EDED11449 PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSITY LEARNING WEEK 2 LECTURE - ENGAGING WITH INFORMATION
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For many decades now in tertiary institutions throughout the world, librarians and academic staff have collaborated to provide materials and services to assist students with their information needs.
Some months ago, your course coordinators approached the Library to present a lecture on the topic of information literacy (a term we will explore in this
presentation) and, in particular, to provide a theoretical background to the topic. In addition, the request was made that the lecture should also explain the information literacy component within the course, Principles of Learning. So that explains in broad terms what this lecture will be about and why I, as a librarian, will be presenting this lecture to you today.
The actual title of this lecture is Engaging with Information and it is within the context of this term that the topic of information literacy will be explored. The term, Engaging with Information, can conjure up various images - a tourist reading a bus timetable; a teenager viewing a friend’s Facebook page; a business person adding a phone number to a mobile phone contacts listing or a student studying a text book the night before an exam. All these are instances of people engaging with information.
And this engagement has required using some source of information (a bus
timetable, Facebook page; mobile phone and text book) and a meaningful
purpose (finding out where and when to catch a bus, catching up on the latest
gossip, adding to a list of phone contacts and preparing for an exam). But what if
the people mentioned didn’t know how to access, or how to use, or manage a bus
timetable, or a Facebook page, or a mobile phone or text books? What are the
implications for people living in our society today if they don’t know how to access,
or use, or manage, or organise, or evaluate the information they are constantly
exposed to and need?
In this presentation I will take you on a journey with stops along the way but which hopefully will end with you understanding why you are here, in this place, listening to me speaking to you about the how, when, where and why of engaging with information!
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Specifically, we will stop to consider:
How do people engage with information?
How is our information environment changing?
How can we negotiate this environment?
What is information literacy?
Who are the information literate?
Why the focus on information literacy?
What is information literacy education?
What is the information literacy component in Principles of University Learning?
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Most of us are keenly aware of the avalanche of information coming at us from the time we wake to a radio program or morning breakfast show until we turn off the late-night news or our social networking computer sites. Text messages, books, newspapers, professional journals, phone calls, emails, pamphlets and
newsletters all add to the volume of information flooding our lives.
We are challenged on a daily basis to negotiate through vast amounts of
information in a meaningful way. Eisenberg, Lowe and Spitzer in the introduction
to their text Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age refer to 4
scenarios which illustrate people engaging with their world of information. I have
added another scenario as well. And as I relay these to you, you might consider
whether the interaction was negative or positive:
A chief financial officer returned home from vacation and found 2000 email messages waiting for him. He was so overwhelmed that he simply deleted them, thereby eliminating potentially valuable information.
Scientists needed to record the eclipse of the star Aldebaran from a multitude of viewing points so they issued a call to amateur astronomers via a internet
website. Those who answered the call were asked to tune to a particular weather channel to synchronize the starting of their camcorders to record the event.
Videotapes were then forwarded to scientists for analysis. These amateur astronomers assisted scientists in adding new information to field of astronomy.
In October 1987, high winds assaulted the southern half of England destroying more than 15 million trees and damaging almost 1 out of every 6 English homes.
British weather forecasters who were perhaps overconfident in relying on their computerized models, failed to predict the worst storm in England in 300 years.
Information about how serious the weather conditions would be was not relayed, and so people were under prepared and stock, possessions, and property were all destroyed. In this instance, a lack of, or incorrect information, had devastating effects for thousands of people.
In 1998, over 100,000 school students became young scientists as they participated in a government sponsored Web-based initiative entitled Journal North. Students tracked the migration of monarch butterflies, American robins, hummingbirds, right whales and other species and reported the latitude and longitude of their sightings, along with other description information via the Internet. They then manipulated the raw data to create maps and conduct other projects demonstrating the migration of these species. The information gathering conducted by the students not only contributed to further government projects but provided the students with the experience of working in an authentic work-related context.
Finally, another scenario that involved large numbers of people interacting with a
specific type of information and one that most of us are probably aware of,
occurred just a few months ago. Prior to the Federal election last November, former Prime Minister John Howard attempted to engage the Australian voting public and especially young voters by appearing on U Tube. The consensus of opinion in various media outlets after the episode was that ‘meaningful
engagement’ did not occur on the part of his intended audience. John Howard and U Tube just did not mix! Many people were turned off!
