Information Literacy Guide

What is Information Literacy?

Gail Bush describes Information Literacy as being able to access information and then be able to evaluate, judge, synthesize and then use the information for one’s own purposes.  How can this be achieved?  This guide is intended for students in secondary education as they start to build an understanding of research and gathering information, which will aid in their development of higher critical thinking skills.  Information Literacy in the 21^st Century is an important skill that is necessary in education and the world of work.  As the Presidential Committee on Information Literacy reports, problem solving is more difficult when people lack access to meaningful information vital to good decision-making and the ability to determine what is viable information, and what is not. 

Types of Information Literacy?

Literacy was once considered just reading and writing.  The meaning has now become much more broad and covers more than just the printed word.  The ability to develop multiple literacies increases one’s understanding.  (Blair, 2012)  When researching information, one needs to evaluate sources for validity of the information in order to form their own opinion or viewpoint.  This includes evaluation of new media literacies.  Students, as well as adults, are part of participatory environments that have and continue to emerge.  (Pascarella)  One needs to develop skills in the following areas:

• Critical Literacy – Reading and Thinking
• Media Literacy – Visual and Computer
• Research – Searching and Evaluating
• Information Ethics – Copyright and Security/Privacy

Why is developing the skill of Information Literacy important?

Individuals may think developing the skill of Information Literacy just pertains to education, particularly higher education.  Developing this skill helps carry on every day tasks and research for one’s persona life as well.

• Shopping
• Cars
• Insurance

Current Events

Being able to determine accuracy of information that is available is important.  There are instances where fake stories are reported either as a joke or to create a negative image of a person or place.

• Just because it is on the Internet, does that mean it is the truth and accurate?
• The majority of blogs are written reflecting one’s personal opinion.  Even when there is work cited included, many times these still reflect the person’s view based on what they have read.
• Are the images that are on the Internet all real? 
• Have they been altered?

Availability of Information

Information is now available anytime and everywhere (with an Internet connection), 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.  Information is available through:

Libraries

•  Public Libraries
• College Libraries

·     Access to Scholarly Articles

·     Access to Scholarly Journals

Online Databases

•  Some charge a fee for access to journals
• Some access is given through a university’s website for their students, employees and alumni
• Google Scholar

Printed Material

• Textbooks
• Books

Websites

When doing research on a topic, one can use a company’s/organization’s website to obtain information.  For example, if doing research on the topic of juvenile diabetes, one might consult the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation for statistics and other general information about the disease. 

Social Media

Information shared through these venues include current events, pop culture and personal opinion.  If a story is being reported, it is best to see if it is reported via news outlets.  There are instances where false stories are created in blogs and shared to try to sway public opinion about a person or place, but there is no validity to the information.

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
•  Twitter
• Blogger/WordPress or other blogging sites

Evaluating Information

• Is the information a reliable source?
• Is the information based on one’s personal opinion/viewpoint or is it presented by an expert and published in a journal or article database?

Work Cited:

"Blair, N.  (2010)  Raising the Bar in Public Libraries: Literacy, Adolescent Development and Young Adult Services

University of Iowa, LIS Journal.  (Accessed, December 12, 2013).  http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=bsides

Bush, G.  Information Literacy in the 21^st Century Classroom.  January 26, 2012. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1JjcmGJb2A&feature=youtu.be

Pascarella, J.  (2008) Confronting the Challenges of Critical Digital Literacy: An Essay Review Critical Constructivism: A Primer.  Educational Studies.  43.  P. 246 - 255

Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report, American Library Association, July 24, 2006.

http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential  (Accessed December 12, 2013).

http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential#age

Social Media ~ through the eyes of a teens

My initial intention was to interview a female teenager, then I decided to get the male perspective as well.  I interviewed Meg, a 15-year old high school sophomore and Nate, an 18-year old college student.  Both of them have a phone with them at all times.  As a matter of fact, when I interviewed Meg is was minutes after her basketball game, and when I started with this question, we both started to laugh because I saw her phone.  Nate always has his phone and added now that he’s a college student he needs to be able to contact people for school things or in case of emergencies. 

