Information literacy is important because we are surrounded by a growing ocean of information in all formats. Not all information is created equal: some is authoritative, current, reliable, but some is biased, out of date, misleading, false. The amount of information available is going to keep increasing. The types of technology used to access, manipulate, and create information will likewise expand.
From University of Idaho at http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/
Knight Cite (enter citations and receive correct MLA, APA, or Chicago style format)
Zotero: free Firefox extension helps you collect, manage, and cite your research sources
ACRL Information Literacy From the Association of College & Research Libraries, this site has numerous resources on information literacy.
National Forum on Information Literacy Network of more than 90 organizations that recognize information literacy as an essesntial 21st century skill.
Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles." Online organizer Eli Pariser discusses how the internet may be narrowing or automatically filtering what we view. This is a TED video.
Electronic Frontier Foundation Information from civil liberties group that describe personal rights in a digital world.
Common Craft Simple yet effective 3 minutes videos that explain different aspects of informaiton technology.
Information Literacy: Students will revise their search strategies and employ appropriate research tools, integrate relevant information from reliable sources, question and evaluate the complexity of the information environment, and use information in an ethical manner.
Trait 1: Tool Use: Revise search strategies and employ appropriate research tools.
Trait 2: Relevance of Information: Integrate relevant information from reliable sources.
Trait 3: Assumptions and Biases: Question and evaluate the complexity of the information environment.
Trait 4: Legal/Ethical Issues: Use information in an ethical manner.
Follow the link below to complete the Credo InfoLit tutorial:
Information Literacy is the ability to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques.
Think all information is created equal? Watch the following TED talk by Eli Pariser to learn about how companies like Google and Facebook manipulate search results based on who you are, what you like, what you buy, and how you behave online. Increasing one's level of information literacy can help you learn better how to "play ball" with industry, politicians, educational systems, and more.
Credo Reference: Encyclopedia of Distance Learning: Information Literacy - Topic page from the Credo Reference Database about Information Literacy.
Information Literacy: MU Learning Outcomes Supporting Documentation - Gives precise information about traits and performance levels expected of students learning to master this learning outcome.
The Importance of Truth Workers in an Era of Factual Recession - "In our post-truth world, the evaluation of knowledge has become a perfunctory process facilitated by the ease of the one-search interface. Many of us, not only students, have become a nation of Google searchers looking for instantaneous matches of facts and figures rather than thoroughly interrogating the veracity of the information we find online, and reflecting on how it informs our thoughts, beliefs, and opinions."