Informationliteracy

INFORMATION LITERACY Image credit: jeltovski at morguefile.com

“ Information literacy is the key to solving problems, acting ethically, planning for the future and preparing for change.” Canadian Library Association

Ex: Summarize the contributions of 2-3 major 18 th century French painters in a 5 page essay . “ I know a little about Matisse, but that's it!” 1.1 Define the information problem 1.2 Identify information needed “ I need to find out about 2 other major French painters and summarize what they did.” According to www.big6.com

2.1 Determine all possible sources 2.2 Select the best sources 3.1 Locate sources and find information Google? Database? Books?

4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch) 4.2 Extract relevant information 5.1 Organize from multiple sources 5.2 Present the information

6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness) 6.2 Judge the process (efficiency )

BLOOM'S TAXONOMY Image credit:

Characteristics of adult learners

They want practical applications of knowledge, such as professional development.

They can connect new information to past experiences.

Types of information literacy* (Shapiro and Hughes, 1996) RESOURCE PUBLISHING EMERGING TECHNOLOGY SOCIO-STRUCTURAL TOOL CRITICAL RESEARCH

Form,

location

access

methods

Library databases Print books e-books Specialized search engines Library of Congress classification system Reputable websites RESOURCE LITERACY

Format & publish ideas

electronically

blogs podcasts websites Print and online articles PUBLISHING LITERACY

How information

is socially situated

and produced

government business social networks social networks schools SOCIO-STRUCTURAL LITERACY

Understand & use IT research tools Quantitative analysis software RESEARCH LITERACY

Understand & use

software, hardware

and multimedia

networking multimedia TOOL LITERACY

Evaluate

human and social strengths;

weaknesses, potentials and limits;

and benefits and costs

of IT

history politics culture philosophy CRITICAL LITERACY

Adapt to, understand, evaluate and use emerging innovations in IT

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY LITERACY

My definition of information literacy:

The ability to access, navigate,

evaluate and synthesize information

from a variety of resources to make

decisions .

Types of information literacy

TRADITIONAL : Ability to read

PERSONAL: Health/Career/Financial

SOCIAL/POLITICAL: Awareness of larger context on information and its impact on the world

ACADEMIC: Fi nd research; synthesize information with existing knowledge

TECHNOLOGICAL —Navigate new technology

EVALUATING WEB RESOURCES

WHY IS EVALUATING INTERNET INFORMATION IMPORTANT?

YOUR HEALTH Health image by dani simmonds at morguefile.com

53% of Americans have gone online to get health information.

More Americans go to the Internet to solve problems rather than consult experts.

40% of adult Internet users use online banking (Pew Internet Study, 2006).

Identity theft is extremely common.

(image by Dani Simmonds at morguefile.com)

CAREER Career

In a survey of 100 executive recruiters in 2005, 77 had used Google to check on applicants. 37 of them turned down applicants based on what they found.

17% of Internet users (and 11% of all Americans) say theyknow someone who has been disciplined or fired because of his or her use of the Internet on the job.

You as a brand

A positive online presence can

help your career.

What image do you want to portray?

How long can your information stay online? (beware of Google cache!)

EVALUATION FACTORS:

AUTHORITY

CURRENCY

OBJECTIVITY

ACCURACY

APPEARANCE

AUTHORITY

Authority Checklist

What individual or organization is in charge

of the website content (besides the webmaster)?

What are their credentials and how long have

they been in the field?

What kind of publicity have they generated?

AUTHORITY: What to look for

About Us/Contact Us —should at least be on first page if not every page of site

Check Better Business Bureau or type in company name + “scam” into Google

Use Whois.com to see who owns the site**

Sites requiring private information such as credit card numbers should have an “https” in their URL, not just “http”

Evaluating Internet Information. http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/instruct/evaluate/evaluating.html

WHOIS NOT FOOLPROOF —Owner can use privacy or masking option .

LACK OF AUTHORITY: www.martinlutherking.org who's in charge?

Actual source..... a white supremacy group

BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION ...authority check...

Keep scrolling....

There it is.

C U R R E N C Y Image credit:wikimedia.org

CURRENCY CHECKLIST

HOW OFTEN DOES CONTENT CHANGE?

HOW CURRENT IS INFORMATION?

LAST SITE UPDATE ?

Currency: What to look for

Site and blog updates

Interactive content/user input

News bulletins

Discussion forums (depending on site)

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS (CURRENCY--site updated regularly)

Objectivity [insert graphic] OBJECTIVITY

OBJECTIVITY Look for....

Factual, impartial language VS. emotions & generalizations

Facts and figures VS. broad assertions & anecdotes

Multiple viewpoints VS. one opinion and ADS

Good word choice & usage VS. sloppy proofreading

BBC: Capital Punishment Site (multiple viewpoints, non-biased text, appropriate language)

Fox news website (biased language)

ACCURACY : Photo courtesy of

ACCURACY CHECKLIST

Can the information on the site be confirmed elsewhere?

Is the information edited and checked before it goes online?

Is the information error-free ?

WebMD: drug information can be researched and verified

The Flat Earth Society (not so accurate)

APPEARANCE

APPEARANCE LIST

FIRST GLANCE:

Multiple ads & pop-ups BAD

Long flash intro w/o skip option BAD

Quality graphics GOOD

Harmonious colors GOOD

ACCESSIBILITY:

Text-only or other version GOOD

“ Alt” tags GOOD

Download options GOOD

Cross-browser friendly GOOD

APPEARANCE LIST

USER-FRIENDLY:

Consistent navigation on each page? GOOD

Site index? GOOD

Contact Us link? GOOD

CONTENT:

Poor Punctuation BAD

Poor Grammar BAD

Good spelling GOOD

Consistent font size & type GOOD

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS website is user-friendly: consistent navigation, no ads

Wikipedia: Anyone can edit it. They also solicit donations.

SO....WHAT

ABOUT

WIKIPEDIA?

WIKIPEDIA: THE GOOD ...

Great info on pop culture and tech

99% of contributors =dedicated few

Links to good resources

WIKIPEDIA: THE BAD (AND THE UGLY) . ...

The other 1%

No expert editing

Short on academic information

“ Breaking Bad” photo credit: amc.com

WEB EVALUATION FACTORS:

AUTHORITY

Who is responsible for the website; are they qualified?

CURRENCY

How current is the information?

OBJECTIVITY

Are there facts, figures and multiple points of view?

ACCURACY

Can statements be verified? Are they true?

APPEARANCE

Professionalism and accessibility

Site evaluation sheets: 1. Decide which site is reputable and which is not (one is a hoax site). 2. Give 2 examples for each of why or why not that include authority, accuracy, objectivity, appearance or currency . Example: Site A is not a good resource because.... 2-3 minutes.

Site evaluation: possible answers.