Meg didn’t really post things in anger about someone through Facebook or Twitter.  She said she has seen it done many times and it bothers her to see it happen.  Nate admitted to making a few posts on Twitter due to anger, but not about anyone that follows him or that would somehow see it.  From the description, the posts seem to be not related to anyone and he actually felt better after posting them.  He said in a way, it relieved the stress he felt at the moment.  Nate’s description was that it was just some stupid thing that he said and would have no effect on anyone.”

Both Meg and Nate felt that there was a line that people can cross, and though they weren’t together when I interviewed them, they seemed to both feel that it’s okay to post things as long as it’s not too personal about themselves or others because that can come back to hurt one’s reputation.  Meg saw instances of bullying and felt that is just wrong because then others get involved and it seems to snowball.  Nate felt that one of the benefits of Twitter v. Facebook is Twitter confines you to 140 characters.  It’s not that people can’t be foolish in that amount of time.

Posting of inappropriate photos is something that seems to be increasingly happen.  One thing I found interesting that Nate said is that if any of his friends posted obscene photos he would mention to them that they should take them down – and if they didn’t do it, he would delete/unfollow them.  He feels that it could come back to haunt them.  But the most important thing to him was, they should have the courtesy not to post anything bad.  He didn’t feel that is what social media should be about, regardless if people think it’s okay.  Meg said she has seen photos that she considers inappropriate and thinks it’s “stupid” that people put them up because it can have an impact on them in the future.  It might be the way people view them, or it could hurt them when applying for jobs or to colleges. 

The sharing of inappropriate photos is not the only area of concern, sharing statuses and rants/vents via social media can lead to problems.  Nate and Meg felt that it can affect people’s chances to get jobs or promotions, and depending on how severe, can also get them fired; it can also get students in trouble, particularly with the DASA (Dignity for All Students) legislation in NYS.  Nate suggested that people should consider making their social media private to outsiders if they have a tendency to post rants and vents.  He feels that companies do have a right to fire people (or not hire them) because they can defame the company’s name. 

There are a lot of upsides to social media.  It connects people of similar interests, keeps friends and family in contact whether they are in the same house or across the world.  Another benefit is the power of the good, the ability to share and promote information about events such as fundraisers.  They have both seen many examples of this.  It seems to work well.

Interviewing both Nate and Meg was interesting to hear their viewpoints on social media.  They shared some interesting perspectives.  At this point, they both seem to have a handle on the proper use of social media. 

Watch what you post

Jenkins states over the past several decades that media literacy advocates have called on schools to, “foster a critical understanding of media as one of the most powerful social, economic, political, and cultural institutions of our era.”  He goes on to say that these skills are essential.  New Media literacies should be viewed as social skills, as a way of interacting within a larger community, and not simply an individualized skills to be used for personal expression.  Along these same lines, McLuhan states that privacy doesn’t have the same meaning as it did in previous time, and that was from an interview he did in 1966.

We are at a time in our cultural where individuals need to be trained on the use of media and technology.  Not just how to use it, but when.  Understanding the use of media literacy is not just necessary for younger people and children, but adults as well.  I have heard and read much discussion on one’s Freedom of Speech.  True, this is a Constitutional right in order to be able to have a say.  There are times, that this can bring repercussions though. 

In Trottman’s article, she discusses workers being fired for bad-mouthing their employers on social media sites.  Under the National Labor Relations Act, workers are allowed to complain about pay, safety and other working conditions.  The article goes on to describe one firing where a woman called her boss a “scumbag” and an employee of BMW being fired for voicing his displeasure in an upcoming event for the dealership. 

Just in this past week, there was an article about a girls’ basketball coach from Idaho.  She posted a photo on Facebook of she and her fiancé (who is also a coach at the same school).  In the photo, they are both in their bathing suits and he is seen grabbing her chest.  It was on Facebook for less than a day and she took it down.  However, as we all know, once the digital trail has been created, one may not know who sees it.  Someone had seen the photo and submitted it to the school.  The school fired her on the basis they felt the photo was inappropriate to have been shared on Facebook.  Oddly, her fiancé kept his coaching position, which is a totally other issue.  McLuhan states that when you put a new medium into play in a given population, all sensory gets shifted and had an affect on the population’s outlook and attitude.  Frankly, the photo was foolishly shared, but not a fireable offense.  It is quite obvious that individuals police social media activity.  

It's really difficult to figure out who is responsible for the education of critical media literacy.  As I mention above, this is something that is needed for children as well as adults.  Even with privacy settings in place, electronic trails are created. 