As these examples illustrate, information can overwhelm, mislead, confuse, enable, empower and dissatisfy. These examples show that engaging with
information can be a positive or negative experience. They also demonstrate that our evolving information environments are constantly redefining the way we experience and interact with information in our individual, social and professional roles.
At this point, I would like to show you a short 8 minute video which although is somewhat US-centric in content, allows us to reflect on our changing information environment. The video is entitled Did you know 2.0. Some other information about the video is as follows:
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PLAY VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U
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What are your initial reactions to what you saw in the presentation?
How are these changes manifesting themselves in your personal lives?
professional lives?
What do we think it means to prepare people for the 21st century? What skills do people need to survive and thrive in this new era?
What implications does this have for our current way of doing things?
Do we need to change? If so, how?
How do we get from here to there?
What challenges must we overcome as we move forward?
What supports will we need as we move forward?
What kind of training will we need to move forward?
The video highlights:
that the opportunities for information sharing are increasing (recall the number of English speaking people in India and China);
that information and communication technologies (or ICTs), in particular, have provided increased access to information across people of all ages and all locations
that ICTs have lessened the time in which information is made available
the video also suggests that our education systems hold the key to preparing the children and youth of today for the information world of tomorrow.
So, how can we negotiate this changing information environment?
We all know that more information doesn’t necessarily mean better information.
Increasingly information comes to us unfiltered. This raises questions about the authenticity, validity and reliability of the information we are exposed to. If you read or listen to, or view, information on the Internet, for example, you know that opportunities for inaccuracies, exploitation and deception have grown along with the speed and magnitude of information available to us. In addition, because information is available through multiple media, including graphical, aural and textual, there are challenges for us as individuals in evaluating, understanding and using information in an ethical and legal manner. The sometimes dubious quality and expanding quantity of information also pose large challenges for society. The sheer abundance of information and technology will not in itself create more informed citizens.
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Coping with bewildering amounts and types of information requires a new form of literacy, one that goes beyond the ability to read, write and comprehend –
something educators refer to as information literacy. And it’s information literacy
that allows us to make sense of the world of information in which we live. It’s
information literacy which allows us to engage with information in a meaningful
way. In the scenarios I presented at the beginning of this lecture, the tourist, teenager, business person and student were all exhibiting to some degree what is known as information literacy.
You may well ask how does a person become information literate? Some of the knowledge and skills associated with being information literate are certainly passed on to us by those we know. We can also learn to be information literate through experiential learning or play or by reading or viewing print and online guides and manuals which provide instruction on how to access, or use, or manage, or organise, or evaluate information. Formal instruction by teachers, academics, librarians and other information professionals can also help people to become information literate.
As many of you are perhaps new to the concept of information literacy, it may be helpful to explore some of the definitions of the term. Scholars, academics, agencies and professional bodies in the US, Australia, UK and in other countries, have established definitions of the term and these are available in a variety of print and online publications.
Interestingly enough, the term ‘information literacy’ is not new. Paul G. Zurowski is credited with first using the term in 1974. An information literate individual,
according to Zurowski is anyone who had learned to use a range of information sources in order to solve problems at work and in his or her daily life. Zurowski’s definition continues to have validity over 34 years later.
What has happened in the intervening period, however, is that while the term seems to be accepted in use by many professional organisations, agencies and educational institutions, what is meant by the term varies.
Grassian and Kaplowitz (2001) provide an overview of some typical definitions of
information literacy and at this point I will draw on the information they provide in
their text, Information Literacy Instruction: Theory and Practice.
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In 1985 Breivik described information literacy as an integrated set of skills and the knowledge of information tools and resources. She also believed that information literacy developed through particular behaviours such as persistence, attention to detail, and a critical, evaluative view of the material found.
Kuhlthau (1989,1990) agreed with Breivik on the need for persistence, attention to detail and caution in accepting information, but points out that one of the most important aspects of information literacy is an understanding of the amount of time and effort involved in information seeking and use. According to her, the
information literate individual is aware that information gathering is not linear; it is a complex process in which questions change and evolve as new information is gathered and thought about.
