Ashley Carr
August 23, 2007
Reference:
Plotnick, E. (1999). Information literacy.
Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearninghouse on
Information Resources.
(ERIC NO ED427777).
TAP:
The article explains the exact meaning of information literacy. The purpose of the reading is to explain what is becoming expected in K-12 education curricula and in the work force. The article is speaking to educators and students in the K-12 atmosphere, to people in the business world, and to just anymore who is interested in learning about this change that is taking place.
Claim:
Information literacy is becoming the way in which children are being taught to learn and the way in which adults are being trained to think in their job setting. It isn’t just reading, writing, and arithmetic anymore, but it is more of critically thinking beyond the basic concepts. To be successful at information learning, one must practice it within and outside the educational setting.
Evidence:
This article begins by stating that there are many types of literacies, but “to be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information” (1989, p.1) (Plotnick 1992). This article explains how today’s society is in the process of a change in learning that will affect the way students think in K-12 and the way businesses perform because of the thinking that is being put into their daily routine.
In the workplace, this article explains that workds of the future will be required to actively participate within the company to better the outcome of their business and that, as stated before, running a business will be much more in depth, and employees will have to know more than just the basic principles of reading, writing, and arithmetic.
In the school system, it is becoming a requirement that students manage information literacy skills so that critical thinking will take place and more thought will come into the question being discussed in class, as well as into their class work. Some states are establishing the requirement that student acquire the quality of information literacy before high school graduation. This can be with programs that have research-based learning within them and with the help of parents helping students to gain the knowledge of how to problem solve and how to think critically about not only the problems on their math homework, but also of the problems in today’s world.
Connections:
I feel a true connection with this article in how I have expanded in my ability to critically think since entering college. I am not sure if it was just my high school or if it was the era that I attended high school, but I never remember being challenged like I have been throughout my college experience. I will admit it has only made me more intellectual, but at first it was a hard concept for me to grasp. It went from question to answer in high school to now having a question and having to explain how you found that answer.
I feel like this text can be compared to the previous readings, “Information Literacy Lifelong Learning” and “Information Literacy in an Information Society” because they all deal with ways the concept of information literacy has been brought on people. All three articles have explained how information literacy has taken control in the educational setting, the workplace, and in society as a whole. It is only here to better the world we live in.
The text connects to the world in the way that we will only perform as better professionals if we analyze all aspects of the situation. This article explains how information literacy puts all problems whether it is in school or work into the big picture. This enables us an individuals to not miss anything and gain knowledge while we do it.