Work cited:

Allen, S. Idaho High School Fires Coach for Facebook Photo of Boyfriend Grabbing Her Chest.  USAToday (accessed November 9, 2013):  http://www.usatodayhss.com/news/article/idaho-high-school-fires-coach-after-she-posts-a-photo-of-boyfriend-grabbing-her-chest

Daily Mail Reporters.  The Facebook photo of a high school basketball coach and her fiancé that got her fired (because he touched her boob).  Mail Online (accessed November 9, 2013). 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2488966/PICTURED-The-Facebook-photo-high-school-basketball-coach-groped-fiance-got-fired.html

McLuhan, M.  (1966).  TV as an involving medium.  http://marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/television/1966-tv-as-an-involving-medium.php

McLuhan, M.  (1968).  Privacy in the electric age.  http://marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/prophecies/1968-privacy-in-the-electric-age.php

Trottman, M.  (2011)  For Angry Employees, Legal Cover for Rants.  The Wall Street Journal.  (accessed November 9, 2013): 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203710704577049822809710332

Challenges of a Participatory Culture

Marshall McLuhan, a media guru far before his time, talks about The Global Village, long before the days of social media platforms.  The global village took the literary man as an individual and brought us into a tribal group.  He talks about this, and at the time, the electronic devices he was referring to were stationary telephones, radio and televisions.  As a society, we moved from interacting as individuals, obtaining our knowledge through books, to being members of a tribe - a global village of interaction.  From the 1960's when he shared his view until now, we have seen many changes in the way individuals interact.  We now have mobile devices that can alert us the minute triumph or tragedy happens, no matter where we are.  Even when the electronic age he referred to started growing, there was no way to prepare for the all out openness we are experiencing now.  Through new technologies, we can connect two classrooms from half way around the world with each other to share a common lesson through the use of smart boards and the internet.  But attention needs to be paid to the use of the technologies and media.

Jenkins discusses the need to teach media literacy, and the challenges that are faced in order to do so.  The first is the Participation Gap.  Access to internet is one thing, access to internet with the capability of being able to do the work that is necessary for schooling is another.  I conducted an interview at the beginning of the year for another course to find out about the development of courses and instructional design.  One of the many things that needs to be taken into consideration is the technology which may be affected by the participation gap. (p. 13)  

The second challenge, Transparency Problem is one that I should not be surprised with, yet do find surprising.  In Shier’s study (2005) a game was developed based on historic interpretation of the first shot of the American Revolution.  Students took the representation of historical evidence in the game as being authentic.  (p. 16)  The concern lies in the ability of young people to be able to assess the quality of information received.  I had an exchange with a friend today on Facebook on this story:

http://nationalreport.net/obama-declares-november-national-muslim-appreciation-month/

When I initially commented of the fakeness of the story, responses came back with stories less and less believable than this initial posting.  But because it was on the internet, and shared by several people, then it must be truth. 

The third concern, Ethics Challenge, is an issue where young people creating new modes of expression that are poorly understood by adults.  He also points out the implications of their media and communications practices.  Most notably that the information that is shared maybe initially just for friends and followers can bring unwelcome attention.  (p. 17)  A recent example that comes to mind with me is happening right now in the Capital District.  Over Labor Day weekend, a party was held at a vacated house that is up for sale by a former NFL football player.  Somewhere between 200 – 300 kids illegally entered the home and held a party.  Through a series of Tweets, the teens implicated themselves not only with the text but with visual proof of who was at the party and what was going on.  The ethical norm was non-existent as they not only were breaking and entering, they stole items and did thousands and thousands of dollars worth of damage. 

We have come a long way from the new media that McLuhan referred to, yet we need to be more diligent in not only teaching and understanding the media and the use of them.  Not only do we need to make sure users can understand the operation of the media, but be able to develop critical thinking in regards to determining the validity of what they are reading/viewing.

