After I recently published The Best Tools & Lessons For Teaching Information Literacy – Help Me Find More, Teresa Diaz was kind enough to leave a lengthy comment with additional suggestions for the list. I invited her to turn it into a guest post, and here it is!
Teresa Diaz is currently a school library media specialist at "Tex" Hill Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, with 20+ years experience as a teacher and librarian in both public and private middle and high schools. She's also a Google Certified Teacher, and blogs at Curioussquid.net. One of her current blog series explores the role and relevance of Information Literacy in our digital age today:
Among educators, there seems to be some confusion between the terms Information Literacy and Digital Literacy—and rightly so, considering our evolving digital landscape. As we've made the shift from living in an analog world to a digital one, the core skills of Information Literacy have been incorporated into what we think of when we hear the term Digital Literacy, mostly because of the advances and pervasive use of technology in our lives, and the lives of our students.
And that's okay—as long as we don't forget that Digital Literacy is grounded in the basics of Information Literacy, and still holds a fundamental importance and essential value for our digital-dwelling students, no matter the tools, apps, or links at their disposal.
The American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy states that "information literate people are those who have learned how to learn."
I couldn't agree more! In fact, ask any librarian from kinder up through college, and s/he can give you a great elevator speech on what it is.
The AASL's Standards for the 21st-Century Learner provides a good working definition of Information Literacy:
The amount of information available to our learners necessitates that each individual acquire the skills to select, evaluate, and use information appropriately and effectively.
So when approaching the teaching of Information Literacy, the best go-resource to try first is your local campus teacher-librarian or library media specialist, since we dwell within the world of media and thrive on helping others navigate through it. We have lots of experience with the elements, skills and nuances of Information Literacy, and can draw on our own toolbox of ideas, strategies and lessons in any form of collaboration you seek.
And since these skills no longer live within the realm of research and the library, teachers should especially seek us out to collaborate with and co-teach these skills when addressing them outside the scope of a "research project"—from evaluating a website for homework, practicing keyword searching on personal interest topics, to even crediting students' own image creations.
In addition to the other resources initially shared in Larry’s "Best" list [Glean, Show Me Information Literacy modules, November Learning's Education Resources for Web Learning], here are some other potentially useful sites, links and resources for teaching Information Literacy, listed in no particular order. Chances are, your local librarian has even more to share!
SOS for Information Literacy
Description from site: A dynamic web-based multimedia resource that includes peer-reviewed lesson plans, handouts, presentations, videos and other resources to enhance the teaching of information literacy (K-16).
21st Century Information Fluency
A comprehensive site hosting interactive resources and online learning modules to help educators and students improve their digital information fluency.
TED-Ed Lessons: Information Literacy
This repository needs to grow—if you develop a lesson using a TED resource, consider sharing it here!
*TRAILS: Tool for Real-Time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills
Description from Site: TRAILS is a FREE knowledge assessment with multiple-choice questions targeting a variety of information literacy skills based on 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th grade standards. This Web-based system was developed to provide an easily accessible and flexible tool for school librarians and teachers to identify strengths and weaknesses in the information-seeking skills of their students.
*I recommend using this tool in collaboration with your campus librarian!
Global Digital Citizen's Information Fluency Guidebook
This downloadable guidebook contains six problem-based scenarios centered around the 5As: Ask, Acquire, Analyze, Apply, and Assess.
Common Sense Media's Digital Digital Literacy & Citizenship Classroom Curriculum
This curriculum includes lessons and activities on Information Literacy divided by grade level, and is accessible via iBook or printable versions, and is browsable by an interactive scope & sequence. Also check out the Common Sense Education's K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum available via Nearpod, which is free for download by campus librarians or media specialists.
Imagine Easy Academy
This subscription-based interactive curriculum includes lesson modules related to Information Literacy, can be customized with your own content, provides diagnostic tools for student assessment, and is aligned with the Common Core standards.
Literacies for the Digital Age: Information and Digital Literacy
This blog post from Kathy Schrock's Katch of the Month series on Literacies for the Digital Age lists resources for teaching Information Literacy divided into the following categories: Essential Questions, Search Tips, Critical Evaluation, Locating Images, Citing Sources, Digital Literacy, and Discovery Education Streaming.
Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything – Weaving Information Literacy
This page focuses resources on weaving information literacy into your instruction organized around the SH!FT Graphic "10 Things That Learners Pay Attention To (And How to Use Them in eLearning)"
Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything– Information Literacy
Another useful page of models, resources, lessons and videos for teaching InformationLiteracy.
Google Search Education
Google's comprehensive site is designed to help teachers develop students into skilled searchers, and offers an extensive menu of downloadable lesson plans/activities, Power Searching Courses, Google a Day Challenges, and live trainings.
WebCHECK: The Website Evaluation Instrument
Description from site: Developed at Center for Digital Literacy at Syracuse University, WebCHECK is a series of instruments that were designed for educators, Web designers and students to assess Web sites they use for assignments and projects. The site includes several instruments that can be used by K-12 students.
Imagine Easy's Website Evaluation Bootcamp
Description from site: The bootcamp will help your students gain a better understanding of how to evaluate websites through six handouts and videos on purpose, accuracy, authority, relevance and currency.
The C.R.A.A.P. Test for Website Evaluation
There are various versions of this model/approach out there, but this worksheet provides a decent template for modification.
Citation Generators – 2 Recommended Ones to Try
Both of these sites offer free online tools for citing sources and importing them into Google Drive or other platforms. Subscription versions are available that allow students to create, collaborate on and share project folders, citations, and digital note cards with their peers and teachers.
EasyBib
NoodleTools Express
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