Information Literacy, Technology, and Digital/Media: An Essential Interactive Trio

Reading about 21^st Century Learning is not something completely foreign to me as a teacher. Today’s educational standards were written on the premise of producing a 21^st Century Learner. A 21^st Century Learner encompasses many attributes that the career world is looking for in today’s working climate. However, when looking at the Framework for 21^st Century Learning in conjunction with the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and The Liturgists Podcast Fake News & Media Literacy, one gets a deeper understanding about how all of these pieces fit together to produce the whole and why it is necessary to understand all components in order to produce a 21^st Century Learner that is savvy and creative enough to navigate today’s ever changing world. 21^st Century Learning, the Framework for Information Literacy, and the Liturgists Podcast demonstrate how information literacy, technology, and the modern digital/media landscape intersect and support each other, giving us the ability to be savvy learners and consumers in today’s world.

The commonalities of information literacy, technology, and the digital/media world in terms of a 21^st Century Learner, or rather a 21^st Century member of society, are built upon the foundations of creativity, inquiry, accountability, cooperation, and problem-solving, while being interactive with the communal and social environment within our direct (city/town/neighborhood), outreaching (state, country) and global society (world). Literacy is about a true understanding and the ability to interact with knowledge. Knowledge comes in many forms. Using 21^st Century Learning, the Framework for Information Literacy, and the Liturgists Podcast Fake News & Media Literacy as examples, readers can see that to be a savvy, integral, productive member of society, you must be literate in areas ranging from academics, to social/political issues, to technology, information, and the arts. In a world in which we are inundated with constant information at our fingertips, one must be able to learn, study, decipher, and question material with an unbiased eye to help us all hold each other accountable. The combination of these attributes is what leads us to have a more harmonious and impactful world for ourselves and others. It means digging deep within ourselves, through what we see and perceive, and deciphering the true from the false, the valid from the invalid. It begs the reflective question: How literate am I when it comes to information? What is my information diet?

This led to quiet an eye-opening reflection about my own intake of information. I realized that I tend to get my information from books, newspapers and articles through online resources (MSNBC, Washington Post, New York Times, our local paper, even Yahoo), sporadically watching the news, and conversations with people. Prior to the podcast and the readings, I knew how to check for validity after teaching my ELA students research for so many years. I know that there are attention grabbing headlines that are slanted and fabrications that are opinions passed off as news. When I was in SLIS 702 in the spring, I made a Powtoon on how school librarians can help students spot fake news, since the term has been so sensationalized. Through that I learned that there was still much for me to learn on the topic. One thing that the readings and listening activities in SLIS 761 did for me this week, was to remind me I have a ways to go with broadening my horizons with how I receive information. I have twitter as a requirement for classes this semester, but haven’t much taken the opportunity to discover information from it. I think the lack of social media outlets in my information diet is something I could work on. With this noted, I also realize that through those formats, I will need to be more diligent in fact checking and looking into sources. This was also the first time I have listened to a podcast. I know! Crazy! It was a wonderful car time activity, and I have since listened to  TED Talk Radio Hour How Art Changes Us. Just adding the simple podcast app to my phone has given me another avenue to receive and decipher information. For myself, I have realized that there are some avenues of information that are at my fingertips that I do not take advantage of, but I should! I think that I had become comfortable and complacent with the information diet I had, but like with all diets, with knowledge of information, your diet can change. I realize that as a school librarian, I am going to have to stretch out of my comfort zone to obtain a greater range of information, not only for myself, but for the students at my school.

Resources

Framework for 21st Century Learning. (2015). Retrieved September 9, 2019, from https://blackboard.sc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-13049461-dt-content-rid-94287088_2/courses/SLIS761-000-FALL-2019/P21_framework_0515.pdf

"Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education", American Library Association,  

         February 9, 2015. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework (Accessed September

         14, 2019) Document ID: b910a6c4-6c8a-0d44-7dbc-a5dcbd509e3f

Frameworks & resources. (2019). Retrieved September 9, 2019, from http://www.battelleforkids.org/networks/p21/frameworks-resources

How Art Changes Us. (2017). Retrieved September 12, 2019, from https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy90ZW1wbGF0ZXMvcnNzL3BvZGNhc3QucGhwP2lkPTUxMDI5OA&episode=YmRlODhiN2ItMGNjNi00NjFkLThhYjgtYTQwNDJlYmQzYTRi&hl=en&ep=6&at=1568389435740

McHargue, M. (2017, March 07). Fake news & media literacy. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://theliturgists.com/podcast/2017/3/7/fake-news-media-literacy

P21 Framework Definitions. (2015). Retrieved September 9, 2019, from https://blackboard.sc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-13049463-dt-content-rid-94287089_2/courses/SLIS761-000-FALL-2019/P21_Framework_Definitions_New_Logo_2015.pdf