A Reflection on Information Literacy

In the Walden course, Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry, that I am finishing this week, I have learned a number of useful tips for using the internet more efficiently. The most striking thing I learned is that, although my high school students are well practiced in using the internet, several do not know how to sift through sites to find specific information effectively. They rush through the inquiry process. Many do not take the time to look at the excerpts that come up with search results. Instead, they click on the first result expecting it to give them everything they need. When they do find a site with promising information, they often do not realize it because they do not take the time to look through the site. I do not think my students lack the needed literacy skills; they lack desire to put forth effort into the work.

There are a few students who really do not know how to complete an effective search. The literacy I see as the most deficient is being able to come up with good research questions and key words to use. I used the category flowcharts in Eagleton and Dobler’s (2007) book Reading the Web with my students, and the charts really helped them.

This course has helped me become more aware of the exact literacy needs for doing research on the internet. In the past, I have not spent time teaching questioning and key word techniques. I have assumed that high school students already have these skills. They have been able to produce end products for research projects in the past. This year, as I went through the questioning process with the students, I realized that several of them were weak in this area. It is a literacy I need to reinforce, not ignore.

A goal I want to pursue is to teach my students more about how to evaluate the information they are deluged with everyday, so they do not just blindly accept everything they see. I will guide students through techniques such as “REAL” for evaluating information. I am going to keep up to date in my reading of current strategies for information literacy. Many of the resources from my Walden courses have proven enlightening. Referring back to them from time to time will also help me be a better teacher.

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.