracy, and timeliness.
• Identifies some Web quality control and privacy
  issues.
• May or may not identify some intellectual
  property issues, plagiarism, and other
  Internet-related legal and ethical issues.
• .

12
Information Literacy Skill LevelAdvanced

• Uses effectively more than one OPAC and licensed
  online database and more than one print
  information tool.
• Identify, locate, evaluate, and use print
  materials in a physical library, as well as
  electronic materials.
• Has used controlled vocabulary to focus
  information searches.
• Demonstrates knowledge of limitations of Web
  search engines and directories and comparison
  relative values to other information tools and
  resources.

13
Resource Selection

• Select the best resource for your need.
• Encourage students to use a range of resources.
• Help the students to search and select
  effectively.

14
The Right Information SourceTool for the Right
Purpose

• Searching an online catalog (OPAC) will help the
  student to retrieve books, reports, conferences,
  government documents, theses, and journals held
  in a library.
• Selecting the right databases and indexes will
  help to find citations and full text articles and
  reports to journal and magazine literature.
• The knowledge of suitable search engines will
  retrieve through controlled vocabulary Web-pages
  and useful information.

15
Evaluating Web Sites

• When searching the Internet it is important to
  know that the information provided in Web sites
  can vary greatly in accuracy and reliability. The
  Internet is an unregulated medium where anyone is
  free to express his or her opinion. This freedom
  is one of the Internets biggest strengths, but
  also one of its biggest weakness. Use some basic
  critical thinking skills to arm yourself against
  some of the pitfalls of the Interenet.

16
Basic Guidelines for Evaluation of Web Sites

• 1. Accuracy
• 2. Authority
• 3. Objectivity
• 4. Bias, Currency
• 5. Coverage.