INFORMATION LITERACY:

THE DEFINING
PARADIGM OF MODERN
EDUCATION
 What is Information Literacy
Thompson and Henley in their book “Fostering Information Literacy”(2000),
traces its beginning as follows:
■ Henry Brooks Adam
He expressed the concept of information literacy when he said, (they
know enough who know how to learn). It is knowing how to find information,
evaluate it, and use it wisely and effectively.
■ Ferguson
He acknowledges that "the first problem with information literacy is
trying to describe what it is. Since we are talking about a complex set of
interrelated skills, it can be difficult to distill into a single descriptive
sentence. Nevertheless, it is important to settle on a definition because
Information Literacy is the defining paradigm of modern education".
 Information Literacy is defined as the ability to know when there
National Forum on is a need for information, and to be able to identify, locate,
Information Literacy evaluate, and effectively use the information for the issue or
(1989) problem at hand.

NCLIS- National
Commission on Libraries Information Literacy encompasses knowledge of one's information
and Information Science concerns and needs, and ability to identify, locate, evaluate,
and organize, and effectively create, use and communicate
UNESCO- United Nations information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a
Educational, Scientific prerequisite to participating in the Information Society, and is part
and Cultural of the basic human right of lifelong learning.
Organization
■ Holly Borton
He clarifies the different literacies such as: Basic Literacy,
Library Literacy, Media Literacy, Technology Literacy and Visual
Literacy. But there is one-Information Literacy- under which all the
other literacies reside because it is the tool of empowerment.
"Regardless of where information literacy skills are employed,
they are applicable in any school, play or work situation“.
 A Tool for Empowerment:
Information Literacy, The defining paradigm of modern
education

Basic Literacy includes the skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening,

counting, calculating, perceiving, and drawing. Every one of this skills
should be taught and reinforce by every teacher, in every subject, and with
gradually increasing levels of sophistication, in every grade K through 12.
In our day, a person lacking any of these skills cannot truly be considered
"literate".
Library Literacy is too important to be left to chance. Every student
needs to understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
Every student needs to know how to effectively use reference books and
periodicals. Students need to understand the Dewey Decimal System as
a useful, logical system of hierarchical organization and recognize its
similarities to other such systems. Students should use indexes and the
library catalog so often it that becomes a subconscious skill.

Media Literacy includes an understanding of the many different types of

media and the purposes for which they can be used. Students should be
taught the difference between fact and opinion, and be able to
distinguish between information, entertainment, and persuasion. They
should learn that all information has a source that knowing the source
and its biases is an important part of understanding any information.
Computer Literacy basic computer operations: booting the computer,
saving and retrieving files, loading a program, and perhaps some
rudimentary word processing skills such as "cut and paste". Like basic
literacy, technology literacy is a continuum of skills that can always be
improved, and, like library literacy ,students receive technology
experience and instruction in a hit or miss fashion depending on which
teachers they may have over the years. Every student should be
thoroughly grounded in both the ethics and etiquette of technology use.
Most importantly, every student should have frequent opportunities to
use technological tools to create his/her own information artifacts-in
print, on the screen, and online.
Visual Literacy is the link between Media Literacy and Technology
Literacy. Media images and sound are end products created using the
tools of digital technology. "Visual Literacy means the skills and learning
needed to view visual and audio/visual materials skeptically, critically,
and knowledgably."-Brian Stonehill, Pomona College, Clairmont,
California.
Indicators of Information Literacy: The information-literate student can:

Identify and locate Access

Recognize the information
appropriate
needs for contained in those
information
information sources
sources

Evaluate the Use the

quality of Organize the information
information information effectively (Doyle,
obtained 1992)
Why Should We Be Concerned About Information Literacy?

■ Most of the netizens surfing, hanging about, prowling the web for
study and leisure presume that works uploaded in the internet
are true and valid and usable as presented.

■ A social scientist from Stanford University (Web Credibility

Project), BJ Fogg, whose expertise is behavior design found out
that people do judge a Web site by how it looks rather than what
it contains.
■ Peter Steiner's cartoon which became a constant reminder
to all netizens to evaluate the validity of the information
they use and check the credibility of the author using a set
of criteria before they use the information they found. We
must be discriminating, judicious, and smart users of
information. That makes us information literate.
■ We must also consider the tremendous changes in both the
amount and variety of information resources, as well as great
changes in technology that affect our lives in everything from
banking to medical care. Change requires us to know more and
learn more about the world around us.(Humes, 1999)
■ Breivik and Jones (1993) have found that the traditional literacies
of reading, writing, and mathematical reasoning are insufficient
for lifelong learning. The increasing quantity of information from
all sources and the pressure to remain in a constant state of
conscious learning means that we must be dexterous in the use
of information. The need to handle and use information is present
in all stages of life and the acquisition of the competencies of
information literacy must be intertwined with the acquisition of
the other lite
Changing Views of Education (Thompson and Henley, 2000)

■ Some background on the changing views of the education and

explains the resulting changes in teaching practices that are
required for information literacy instruction.

Learning is now perceived as a process, not a product;

Learning people do not quit learning when they leave school, but
remain lifelong learners.
 Curriculum-New objective are flexible, taking individual and
cultural difference into account. Current events, local
Curriculum resource, and students' interests are also taken into
account as curriculum objectives to make learning more
relevant.

The classroom is viewed as an environment where active

learning takes place. Overhead projectors, television
Classroom monitors, VCRs, and computers are standard equipment in
the classroom. Classroom environment is conducive to
learning and encourages students to become self-reliant,
and responsible for their own learning.
 Educators today realize that students need to be actively
involved in seeking information and using it in some way they
Information create their own unique concepts of knowledge based on
previous understandings and experiences.

Students today are viewed as information seekers,

information users, decision makers, and problem solvers.
Students What they learn depends on what they need to know to make
a decision or to solve a problem.
 Now teachers are facilitators of the learning process and are
constantly learning as they work collaboratively with other
Teachers
teachers, library media specialist, community members, and
even with overseas teachers via internet.

Now projects of all sorts are the rule. Authentic assessment

are intended to gauge what students learn by measuring how
Assessment well they use the information such as portfolios,
presentations and written reports.
 Library media centers are designed to provide not only
Library efficient storage but also equal access to information and
and the convenient retrieval of it. Library media socialist now
Librarians work cooperatively with teachers to plan units that integrate
information literacy skills into subject area curricula.

The identification of information literacy skills needed for

Methods lifelong learning and thinking promotes a change in what is
of taught. Brain-based research that shows how students learn
Teaching and the abundance of information in all formats dictates a
change in how teachers teach.
Changing paradigms- Old Teaching Compared to New Methods

New Methods Old Teaching Methods

Actively engaged Lecture/listen
Group effort Individual effort
Integration Subjects
Problem-centered Facts
Guide on the side Sage on the stage
All resources Spoken/written
Authentic/Portfolio RRR=Recall/Recognize/Retain(42
hours)
Community collaboration Insular programs