Information Literacy, Technology, and Digital/Media

Information literacy is described by the ACRL's Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education as, "a set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning." (ARCL, 2015). Information literacy is the broadest type of literacy in the sense that it is the basic understanding of how information is accessed, interpreted, and used. Technology and digital/media are fast growing entities that have allowed librarians to teach information literacy in a different and arguably easier way, but these advancements have also brought up other new types of more specific literacies that librarians can and need to teach so that community members can find success in an ever-growing technological world. 

The P21 Framework sums it up best by pointing out the fact that people in 21st century live in a technology and media-driven environment that continues to provide faster ways for people to find information, to share information, and to use information (P21, 2015). Because of this fact, information literacy is the basis for newer literacies such as digital literacy, media literacy, and technology literacy. The Liturgist's podcast talks about fake news and how it has changed over time, especially within the last few years. Acknowledging the fact that not all information found on the internet is real, hence the term "fake news", is one of the most important skills that librarians can teach today's students when it comes to media literacy. I constantly hear of horrific crimes that are committed by people who have fallen prey to the inability to decipher the vast amount of information that is placed online. This is one of the major reasons why teaching the three literacies highlighted above is critical to the health and well-being of our youth. 

The Liturgist's podcast spoke about a healthy information calorie versus a bad information calorie. They spoke about the difference between our logical thinking and our emotional thinking, stating that our ability to process information from social media relies on our ability to pay attention to our feelings and be mindful and understanding of them as they occur (The Liturgists, 2017). To me, this means that your information diet is not considered healthy or unhealthy based on the amount of information that you expose yourself to, but rather the way that you perceive it. While I have personally chosen not to have any social media, I do believe that it is important for school librarians to interact with students using social media because it prepares students to be effective users and interpreters of it if they choose to use it. 

Works Cited:

ARCL. (2015). Framework for information literacy for higher education. ALA. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework  

The Liturgists. (2017). Fake news & media literacy. [Audio Podcast]. Google Podcasts. The Liturgists Podcast - Fake News & Media Literacy (google.com)

Partnership for 21st Century Learning. (2015). Framework for 21st century learners. [PDF]. P21.