Thing 1: Understanding Information Literacy

The articles on information literacy brought several things to mind. First of all, the first article posted by ACRL states that information literacy "extends beyond technical skills and is conceived as one's critical reflection on the nature of information itself, its technical infrastructure and its social, cultural, and even philosophical context and impact." I wonder how I will be able to not only teach this "critical reflection on the nature of information itself," but how I will know that I have successfully taught this, especially when I am still teaching things so much more basic to many of my students. I wonder if knowing more about brain development theory would be useful in knowing how much to expect from my students, how to teach them critical thinking skills more appropriately in order to evaluate and synthesize information--and when and where I can find this information, which leads me into my own quest for information literacy.

Also, the idea of collaboration with other staff members is both exciting and daunting to think about. When will there ever be enough time to collaborate in the way we would need to in order to successfully integrate all the things necessary to create the supportive atmosphere that the articles speak of. If there were a day to work on technology integration, how many people would welcome that versus a day to get caught up with grading papers? Where does the reality of the pressures of teaching end and the practical opportunities for cooperation among staff to "promote a vision of liberal education as an empowering and transforming endeavor that develops students as skilled independent learners" begin? How can we realistically create this in our staff first?

Lastly, "21st Century Skills Information Literacy" article made me think that I need to find out more about the information seeking behavior of my students and the 21st Century teen--generation y--in order to better understand how to facilitate their information literacy. This could then lead me to create more appropriate pathfinders to initiate their searches. I believe that they seek information in a vastly different way than I do and this must be understood first.