Objectives

On completion of this activity, you will be able to:

• define key concepts pertaining to information literacy
• discuss the importance of information literacy in the 21st century
• evaluate whether you are information literate…

 

What is information literacy?

According to the Business Dictionary online, information is

[d]ata that is (1) accurate and timely, (2) specific and organized for a purpose, (3) presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and (4) can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty.
Information is valuable because it can affect behavior, a decision, or an outcome.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/information.html

Dudeney, Hockly and Pegrum (2014: 22) define information literacy as the “ability to evaluate documents and artefacts by asking critical questions, assessing credibility, comparing sources, and tracking the origins of information”.

Checking the accuracy and timeliness of all documents and artefacts found on the web is now the responsibility of each and everyone. As a student of a foreign language, you need to ask critical questions about the information you find online, to compare it to what you already know or to widely accepted facts that you have memorised, and most importantly, to compare and contrast multiple sources of information (see Dudeney, Hockly and Pegrum, 2014: 23).

 

 

Why is Information Literacy important?

 

Information Literacy lies at the core of lifelong learning. It empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals. It is a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion of all nations.

Alexandria proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning (2005)

 

 

So, are you information literate?

Watch the video below and answer the questions asked…

 

Related activities

Title	Related themes	Languages
Information literacy, what is it?		FR
How to evaluate the credibility and reliability of a website		FR
About Wikipedia...		FR

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source/attribution: DigiLanguages           Author: Françoise Blin