At this point, it is worth mentioning that rather than defining the term information literacy, many scholars, agencies and organisations prefer to describe information literate people.
The American Library Association’s - Presidential Committee on Information Literacy Final Report - published in 1989 describes the information literate individual as someone who has the ability to recognise an information need, and can locate, evaluate, and use information effectively. The report emphasises that information literacy prepares people for lifelong learning – “Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn.”
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Rader (1991) discusses the information literate individual as someone who can survive and be successful in a rapidly changing information environment. Being information literate allows one to lead a productive and satisfying life in a
democratic society and to ensure a better future for coming generations. Note
here an emphasis on the perceived social role of information literacy.
The American Association of School Librarians and the Association for
Educational Communications and Technology standards published in 1998 also reflect this view.
These standards define the information literate student as one who accesses information efficiently and effectively, critically evaluates the information and uses it accurately and creatively. The standards also emphasise independent learning and social responsibility. The information literatge individual is someone who contributes positively to the learning community and to society at large.
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One of Australia’s foremost researchers and writers in the area of information literacy, Christine Bruce, describes an information literate person in this diagram.
Such a person engages in independent, self-directed learning using a variety of resources and information systems (print and electronic). He or she values information and its use, approaches information critically and has developed a personal information style.
Bruce maintains that information literate individuals become aware of the world of information and strategies for accessing and using that information, and then they develop their own heuristics or `styles' for interacting with information.
Individuals may choose, for example, different entry points to tackling an
information problem; one may begin with the design of a search strategy, another may begin with phone calls to personal contacts, another may prefer to browse known resources. Individuals also develop their own styles in other aspects of information literacy such as the use of technology (e.g. Word and Excel to record information), and the communication of information (blogs or wikis or discussion boards) and evaluation of information. Importantly, however, these information styles are based on an educated appreciation of the world of information and its organisation.
Many Australian universities have formally endorsed the Australian and New
Zealand Information Literacy [ANZIL] Framework published in 2004 by the
Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy as a resource to inform information literacy instruction and learning. (ANZIIL, p.47).
According to the Framework, information literacy in the education sector has been generally been defined as “a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognise when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information”.
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So we seem to have no end to the descriptions of the term, information literacy, or what constitutes an information literate person. And, you might well ask what specifically does an information literate person know and do?
At this point we will look at each of the characteristics of an information literate person as defined within the ANZIIL Framework and how someone, for example, a student, might demonstrate that he or she is developing information literacy knowledge and skills. As we look at these characteristics, you might reflect on whether or not you have already developed the knowledge, skills and behaviours listed:
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STANDARD 1 The information literate person recognises the need for information and determines the nature and extent of the information need. This means that an information literate student might, for example:
explore general information sources (e.g. subject dictionaries and encyclopedias) to increase familiarity with a topic
differentiate between primary and secondary sources of information
identify the intended purpose and audience of potential resources eg. popular
vs. scholarly resources or current vs. historical resources
understands that different information sources will present different
perspectives
use a range of information sources to understand the issues…
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STANDARD 2 The information literate person locates needed information effectively and efficiently. This means that an information literate student might, for example:
use various information access tools to retrieve information in a variety of formats
identify appropriate investigative methods e.g. laboratory experiment, simulation, fieldwork
identify keywords to search for the information needed
subscribe to listservs and discussion groups
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STANDARD 3 The information literate person critically evaluates information and the information seeking process. This means that an information literate student might, for example:
identifies gaps in the information retrieved and determines if the search strategy should be revised
examines and compares information from various sources to evaluate reliability, accuracy, authority, point of view or bias etc
recognises and questions prejudice, deception or manipulation within information
reviews information access tools used and expands to include other as
needed…
Remember, these are only some of the skills and abilities that an information
literate student might be able to display.
