Educational Information Literacy

Today information is obtainable through different ways such as libraries, smart phones, computers, Internet, manuals, and schools. Bill Gates (2007) believes learning is the indispensible investment required for success in the ‘information age’ we are entering (Bill Gates, 2007). Currently the Internet is the overwhelming choice for people to access information. Reuters (2009) reports that more than half of the people questioned in the Zogby Interactive survey said they would select the Internet if they had to choose only one source of news, followed by 21% for television and 10% for both newspapers and radio (“Internet Most Popular Information Source,” 2009).
Part of the reason that the Internet is the main choice to obtain information is that libraries have become more complicated. Badke (2009) believes libraries always have been alien to many students. In past decades, libraries were much simpler to understand. The Internet, however, has created a new brand of alien because the Net Generation already thinks of the web as its library. If it is a library that is as easy to access as opening a browser and throwing some words into a search box, then it is small wonder that academic libraries have become as foreign as Keanu Reeves playing the creature from outer space in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Badke, 2009). For teachers information literacy can affect their professional development, peer to peer contributions and ethics, and teaching techniques toward students.

Scholarship

Many individuals lack sufficient training in information handling or they may feel overloaded and unable to handle the amount of information they have. Information sources and media have changed drastically, making new training necessary for many. Some older adults have been left out of the Internet revolution. Once they have specific information literacy training, they can evaluate an online information source, perform an effective search, and determine what sources of information are authoritative. (Birdsong, 2009, pp.18)

As classrooms continue to evolve teachers should progress and conform by continuing professional development. The George Lucas Educational Foundation (2008) believes ongoing professional development keeps teachers up-to-date on new research on how children learn, emerging technology tools for the classroom, new curriculum resources, and more (“Why Is Teacher Development Important,” 2008). During a teacher’s continuing professional development exploration of information literacy and its affects on teachers and students should be explored. Turusheva (2009) believes to ensure students information competence, it is important constantly to develop faculty information competence, which includes both the teaching staff information competence development, and the faculty resource base provision and development (Turusheva, 2009). A teacher who understands information literacy can find relevant information for a particular situation and interpret that information. Teachers, who lack sufficient information literacy training, will undoubtedly use inexpedient teaching tactics.

Practice

Teachers, who are practitioners have engaged themselves in their occupation and realize that changing demographics within their classroom and workplace emphasizes the importance of understanding information literacy. A teacher is expected to communicate with proper ethics toward faculty, administration, students, parents, and guardians. The use of proper ethics is agreed upon among others:

Christine Bruce calls the skills of information literacy crucial to the character of business enterprises as learning organizations. Her definition of information literacy “involves critical thinking, an awareness of personal and professional ethics, information evaluation, conceptualizing information needs, organizing information, interacting with information professionals and making effective use of information in problem solving, decision-making and research.” (Klusek and Bornstein, 2006, pp. 3-21)

Leadership

Different types of leaders exist and each has different traits. However, there is one trait found in every leader and that is exerting a positive influence on people. Teachers, who make use of information literacy understand the different types of media used by students to obtain information.

The role of information is central to the sense-making that students engage in when they develop intellectual frameworks within disciplines. Most important for student learning is his or her ability to use the new media to gain access to a variety of information sources to explore and then build his or her own conceptual frameworks. This adds another dimension to the professor’s instructional role – evaluating available additional information sources. (Russell, 2009, pp. 92)

In the past students were not challenged by teachers to use active thinking or real-world problem solving. Information was prescreened and allowed one correct answer. The Association of College and Resource Libraries (1989) has similar views:

Students, for example, receive predigested information from lectures and textbooks, and little in their environment fosters active thinking or problem solving. What problem solving does occur is within artificially constructed and limited information environments that allow for single "correct" answers. Such exercises bear little resemblance to problem solving in the real-world where multiple solutions of varying degrees of usefulness must be pieced together---often from many disciplines and from multiple information sources such as online databases, videotapes, government documents, and journals. (“Presidential Committee on Information Literacy,” 1989)

In the end a teacher who is also a leader will employ information literacy for the improvement of his or her students and him or herself.

Conclusion

Each day teachers will be challenged by either or a combination of students, faculty, and parents to remain current on educational information, ethical practices, and teaching techniques. Teachers, who make use of information literacy can find relevant information for their situation and interpret and apply that information.

"Critical thinking skills," "problem solving," "decision making": both the popular and professional literature use these phrases in reporting on skills that the K-12 curriculum must provide to equip students for the 21st century. All three of these phrases refer to cognitive skills that are necessary to create new knowledge and to learn how to learn. Recognition that learning how to learn is fundamental to economic and personal success in the information age has been cited by sources as diverse as Alvin Toffler and the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) and Goals 2000 reports (Doyle, 1994). This ability to learn how to learn is a key characteristic of those who are information literate; i.e., those who "know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them" (American Library Association [ALA], 1989, p. 2). If teachers are to use information so that others can learn from them, then teachers must be information literate. (Carr, 1998)

Point to be taken

Many teachers are lacking the ability to find, interpret, and apply relevant information for a particular situation. Teachers that understand information literacy will be the ones who have the greatest connection with their students, student's parents, and faculty. These same teachers will also be the ones who have the most successful students.


References

Badke, W. (2009). How we failed the net generation. Online, 33(4), 47-49. Retrieved from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

Birdsong, L. (2009). Information literacy training for all. Searcher, 17(8), 18. Retrieved from http://www.apollolibrary.com/Library/err/ElectronicReserveReadings.aspx

Carr, J. (1998). Information literacy and teacher education. ERIC Clearninghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education Washington DC. Retrieved from http://ericdigests.org

Chernikoff, H. (2009, June 17). Internet most popular information source. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com

Gates, B. (2007). In Think-Exists online quotation’s dictionary. Retrieved from http://thinkexist.com/search/searchquotation.asp?search=Bill+Gates

Klusek, L., & Bornstein, J. (2006). Information literacy skills for business careers: Matching Skills to the Workplace. Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship, 11(4), 3-21. doi:10.1300/J109v11n04-02.

Russell, P. (2009). Why universities need information literacy now more than ever. Feliciter, 55(3), 92. Retrieved from http://www.apollolibrary.com/Library/err/ElectronicReserveReadings.aspx

Staff, E. (2008). Why is teacher development important? Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.com

Turusheva, L. (2009). Students’ information competence and its importance for life-long education. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 12126-132. Retrieved from http://www.apollolibrary.com/Library/err/ElectronicReserveReadings.aspx

Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. (1989). Presidential committee on information literacy: Final report. Association of College & Research Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/




What else is there to say but goodnight and goodnight to you Mrs. Amore, wherever you may be.