1. How has a definition of information literacy changed throughout the years of your practice? What were the markers for you along the way?
2. How have you adapted to the changing technological environment in order to keep up, lead your teachers and teach your students?
3. What is your own personal definition at this point?
4. Do you have a school-wide approach to teaching it?
5. Do teach abstract information litearcy skills separately from course content?
6. How do you teach online search skills?
1. How has a definition of information literacy changed throughout the years of your practice? What were the markers for you along the way?]
I don't think the definition or indeed basic skill requirements have changed, but the information resources and technologies for dissemination and use have.
2. How have you adapted to the changing technological environment in order to keep up, lead your teachers and teach your students?
Ongoing CPD, taking advantage fully of any training and networks that I find available to me. And latterly accepting that I cannot be all to all and therefore belief in my abilities to select and use or ignore.
3. What is your own personal definition at this point?
I see information literacy as the ability to find, judge, use and discard information to attain a preset aim. Or to have the ability to have fun with technologies.
4. Do you have a school-wide approach to teaching it?
Sadly no. It is very piecemeal and there is no obvious teaching of the skills are any other than subject specific. I can't tell you how often I have tried to alter this in the mindset of those with the power to do something about it.
5. Do teach abstract information litearcy skills separately from course content?
I have managed to teach internet website assessment to all year 7 classes. That is all.
6. How do you teach online search skills?
NO, though I am ready to do so as soon as I get an in into any classes.
Posted by: Lynne Coppendale | 02/26/2009 at 08:18 AM
1. How has a definition of information literacy changed throughout the years of your practice? What were the markers for you along the way?
I've only been doing this for 4 years and even within that time I have seen so many changes. In my first course on Information Technologies for Learning, in 2005, we made webquests for our classes. Mine was not very good! but the idea was to help guide students to helpful websites in order to complete a task related to a unit of study and that much I did. I can't remember the last time I heard anyone mention having a class complete a webquest! Remember Hotlists?
It isn't so much the definition of InfoLit that has changed but the ways in which it can be taught and demonstrated. I agree with Lynne that the main idea is still to gather, evaluate and organize information that will be useful for you for this task.
2. How have you adapted to the changing technological environment in order to keep up, lead your teachers and teach your students?
Not very well. Some of this I blame on very old computers (double hand-me-downs ~2000?) and awkward space. Still need a laptop to be able to use the projector. And a permanent screen, or (dream of dreams) a smartboard... I'm working on it!
3. What is your own personal definition at this point?
Keeping up to date with the many ways of "reading" web 2.0 and getting what you need from it.
4. Do you have a school-wide approach to teaching it?
Definitely not. Still busy raising awareness one teacher at a time.
5. Do teach abstract information literacy skills separately from course content?
Unfortunately yes, sometimes, but this might be more to do with basic library skills. For online and database searching, we try to use current themes and projects. This is always much more difficult for the French Immersion students!
6. How do you teach online search skills?
Comparing it to doing an OPAC search, keywords, etc. Then, doing the Google Game, allowing kids to browse and helping them stay focused on the question.
Posted by: Robin van Gessel | 03/01/2009 at 05:03 PM