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STANDARD 4 The information literate person manages information collected or generated. This means that an information literate person student, for example:
organises content in a manner that supports the purposes and format of the required product e.g. Outlines, drafts, reports, essays, storyboards.
differentiates between types of sources cited and understands the elements and correct citation style for a wide range of resources
compiles references in the required bibliographic format
records all pertinent citation information for future reference and retrieval…
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STANDARD 5 The information literate person applies prior and new information to contruct new concepts or create new understandings. This means that an information literate person student, for example:
selects information that provides evidence for a topic
summarises the main ideas extracted from the information gathered
understands that information and knowledge in any discipline is in part a social construction and is subject to change as a result of ongoing dialogue and research
uses a range of appropriate IT applications in creating a product
communicates clearly and in a style to support the purposes of the intended audience
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STANDARD 6 The information literate person uses information with
understanding and acknowledges cultural, ethical, economic, legal and social
issues surrounding the use of information. This means that an information literate person student, for example:
understands and respects indigenous and multicultural perspectives of using information
demonstrates an understanding of what constitutes plagiarism and correctly acknowledges the work and ideas of others
obtains, stores and disseminates text, data, images, or sounds in a legal manner
demonstrates an understanding of copyright and fair use of copyrighted material
participates in electronic discussions following accepted practices e.g.
Netiquette
Almost 4 decades after the term was first coined, the phenomenon of information literacy continues to gather momentum. So why this focus on information literacy?
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One reason mentioned by numerous authors and one which I referred to earlier in this lecture, is the massive increase of easily available information. Terms such as
‘information overload’, ‘data smog’ and ‘information glut’ all capture the essence of the problem. People need to be able to engage in a meaningful way with the information to which they are constantly exposed and information literacy is viewed as a way of achieving this. For example, being information literate means having the ability to know what information from which source might be useful;
being information literate allow us to confidently access the information we do want and/or discard any unwanted information
Another factor contributing to the perceived importance of information literacy
could be the shift of paradigms in the educational context. Radar in the 2005 text
Information and IT Literacy: enabling learning in the 21
stcentury, explains that on
all educational levels whether it be in early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary
institutions, there is a move away from the teacher-centered education in favour of student-centered pedagogy – a pedagogy that involves problem and inquiry based learning. Students are supposed to use information that they have identified, located, accessed and evaluated, to solve problems. This educational shift functions as a strong argument for developing information literate students.
A third important factor is the globally spread ideological and political idea of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is promoted in statements and documents by government and non-government organisations as being necessary due to rapid technological, social, cultural and economic change. Information literacy is seen as a prerequisite for lifelong learning
At the international level, 2 documents produced by the United Nations agency UNESCO have helped to add weight to the importance of information literacy.
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An extract from the 2003 Prague Declaration states:
“Information literacy encompasses knowledge of one’s information concerns and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the Information Society, and is part of the basic human right of lifelong learning
Building on the work done at Prague, the final report of the High-Level Colloquium on Information Literacy and LifeLong Learning at Alexandria in November 2005 stated that information literacy was an enabler of individual and collective development and ultimately a promoter of an empowering social environment.
An extract from the Alexandria Proclamation reads:
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“Information Literacy lies at the core of lifelong learning. It empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals. It is a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion of all nations. Lifelong learning enables individuals, communities and nations to attain their goals and to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the evolving global environment for shared benefit. It assists them and their institutions to meet technological,
economic and social challenges, to redress disadvantage and to advance the well being of all.”
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Within Australia, one example of the documentation that has made connections between information literacy and lifelong learning is the Australian Library and Information Association’s 2001 Statement on information literacy for all
Australians. This statement declares that:
Information literacy is a prerequisite for :
participative citizenship
social inclusion
the creation of new knowledge
personal, vocational, corporate and organisational empowerment
learning for life
In this document, too, as in the UNESCO documents, there is reference to the connection between information literacy, lifelong learning, and social
responsibility.
The implication here is that information literacy makes people more socially
responsible and therefore better citizens. Note also the reference to the
contribution that information literacy can make in the workplace – that it can
empower people in their vocations or careers, in their corporate worlds and within
the organisations they are a part of. Information literacy knowledge and skills
learnt at university can help to make people workplace ready. As an aside, I
would like to mention that some research has already taken place into information
literacy meaning in workplace contexts. Dr Anne Lloyd from CSU, for example, has examined how fire fighters and ambulance officers access, use and engage with information in their particular workplaces.
