WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY?

Information literacy can be understood as a process in which a set of practical skills are developed. These skills involve the appropriate, effective and efficient conceptualisation, location, retrieval, use, synthesis and presentation (re-use) of print and digital information resources, as well as information technology tools. In today’s world it is crucial that you are information literate. Being information literate empowers you in your learning, so that you are not dependent on others (for example, your teacher) for your learning. Developing the information literacy process is a fundamental quality of the life-long learner you need to be in order to participate fully in society. Being a lifelong learner requires the ability to be a critical and reflective thinker, concerned with the wider social, cultural, economic, geographical, philosophical and physical contexts in which information is delivered, retrieved, interpreted and re-used. Armed with these attributes, you can enjoy full and meaningful participation in information-rich societies. Our blog consists of learning materials and activities links to further sources pertaining to each stage in the information literacy development process.

WHO ARE THE MIDDLE YEARS LEARNERS?

As middle years’ learners, we know that as a group you have particular learning needs and preferences which are specific to your particular cognitive, social, psychological, physiological and emotional development. Learning experiences are therefore ideally created with the following characteristics:

1. active engagement
2. higher-order thinking
3. challenging material
4. a supportive and positive learning environment
5. authentic and relevant linkages between learning processes, content and outcomes, and the real world in which in you participate
6. a combination of modelled and scaffolded teaching strategies
7. student-constructed learning opportunities and
8. student-controlled pace, direction and processes

We also know that as middle years’ learners, you are likely to be already quite adept at utilising ICTs in your everyday lives. These strengths in technological literacy should be harnessed in appropriate learning experiences. We acknowledge that as middle years’ learners you also have a very wide range of interest, capabilities and preferences, which may or may not be already recognised and/or accepted by others. Bearing all of this in mind, the Q’Ties have sought to develop and/or source appropriate learning materials and activities, with a focus on interaction, active engagement a learner-centred pace and direction. Therefore, feel free to jump around the different blogs, information and activities, as they relate to you.

WHAT IS CYBERLEARNING?

Cyberlearning can be understood as a learning experience which is provided, guided or enacted in an online environment. That is, the ‘cyberworld’ of the World Wide Web and other digital tools, replace the traditional face-to-face learning experience you might have in the physical classroom. Cyberlearning experiences provide you with opportunities to self-manage your own learning, be challenged through higher order thinking, engage in authentic and relevant (familiar) content, materials and tasks, develop technological skills required for participation in an increasingly digitally-based world, and become information literate individuals in an information-rich society. Q’Ties’ blog is one example of a cyberlearning experience you might engage in – you’re still learning but, rather than sitting at a desk in front of a teacher, you’re engaging in the learning materials in a virtual mode.

MODELS OF INFORMATION LITERACY

We have drawn from a variety of online models of information literacy to provide you with a well-rounded, authentic and group-specific online learning resource pertaining to information literacy. The key sources we selected from can be found in detail at:

The Big6 Information Literacy

Bellingham Schools: Information Literacy and the Net

OUTCOMES

We hope that upon completion of navigating through the various blogs we have posted here, you will have gained an understanding of what it means to be an information literate individual, and why this might be important in the 21^st century.

We hope that upon completion of the various learning activities we have developed and/or sourced, you will have had opportunity to assess, develop and reflect upon your own information literacy.

We hope that the skills, knowledge and perceptions you might have developed through the use of this online learning resource will enhance your future (cyber and face-to-face) learning engagement.