Closing Thoughts

When I first began this course, I had no idea about the breadth of new media and new literacies that were out there and being used to the benefit of learners. This course opened my eyes to the idea that literacy is not defined simply by text any longer, and words no longer have to be read off of the written page for an individual to be considered literate. It was eye opening to see the many ways in which learning environments have changed, and are continuing to change, and I owe it to this course [and all of you] that I now have a better understanding of what it means both to read and to learn.

 The most interesting aspect of this course, to me, was the conversations held about digital natives and digital immigrants. Having grown up around technology, I think that I took for granted the fact that many learners might not have the same skillset or digital expertise that I, and other digital natives, do have; and I think that taking that into consideration is important when looking to utilize new Medias within a learning environment. Considerations have to be made, whether it is by training or designing a digital platform that is easily navigated and used by learners with varying degrees of digital expertise; because no learner should be left behind regardless of their digital skill set. Along these same lines, I believe that more attention has to be given to those learners who are lacking in their digital knowledge, so that they can gain the full benefit of learning with new media.

The impact that new media and new literacies can, and will, have on our learners is great; and as such, I will be sure to pay extra attention to the ways in which varying types of media are being used within the world around me. The potential that can be found within various media should no longer be taken for granted, something that I learned while researching the benefit of using MMORPGs for learning during my final project. 

Overall, this course has given me the foundation to begin building learning experiences rich in new media, and to never assume that benefit cannot be found in videos, social media, and other types of media that one might not suspect to be useful. 

Learning potential is everywhere. 

Information Literacy Guide

Information Literacy Guide for Adolescent Students

INTRODUCTION

1. What is Information Literacy?
2. Who are our learners?
1. Physically, Cognitively, Socially, Emotionally
3. Defining the need for Information Literacy within a specific group of learners.
1. Why is there a need and why is it important?

DEVELOPING INFORMATION LITERACY

1. Through thinking, expressing, and reflecting.
2. Throughout all content areas.
3. Through meaningful learning experiences.
4. Through research and collaboration.
5. Within various learning environments.

WHERE TO BEGIN

1. Know what question needs to be answered.
2. Know what information needs to be sourced.
3. Create a 'plan of attack'.
1. e.g.: Where do we look? How will we validate the source[s]?
4. Synthesize the information gathered.

ACCESSING INFORMATION

1. There are various means by which students can access information:
1. Libraries
2. Web searches
3. Online Media
1. Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter
4. Online Databases
1. e.g.: EBSCOhost, JSTOR
5. Scholarly Articles
6. Scholarly Journals
7. Print books
1. e.g.: textbooks, novels, biographi
8. Collaboration among peers, scholars, literary experts
1. e.g.: Librarians, Instructors

MANAGING RESOURCES AND INFORMATION

1. Determine authoritativeness and accuracy of information.
2. Consider the source material within the information.
3. Determine how the information fits together to form an overall theme and answer the specific question.

EVALUATION

1. Evaluating the legitimacy and accuracy of sources.
2. Recognizing bias, prejudice, and manipulation.
3. Evaluating the information within the sources.
4. Evaluating personal success within the process.
5. Evaluating the learning process as a whole.
1. Obtaining sources, legitimizing sources, organizing information obtained

 _________________________________________________________________

Sources

"Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report", American Library Association, July 24, 2006.

http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential  (Accessed December 06, 2013)

“Adolescent Literacy Guide”, Literacy Gains: Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch, Ontario Ministry of Education, 2012.

 http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesLIT/AdolescentLiteracy/Vision/AdolescentLiteracyGuide_Interactive.pdf (Accessed December 8, 2013)

“Content Area Literacy Guide”, Public Consulting Group's Center for Resource Management, in Partnership with the State School Officers, August 2007.

http://corecurriculumadmin.pds-hrd.wikispaces.net/file/view/Content_Area_Literacy_Guide.pdf (Accessed December 10, 2013)