Still working on information process models. There are so many! Will I ever decide on two and get this part of the assignment done???
In his article Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age (2008) Eisenberg refers to IL as a set of skills and knowledge that allows us to find, evaluate and use the information we need. He sees IL skills as necessary for us to successfully navigate the present and future landscape of information we are being faced with. Eisenberg believes that information and technology affects every person in every possible setting including work, education and recreation.
I agree with all that he says. As educators of children, the future contributors of our society, teacher librarians need to keep these thought in the forefront of their minds when considering information literacy needs and learning programs in our 21st century schools. In order to provide a balanced and relevant learning program all facets of the literacy spectrum (Stern 2002) need to be catered for.
(An interesting web page I came across. Stern C. (2002) Information literacy unplugged: teaching information literacy without technology. (White paper prepared for UNESCO, the US NCLIS and National Forum for Information Literacy. http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/)Today’s information comes at us in so many different forms. We are bombarded with information through TV, movies, print, radio, electronic and digital forms as well as being able to access the World Wide Web with computer technology. Successful people today are those that focus on meaningful use of information and technology. Successful people are those who are able to apply technology and information to a range of situations. (Eisenburg 2008)
Christine Bruce (2003) sees IL as being strongly connected with critical and reflective thinking. She believes a key characteristic of the life- long learner is having the ability to access, evaluate, organize and use information in order to learn, problem solve, make decisions in formal and informal contexts, at work, at home and in educational settings.
Life-long learning can be describe as the process of acquiring and expanding knowledge, skills, and dispositions throughout one’s life to foster well-being. It's much more than taking an adult pottery class or reading a nonfiction book occasionally. It's about the decisions you make and the problems you solve in everyday life. From enrolling in a structured, formal education program to considering whether to believe an infomercial's gimmick, lifelong learning takes many forms. Life-long learners choose to seek out new ideas and alternative perspectives. They embrace our changing, dynamic, information-rich society by keeping their senses active and their minds full of ideas. Much of this learning is self-directed. To be successful, the child or adult must have basic information inquiry knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
Therefore, if we are to foster the development of children as life-long learners then IL must not be seen as merely developing a set of skills, but also as cultivating attitudes and critical thinking behaviors that encourage students to become life-long learners and worthwhile contributors of today’s society.
Mmmmm......very interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment