September 12 2017

Kathaleen McDonald

Dr. Wielgos

Senior Seminar

12 September 2017

Response Four: Digital Literacy & Information Competency Inside & Outside the Academy

            I found the ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education to be particularly insightful and especially helpful for my future career. Although the standards set out in this document are directed toward students post-secondary school, I find that the standards outlined in this document can apply to secondary-school aged students, and are being taught in many secondary schools.

            First, the ACRL defines information literacy as “a set of abilities requiring individuals to ‘recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information’” (2). Essentially, information literacy is the ability to understand when additional information is needed, and to be able to find the information needed to fully understand an idea. The ACRL gives five standards for information literacy: the information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed, accesses needed information effectively and efficiently, evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose, and understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally (8-14). I think as we delve deeper into the twenty-first century, these standards are not only important for tertiary students to understand and know, but for secondary students as well.

            Standard One: “The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed” (8). I want my students to know when and how to seek further information. When my students come across something they don’t know or are unfamiliar with, I want them to be able to ask for help, or know of places where they can find help. I want my students to know the many different databases they can use to help further their understanding, or that their school and local libraries are at their disposal to help them as well. Whether it be a word they don’t know or a concept they don’t know, I hope my students will be information literate enough to know how to seek their answers.

            Standard Two: “The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently” (9). Although this goes nicely with the first standard, I think that this goes with effectively using online databases to find additional information. I hope my students will know how to use databases such as Google Scholar and jStoor to help them seek information. I hope that they will not give up after one search or get intimidated by the vastness of these and other databases, but can learn how to navigate them efficiently, and thus effectively.

            Standard Three: “The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system” (11). A big issue with many students is being able to summarize, so I hope with this standard that students will learn how to become good summarizers, and to know what the main ideas of an article are. I also hope that students won’t believe everything they read, and that they can use their own knowledge and beliefs to challenge the things they read.

            Standard Four: The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose” (13). I want my students to learn how to incorporate effective articles and journals into their research projects and papers, and that these sources are incredibly valuable. I want my students to be able to share their findings and opinions with others in an expert manner, having enough research and evidence to support their particular stance on something.

            Standard Five: “The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally” (14). Perhaps most importantly of all, I want my students to learn how to site their sources correctly and not to plagiarize. I want my students to recognize when to quote and paraphrase, and how to site them correctly using MLA, APA, or any other format they may come across.

            Overall, I found these standards extremely useful and helpful for my future career as an educator, especially an English educator. As we go deeper into the twenty-first century, these skills are priceless, and need to be known by not only tertiary students, but secondary and primary students alike.