References:

Jenkins, H.  Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture:  Media Education for the 21^st Century

Marshall McLuhan - The World is a Global Village (CBC TV)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeDnPP6ntic

Literacies

When one thinks about literacy, they may make an immediate reference to the basics of words and numbers.  But literacy of the 21^st century has expanded to from one’s ability to work with words and numbers to the development of information literacy, digital literacy, computer literacy, social literacy and visual literacy.  One needs to have:

• Computer literacy skills in order to navigate through the Internet 
• Information literacy skills in order to identify, locate, evaluate and effectively use the information 
• Visual literacy in order to read and decipher visual information such as photos, graphics, charts, etc. 
• Social Literacy in order to work collaboratively with and engage with others 
• Digital literacy to be able to read and interpret media, reproduce data and images and evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from the digital environments

There are valid arguments on both sides of the literacy debate regarding the use of the Internet.  However, I tend to lean more toward the value that the Internet lends in an education environment.  One particular statement in Rich’s article that resonated with me, and supports my view was Zachary Sims, “The Web is more about a conversation, books are more one-way.” As an avid reader of both the Internet and printed books, I have to agree with him.  Books are more personal.  Whereas information on the Internet does tend to be more of a conversation.  In most cases, sites, blogs, information on the Internet promotes or gives the opportunity for engagement.  One can share, comment, respond and interact based on what they have read. 

Rich talks of the traditionalists who feel that digital reading is the equivalence of empty calories.  I don’t agree with this view.  I find that the use of readings on the Internet can have value.  Individuals can gather information via the Internet and decide how this information relates to the issue or problem and then use the information gathered to solve the problem or form an opinion.  It offers the opportunity to gather and share information beyond geographic boundaries, which can also enhance one’s learning.  

Making sense of literacies

"The distinctive contribution of the approach to literacy as social practice lies in the ways in which it involves careful and sensitive attention to what people do with texts, how they make sense of them and use them to further their own purposes in their own learning lives" (Gillen and Barton, 2010, p. 9).

  

The first course I took at ESC was Digital Storytelling, a course based on telling stories, sharing communication on a broader stage than I had been used to.  It incorporated the use of several media platforms such as Blogger/WordPress, Wordle and Twitter, as well as several other sites which have multimedia capabilities such as Voice Threads, Animoto.  While I had read blogs and heard about the Twitter craze, I hadn’t used either.  I came to find that the use of blogs had had me connect with others in similar topics/subject areas.  I may have read their blog and from that researched other information that I made a connection to.  

Huffaker cites 2003 statistics that indicate 51.5% of all blogs are being developed and maintained by 13-19 year olds.  I tried finding updated statistics because I have to believe that there is a shift in the percentage.  The use of blogs has become widespread with adults.  Companies use blogs on their websites for promotional purposes; newspapers have both their printed version and online version (which includes a variety of bloggers on subjects from politics to finance to entertainment and lifestyle) and social media platforms such as LinkedIn include subject area experts sharing their viewpoint as well as trending material.  In academia, instructors have students use Blogger and WordPress as part of the curriculum. 

According to Huffaker, blogs are both individualistic and collaborative promoting self-expression and connecting with an online community.  From a learning theory perspective, I tend to favor humanistic style learning and through my own experiences or others I am able to make correlation between the text and assignments and shared experiences.  I have used both for several of my courses in both undergraduate and graduate work.  What began as generalized voicing my opinion or writing about nothing much, became writing blogs reflecting on weekly readings, and another way for me to learn. 

At the same time, I hadn’t quite caught the Twitter craze.  It didn’t seem to make much sense to me.  I revisited it about a couple years later, and found learning advantages to it.  I started following individuals on subject areas I had an interest in, particularly online learning and adult education.  Through this platform individuals can share their viewpoint on a worldwide stage for anyone to read, interact with and share.  It’s not to say that any of the authors are experts – but more sharing their view which a reader can relate to.

Lankshear and Knobel discuss active citizenship and its affect on education.  They state, “Education for active citizenship calls for fostering a sophisticated “sociological imagination” that incorporates (what we call) institutional imagination, political imagination, cultural imagination and moral imagination.” (Lankshear & Knobel 2001-2003, p. 86)  Twitter and blogs share information which individuals can either accept or reject based on their views.  For example, today an blog was shared on LinkedIn about the MBTI (Say Goodbye to MBTI, the Fad That Won’t Die).  Supporters and those that favor the use of MBTI may reject what the author is saying based on their institutional imagination. 

References 

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (1992/94/97). Critical literacy and active citizenship. In C. Lankshear & M. Knobel, Literacies: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives (p. 89). New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.

Huffaker, D. (2005). The educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom. AACE Journal, 13(2), 91-98.