Information and Literacy Week 2

So, how is it going? Questions from last week? What did you think of the readings? Grassian as compared to Eisenberg as compared to Pawley as compared to Williams Assignment questions?

What does this have to do with teaching patrons? People and their Lives Social and Historical Influences Current Conditions Emerging Challenges and Opportunities John Bransford

The Information Society Two overviews of who we are e.htm One vision of where we are going Discuss with your group at least one thing you noticed that impacts you as an instructional librarian

The Information Society More information produced in the last 30 years than the last 30 thousand The amount of science and technology information doubles every 5 years One issue of the New York Times contains more information than the average 1700’s person encountered in a lifetime A web search result with half a million hits would take over 37 hours to completely review and 635 days to thoroughly check Moore’s Law – computing power doubles every 18 months Gates also said 20 years from now computing power will be one million times faster

Got overload? Computing devices are everywhere and soon will be more embedded Information Fatigue Syndrome paralysis of the analytical capacity high blood pressure and weakened vision increased anxiety and sleeplessness increasing self-doubt in decision-making foolish decisions and flawed conclusions decrease in benevolence forgetfulness

Solutions (or not) Technology If that’s the answer, what’s the question? It doesn’t take sides, it just is. Pack it in method – more content, speeded up, with technology Can we really do this Information Literacy A process that identifies skills Lets people be in charge of what’s coming Ensure students, staff, employees, etc. become effective users of ideas and information

Definitions Chat with your group about the definitions of literacy and about defining information literacy Post (via reply) a couple sentences on the course GoPost under Week 2

Information Literacy Defined To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information. – ALA Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, 1989 (see also Doyle and Kulthau) Information Literacy – Partnership for 21 st Century Skills, 2004 Accessing information efficiently and effectively, evaluating information critically and competently and using information accurately and creatively for the issue or problem at hand Possessing a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information In other words, an information process that utilizes a full range of information and technology skills.

Readings Discussion Do you think information literacy is necessary? What are some other terms that could/should be used? What do you think is included in the term information literacy and what is not? What are the barriers one might encounter in becoming information literate? Which of these barriers, to any degree, have you encountered? What role does information literacy have in higher education? How is this different from the role it plays in K-12 education? How is it similar?

Up next Education and Information Literacy