I.L. Umbrella from the National Federation on Information Literacy

 

This scenario plays itself out every day, not just with students working on school projects but with adults who need to research financial, healthcare, or consumer information. The skills needed to ask the right question, find the right information from a reliable source, and evaluate that information is called "information literacy." Information literacy, which is a conglomeration of traditional reading literacy with technology skills, research skills, critical thinking, and ethics, is becoming more important as people are inundated with information. Unfortunately, information literacy skills are hard to develop.

 

"It's a mistake to think our 'digital natives' are born knowing how to process all the information in their path, or that they pick it up through osmosis by holding a smartphone," said Jennifer Schwelik, INFOhio consultant. "Information literacy is not something you learn simply by watching someone else. It's something that has to be taught."

 

But while the need for information literacy is on the rise, the people who have traditionally taught it in schools--library media specialists--have found their positions eliminated during the last decade. And the trend has accelerated in the wake of more recent budget cuts. Now, teaching research and thinking skills is falling to classroom teachers, who already face larger class sizes and heavier workloads.

 

The deficit is already showing itself. A 2010 survey of college librarians showed that almost 90 percent of them think that only 40 percent of freshmen arrive on campus with the research skills needed to manage college-level work. 

Objective tests of the students themselves confirm those results. Kent State's Tools for Real-Time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (TRAILS) tests students in 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th grade to determine weak areas. Of the approximately 55,000 students around the country who took the test last year, only 50 percent scored proficient in measures such as developing a research strategy, evaluating sources, and using online technology wisely.

 

"These skills will be even more important in Ohio as the new Common Core standards come into effect by 2013," said INFOhio Executive Director Theresa M. Fredericka. "We're finding research and inquiry learning components--that is, information literacy--in the standards of all the subject areas, not just English and social studies."

 

To bridge the gap, INFOhio received a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) special grant through the State Library of Ohio to create online information literacy course modules designed around those standards. The modules provide tools and support to incorporate information communication technologies (ICT) skills into instruction and are aligned with the standards found in the new English Language Arts Common Core Standards, the Association of School Librarians Standards for 21st Century Learners, and the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students.

 

"We're excited about this project because it's something that's going to provide just-in-time information literacy instructional tools for the classroom," said Fredericka. "At the same time, I think the course will clearly show the key role today's libraries play in lifelong learning."

 

In addition, the online modules will give schools a way to incorporate blended learning into the classroom. Blended learning combines traditional face-to-face lessons with online coursework that lets teachers adjust instruction to meet the unique needs of each student. Recent studies show great potential for blended learning to increase student achievement and reduce drop-out rates.

 

INFOhio is working with staff from SPARCC Information Technology Center, NWOET EdTech Agency, and Kent State University to create the course that will be available to all Ohio schools free of charge starting fall 2012.