Information Literacy
Reviewed and Updated: January 2008
This page has been kept for reference.
It will no longer be updated by ICVET.
The information literate person is, 'able to recognise when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use it effectively' according to the Final Report of the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy 1989. The term refers to a collection of skills needed for information research and use.
It’s not a new term. What is new are the skills required to be 'information literate'.
Prior to the widespread use of computers and the internet, information literacy revolved around library search skills. Now the skills collection is wider and includes being able to use information and communication technologies. Learners and their teachers need to be able to locate and filter through large volumes of data in a range of formats, authenticate and determine the credibility of the source and decide which items are useful for the task at hand.
The following links lead to definitions, tutorials and discussion papers on information literacy.
Websites
Information Literacy Toolkit
Informative, practical site produced by Griffith University, includes teaching tips, assessment, principals of effective information literacy.
Developing Information Literate Students: prompts for good practice
This
site helps educators ensure that their students learn-to-learn from the
vast range of information resources around them. Prompts are intended both
as a trigger (providing suggestions for staff) and as a tool (to review
existing curriculum for its contribution to the development of students'
information literacy). Intended for University staff, this site appears
to be equally valid for vocational educators.
LILI: the Learn Information Literacy Initiative
Fun, easy online tutorials from TAFE SA. Topics include 'Analyse your assignment', 'Search the web' and 'Evaluate and cite your resources'.
TILT: Texas Information Literacy Tutorial
Prepare to explore and research the online world with this interactive tutorial from Texas Uni. Great for beginners, it covers basic information about the internet, how to locate information, how to evaluate what you have found and how to use it in your own work without unknowingly plagiarising or breaching copyright.
National Forum on Information Literacy
Developed by the US Government in response to recommendations from education, library, and business leaders, the most useful sections for Australian VET practitioners are probably ‘publications’ and ‘links’.
8W’s for Information Literacy
'Children don't just "do" information, technology, and Internet'. This series of pages explores the information and communication process and tries to address the specific skills needed for successful project based learning.
ACRL Information Literacy website
This website from the US Association of College and Research Libraries defines information literacy then links it with information technology, higher education, pedagogy and assessment. It finishes with a link to a set of standards, performance indicators and outcomes that are worth reading.
Information Literacy on the EdNa Website
Defines Information Literacy and provides a selection of links to related documents. [Accessed May 2006]
United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Information Literacy
Describes UNESCO’s action which includes fostering equitable access to information and knowledge and the information literacy strategy aimed at 'raising awareness about the importance of information literacy at all levels of education [and] establishing guidelines for integrating information literacy issues in curricula'. The website includes current global news updates on information literacy. [Accessed May 2006]
A
library advocate’s guide to building information literate communities - Information
Literacy Forum Advocacy Kit 2003, Australian Library and Information
Association (ALIA)
The advocacy kit has been adapted, with permission, from the American Library Association’s advocacy kit action pack, by members of the Australian Library and Information Association Information Literacy Forum committee as a practical guide to achieving information literacy in the community. [Accessed May 2006]
Publications
COMBES,
B 2005, Starting
at the beginning: a conversation about information literacy, Connections,
No 54
While this article refers to students and teachers in schools, the author provides a broad critical look at information literacy which is applicable at all levels of education. Current technology with user friendly software and operating systems requiring a minimum of technical knowledge has meant that there is an assumption that students are information literate when they have barely scratched the surface. ICT literacy requires for example a greater understanding of software capabilities, the ability to use the Internet effectively, evaluate websites and understand copyright and IP protocols. The development of generic skills provides the flexibility necessary to adapt to changing technologies. Includes a bibliography of resources. [Accessed May 2006]
JONES-KAVALIER, Barbara R, and Flannigan, Suzanne L, 2006, Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century, EQ Educause Quarterly Vol 29 No 2
The article examines the terms digital and visual literacy in the context of a 21st century 'accelerated, media-saturated, and automated' society. Authors are critical of a lack of technology plans and professional development in educational organisations as well as trial-and-error approaches in classrooms. There is a need to apply the skills of critical thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) to the teaching of digital literacy. The authors provide a bibliography of resources. [Accessed May 2006]