Information Literacy & Lifelong Learning Prof. Dr. Serap Kurbanoğlu

Information Literacy & Lifelong Learning

Prof. Dr. Serap Kurbanoğlu

it is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one

most responsive to change

Charles Darwin

UNESCO Training the Trainers in Information Literacy Workshop, September 3-5, Ankara-Turkey 3

Information explotion

Information explotion

CONSTANT CHANGE

CONSTANT CHANGE

Technologicaldevelopments

Technologicaldevelopments

Scientific developments

Scientific developments

GlobalizationGlobalization

Information dependency

Information dependency

21st century…


technology

life styles

educationaltheories

needs & requirements

workenvironments

job descriptions

definition of literacy

information

CHANGE


Need for updating

the existing knowledge

Need for new skills

Need for

life long learning


Lifelong learning

All learning activities undertaken throughout life on an ongoing basis in a variety of formal and informal settings, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills, understanding and competence, within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective

(NIACE, 2003)


Benefits of lifelong learning

• Updating knowledge• Developing new skills & competencies• Handling the constant change• Acquiring foresight• Understanding developments• Personal, professional & intellectual development• Maintaining competitiveness, employability & productivity• Promoting social inclusion• Promoting freedom of expression and opinion• Improving personal choices and options• Enabling adaptation to the information society• Creating highly skilled work force & strong societies


Lifelong learning

Independent learning

Information literacy

Inter-related concepts


Information literacy - definitions

• the ability to solve information problems (ALA, 2000)

• a survival skill in the information age (ALA, 1989)

• the ability of transforming information into knowledge (Gawith, 2000)



• is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information”

(ALA, 1989)

• is knowing when and why one needs information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner

(CILIP)



• the ability to effectively identify, access, evaluate and make use of information in its various formats, and to choose the appropriate medium for communication. It also encompasses knowledge and attitudes related to ethical and social issues surrounding information and information technology

(California Academic and Research Libraries Task Force, 1997)

• a mean to “empower people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals”

(Alexandria Proclamation, 2005)


An evolving concept

• Information skills

• Higher order thinking skills

• The format of information

• Other related skills

• Social and ethical issues


21st century literacies

• Computer literacy• Critical literacy• Library literacy• Media literacy• Technology literacy• Visual literacy• Web literacy• Workplace literacy

(Snavely & Cooper, 1997)


Computer literacy

• A general understanding of what computers can do, and the skills necessary to use them as an effective tool

(Tuckett, 1989)

• The knowledge and skills necessary to understand information and communication technologies, including hardware, software, telecomunication networks and all the other components of computer and telecommunications systems

(Lau, 2004)


Media literacy

• The ability to critically evaluate information from the media

(Rockman, 2004)

• The knowledge and skills necessary to understand all the mediums and formats in which data, information and knowledge are created, stored, communicated, and presented (i.e., print newspapers and journals, magazines, radio, television broadcasts, cable, CD-ROM, DVD, mobile telephones, PDF text formats, and

JPEG format for photos and graphics) (Lau, 2004)


Visual literacy

• the ability to understand and use images, including the ability to think, learn, and express oneself in terms of images

(Braden & Hortin, 1982)

• the ability to understand graphs and charts (Rockman, 2004)

• may be divided into three constructs:– Visual learning– Visual thinking– Visual communication

(Randhawa, 1978)


Cultural literacy

• A knowledge and understanding of how a country’s, a religion’s, an ethnic group’s traditions, beliefs, symbols and icons, celebrations, and traditional means of communication impact the creation, storage, handling, communication, preservation and archiving of data, information and knowledge, as well as using technologies

(Horton, 2008)


Cultural literacy

Media literacyComputer literacy

Visual literacy

IL as an umbrella term


Common characteristics

• can be observed and measured on a scale of competency – beginner, intermediate and advanced

• is comprehensive (including many learnable skills, and positive attitudes and behaviors)

• there is no “upper limit” to literacy because it is a continuum

(Horton, 2008)


Related terms

Information competencies

User training

Library orientation

Information skills

Information fluency

Bibliographic instruction

User education

Information literacy


Suggested terms

• Curiosity Satisfied-Across-the-Curriculum• Global Informatics• Information Competence• Information Discovery• Information Empowerment• Information Mapping• Information Sophistication• Know How• Know How to Know How• Library Appreciation• Macroscopism• Research mapping• Research-Across-the-Curriculum• The Question Authorities