In 1994, Candy, Crebert and O’Leary’s report, Developing lifelong learners through undergraduate education connected information literacy with lifelong learning. They argued that information literacy instruction enabled students to engage critically with content and extend their investigations, to become more self directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. (All positives from a student’s perspective!) This process of learning how to learn would then provide them with the foundation for continued growth throughout their careers as
graduates as well as their roles as members of communities and informed citizens.
Certainly, information literacy instruction is occurring in educational institutions throughout the world.
Educators in primary, secondary, tertiary and professional education contexts have been developing strategies and policies that enhance information literacy instruction. Incorporating information literacy within the curriculum offered by education institutions has been dependent on the collaborative efforts of
educators, including teachers, learning advisors, librarians, curriculum designers and administrators.
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Current practice of incorporating information literacy instruction into the curriculum is a mix of generic, parallel, integrated and embedded activity. This type of activity is explained in the following table generated within the ANZIL Framework
publication referred to earlier:
Generic Extra curricular classes and/or self paced packages
(CQU Library’s Compass tutorial is such an example.)Parallel Extra curricular classes and/or self paced packages that
complement the curriculum
(Library Guides that focus on the assessment in a particular course are such an example.)
Integrated Classes and packages that are part of the curriculum.
(As in EDED11449 Principles of University Learning)
Embedded Curriculum design where students have ongoing interaction and reflection with information.
(An example could be that students are investigating a particular topic as a tutorial exercise. They have to come to the tute with a prepared annotated bibliography of some 10 resources of varying types including books, journal articles and websites. In the tute the students then share the information they have found and comment on the most useful resources.)
Information literacy, in some of the literature, is interpreted as one of a number of literacies prevailing in our world today. Information literacy is also described as the overarching literacy essential for twenty-first century living and encompasses other literacies such as visual, media, computer, digital and network literacies.
That is a debate for others to have! Today, information literacy is inextricably associated with information practices and critical thinking in both the information and communication technology (ICT) environment and print environment.
As information and communication technologies develop rapidly, and the information environment becomes increasingly complex, educators across all educational sectors are recognizing the need for learners to engage with the information environment as part of their formal learning processes.
So how does all this translate into your learning at CQU?
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In 1992, the Higher Education Council in its publication, Higher Education:
Achieving Quality listed the generic skills, attitudes and values considered
desirable in an Australian university graduate. Since then the defining and
publication of graduate attributes (sometimes referred to as graduate skills or
graduate characteristics) can be found in statements and policy documents of
most Australian universities. Information literacy, which was referred to by the
Higher Education Council, is either explicitly stated by many universities as a
graduate attribute, or given recognition as a strategy used to achieve graduate
attributes. CQU is one such institution that highlights the importance of information literacy as a graduate skill as in states in its Management Plan for Learning and Teaching 2006 – 2011 that graduates should be able to “acquire, evaluate and use information effectively” and “communicate effectively”
There exists the argument that universities today have to prepare students for a society in which information literacy has become an important prerequisite for personal as well as national development. This notion is promoted in the Federal Government document, Striving for Quality: Learning Teaching and Scholarship (2002). It states:
Higher education institutions should produce graduates with skills, knowledge and learning outcomes that promote individual
development and that the nation requires for continued economic, social and cultural development. The new century is generating a need for ‘emerging skills’ and knowledge that have not been previously a focus for higher education. These include … information literacy and management skills …
Throughout your years of study at CQU, you will be presented with a myriad of opportunities, both direct and indirect, to assist you in developing your information literacy knowledge and skills. However, it must be remembered that information literacy is not the outcome of any one course. It is the cumulative experience from a range of courses and learning activities which helps to create the information literate student. EDED11449 Principles of University Learning, does however place particular emphasis and direct instruction on the topic of information literacy.
I would now like to outline the information literacy component of this course.
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In Week 2, as you can see from the slide, Engaging with Information is 1 of 10 topics that will be covered in this course.
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With regard to course assessment, you will need to complete 10 online quizzes as 1 of the items within Assessment Task 1 - the Individual Learning Portfolio
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The information-literacy related materials within this course consist of the following:
Lecture
Study Guide chapter
10 x information literacy units (stories/discussions)
10 x information literacy quizzes
1 x 2 hour Library session
1 x LibGuide (Library session equivalent for flex students)
