The reason for learning information literacy in the digital age is for responsible and effective communication between people and even with machines. In my mind, this is what is the bottom line or ultimate goal for learning about information literacy.
Personal safety stands as the number one important issue in regards to the significance of seeking information literacy in the digital age. Teaching users the skills to use to determine what is safe and what is not safe is critical as the users get younger and the threats grow larger. A second and equally important reason for information literacy is to enable the user to effectively, efficiently and knowledgably navigate through the inordinate amount of information that is exponentially multiplying as we speak. There are many problems to solve and users need to be great problem solvers/ solution finders as the changes that are occurring cannot wait years for attention. Users have to be asking the right questions in their efforts to learn how to learn. They need to know what they need, why they need it and how to use the information they find, and they need to be able to determine if the information is reliable. We want them to be ethical in their practice and use sound reliable data to support their decision making in their personal, educational,and work life .
Knowing how to search and what to search for are common goals to work toward as they discover amazing tools that aid in their journey on the information technology highway that so far has no end in sight. According to futurist, Alvin Toffler, "the illiterate of the 21 Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." Our students need to be information literate, lifelong learners."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Toffler#cite_note-1
**This is an excellent ebook! "Literacy and Learning for the 21st Century: Redefining Literacy for the New Information Landscape" found at
http://davidwarlick.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LiteracyAndLearningNarrative
I Am Healed
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I am healed, I know who I am, and I know the work God has called me to do.
This is a big deal. I have spent the past three decades as a largely broken
and ...
6 days ago
Cheryl your series of 3 reflections on Block 6 are an excellent summary of your learning. I know that before I learned these skills I had little idea about how to search and gave no thought to validating anything. As I work with students and teachers (and family) I see how people click on any link returned in a search without even reading the URL first. A lot of blind trust because they don;t know otherwise. I hope you can share some of these skills (and resources) with your colleagues.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Thanks Marnie.
ReplyDeleteI am sharing this knowledge with my students as we create and steal time to use the computer.
Many students seem to disbelieve that they can be manipulated from their own safe home by someone in cyberspace. Others are so afraid that they don't even want an email address- parents included. Debunking myths is a full time job...naturally I showed my students the Soccer Challenge and other 'games' but I think it will only become engrained with everyday awareness, practice and use in context!