(Snavely & Cooper, 1997)


The importance of IL

• enables individuals to find appropriate information for personal and professional problems

• enables individuals to handle the uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information

• can play a key role in understanding of what constitutes plagiarism• is a prerequisite for participative citizenship, social inclusion,

personal, vocational, corporate and organisational empowerment, and lifelong learning

• enables individulas to assume greater control over their own learning and life

• is applicable to all disciplines, to all learning environments and to all levels of education


The importance of IL

• is vital for creating knowledgeable citizens and the creation of new knowledge

• is crucial to the competitive advantage of individuals, enterprises, regions, and nations

• essential for socio-economic development• has a positive impact on student performance and success • leads productive and satisfying lives in a democratic society• enables individuals to deal with rapidly changing environments• ensures a better future for the next generation• essential for survival in the future


The necessity of IL instruction

Evidence indicates that students

• are entering university without core information literacy skills and abilities such as critical thinking, decision making and self directed learning

• leave the university without the necessary transferable skills to cope in an information based society

• are not picking up information literacy skills on their own


The necessity of IL instruction

• Without a concerted instructional effort that gives students multiple opportunities to learn and practice information literacy skills, such skills will not be developed

• Today IL is required by accreditation organizations, expected by

employers in the workplace for organizational success, and desired by society, which needs an informed citizenry that is capable of making well-reasoned and well-founded decisions

• Content mastered by graduation is soon outdated or forgotten by students. Learning can continue beyond formal education by the use of IL skills


The necessity for IL instruction

• All the preservation, organization, and dissemination of information goes to waste if future generations are unable to use information effectively

(Rockman, 2004)


References• ACRL. (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education.

http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm• ALA. (2000). Information literacy: a position paper on information problem solving. Wisconsin: Wisconsin Educational

Media Association. • ALA Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. (1989). Final report. Chicago:ALA.• Braden, R. A. & Hortin, J. A. (1982). Identifying the theoretical foundations of visual literacy. Journal of Visual/Verbal

Languaging, 2, 37-42. • Bundy, A. (ed). (2004). Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework principles, standards and practise

(2nd ed). Adeliane: Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy.• California Academic and Research Libraries Task Force. (1997). Draft recommendations to WASC on an information

literacy Standard. CARLTF.• Doyle, C. S. (1994). Information literacy in an information society: A concept for the information age. Syracuse, NY:

ERIC.• Gaunt, J & et al. (2007). Handbook for information literacy teaching. Cardiff: Cardiff University.• Horton, F. W. (2008). Understanding information literacy: A primer. Paris: UNESCO.• Houff, S. (2002). LAWS for literacy. Teacher Librarian, 29(3), 16-19.• Lau, J. (2004). International guidelines on information literacy. IFLA.• McCrank, L. J. (1992). Academic programs for information literacy: theory and structure. RQ, 31(4), 485-497.• NIACE, (2003). What is lifelong learning? http://www.niace.org.uk/Information/Lifelong_Learning/Lifelong_learning.htm• Rader, H. B. (1991). Information literacy: a revolution in the library. RQ, 31(1), 25-28.• Randhawa, B. S. (1978). Visual trinity: An overview. Visual learning, thinking, and communcation içinde (ss. 191-211).

New York: Academic Press.• Rockman, I. F. (2004). Integrating information literacy into the higher education curriculum: practical models for

transformation. San Francisco: John Wiley.• Snavely, L. ve Cooper, N. (1997). The information literacy debate. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 23(1), 9-13.• Spitzer, K. L., Eisenberg, M. B. ve Lowe, C. A. (1998). Information literacy: essential skills fort he information age.

Syracuse: ERIC Clearinghouse.• Tiefel, V. M. (1995). Library user education: examining its past, projecting its future – The library and undergraduate

education. Library Trends, 44 (2), 318-329.


Group work

• Make groups of seven• Brainstorm and make a list of IL related terms/concepts• Draw a concept map


Concept mapping

• Concept maps can be a visual way of illustrating links/relationships between concepts

• A concept is put in the middle of a piece of paper, then is linked by words that describe their relationship to other concepts, terms, ideas or even pictures






Serap Kurbanoğlu

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Information Literacy & Lifelong Learning Prof. Dr. Serap Kurbanoğlu