Digital literacy

Library Media Specialists Teach Information/ Digital Literacy Skills

Digital literacy, information literacy; these are all terms that are banded about aplenty these days. What do they mean?

Do students search blindly on GOOGLE, using the first bit of information that comes up? Do they assume that all information that they find on the Web is accurate? Are school districts’ visions of teaching technology, limited to typing and software instruction?

As far back as “1994, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) observed that “mastering basic skills, achieving literacy and numeracy, and developing patterns of critical thinking are crucial to survival in a world where change is the basic driving force of our daily lives.” [ Kathleen de la Pena McCook, Toward A Just and Productive Society: An Analysis of the Recommendations of the White House Conference on Library and Information Service (Washington, D.C.: National Commission for Libraries and Information Science, 1994), 8. ] With the rise of the Internet, the importance of critical thinking skills has only increased since there is no quality control for Internet content; and an ill-informed or prejudiced source can look much like an authoritative source to the untrained mind.”[Hogenboom, Karen. “Going Beyond .gov: Using Government Information to Teach Evaluation of Sources” PORTAL : LIBRARIES AND THE ACADEMY 2005 Oct;5(4):455-66.]

According to Geoffrey Nunberg is his 2005 February NEW YORK TIMES article, “Teaching students to swim in the online sea”, “Librarians have taken the lead in developing information literacy standards and curriculums. There’s a certain paradox in that, because a lot of people assumed that the digital age would require neither libraries nor librarians.”

In1998, the American Association of School Librarians published INFORMATION POWER: BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS FOR LEARNING. It includes:

The Nine Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning. These cover the areas of information literacy, independent learning and social responsibility. Complete text of the standards can be found at:

http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/informationpower/InformationLiteracyStandards_final.pdf . The AASL is in the process of updating these standards.

In 2005, the Educational Testing Service developed a new assessment, The Information and Communication Technology Literacy test. “To succeed in today’s information-driven academic environment, students need to know how to find, use, manage, evaluate, and convey information efficiently and effectively.” www.ets.olrg/portal/site/ets/

“ETS defines ICT literacy proficiency as the ability to use digital technology, communication tools, and/or networks appropriately to solve information problems in order to function in an information society. This includes the ability to use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information, and the possession of a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information” www.ets.olrg/portal/site/ets/

ETS reported on the results of the ICT Literacy test in the October 27, 2006 issue of THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION. After looking at scores from eight hundred high school and three thousand college students, they found that “college students and high-school students preparing to enter college are sorely lacking in the skills needed to retrieve, analyze, and communicate information that is available online.” At a conference in Washington, the co-sponsors of the report: “ETS, the National Forum on Information Literacy, a group made up of academic and professional organizations; the National Education Association; the Committee for Economic Development, a nonprofit policy group; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce officials suggested that information literacy be included in the No Child Left Behind Act and in national discussions on higher-education reform.”

Library Media specialists teach these skills in schools today. Whether within database instruction or Web evaluation classes, note-taking lessons, and research process instruction. The more classroom teachers collaborate and work with their library media specialists, the better prepared their students will be to do research projects, for college or the workplace, and in locating information necessary for daily life.

Practical ideas for classroom teachers can be found in the October 2006 issue of THE CONNECTED NEWSLETTER, “Digital literacy; become a proficient navigator.” The author, Brenda Dyck states: “Turning students loose on the Internet without a plan or digital literacy skills will result in less than satisfactory learning returns.” The author suggests that teachers create hotlists and/or webquests to guide students to appropriate sites and online learning experiences. (Hotlists which are as simple as websites where teachers can post website favorites.) Some examples are: www.portaportal.com (a hotlists site), and webquest sites: http://www.filamentality.com/wired/fil/index.html and http://webquest.sdsu.edu/.

Dyck also states, “Like most technologies, the Internet is only as good as the teaching practices used to support it. Failing to teach proper search skills and unleashing students in a computer lab with a definite starting point, a clear search plan, and teacher support does not constitute sound teaching practices.”

If you are not sure what your school’s library media specialist is teaching, please ask. He/she will certainly be happy to plan joint lessons to help students develop the skills mentioned in this article.

Additional resource: Troutner, Joanne, “Best sites for information literacy tools.” TEACHER LIBRARIAN 2005 Dec.;33(2):39.