Blog post #4
Well, the flu FINALLY caught up with me and had me bed-ridden for two days straight. I haven't had a sore throat in ages but this one was a duzy... even right now I'm in a little bit of a hazy mindset. I wasn't able to make it to the last class either due to freezing rain, however I did read the article National Council of Nonprofits’s Code of Ethics for Nonprofits.
I have worked very closely with a nonprofit in the past that has time to become established and well known, so they already have their set of rules and ethics clearly marked for staff. However, I understand where NCON is coming from when they are saying that for a new nonprofit you should post your values in a public space so people truly know what you are all about. Nonprofits are tricky when it comes to interacting well with the public because people do not always know the point of the business. Having your mission statement and ethics out for everyone to know is vital to the success of the business. The nonprofit I was a part of was a Christian organization, so they had to clearly mark what their views and beliefs were specifically for financial purposes so that people did not think that they were taking handouts.
Information Literacy and Libraries
According to the Mackey article, literacy and literacy definitions differ depending on what type of place you are in (whether it be a library or a school, ie. educational institution). According to the article, "In 1989, ALA issued ... which states that students must play an active role in knowing, identifying, finding, evaluating, organizing and using information.(FN2) While these elements are generic and applicable to a variety of situations, they do not address the now pervasive online environments in which many forms of information are fluid and information seekers might become information contributors at almost any time and in a public setting." (Mackey, 1). This quote is such an interesting one for us as information professional's to think about because currently there are so many more ways for, not only kids but, also adults to get access to information. I like to think of social media as a hub of information for teenagers and undergraduates in college. Twitter especially is a used for getting all kinds of information out into the open whether its political or strictly entertainment. But is this a good way of getting quality information? In the grand scheme of things, yes. You will get a quick bit of info that is needed, however, it is most likely second hand or not all that factual. Media, digital, and visual literacy (to me) are all relatively similar in theory. Media and digital things can most definitely be found on the same platform and visual literacy is basically the same idea as well.
One of the other things in the article that I agree with is that there has been too much emphasis on an introduction to technology rather than literacy. "...we need a more coherent and complex response to new media than simply focusing on skills development and the technologies themselves" (Mackey 1). Learning about technology in general is great and pushes forward things for the technological future, but it should not be used for literature purposes only. Technology is something that is such a hot button issue especially within schools right now. Parents think that their kids should be using hard copies of books while schools think that chrome books and audio books are the new go to, while in reality a mixture of both is preferred. Using technology that is new and old will make for a more well rounded individual.
In the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education piece, I also agree with the section labeled "searching as strategic exploration". The fact that they are saying that coming up with questions needed to search is stating that students are at least still curious enough to use the internet as well as literature to find the answers to their questions. All of this seems to tie in as well with the other article in stating that teens seem to be losing their curiosity when in fact, curiosity just needs to be poked and prodded a little bit. This is especially pertinent for younger children especially because their brain muscles are growing and they are learning how to research for things. Making sure that they have the correct tools but also tools that are a little challenging for them is crucial in school for them to learn correctly.
I have worked very closely with a nonprofit in the past that has time to become established and well known, so they already have their set of rules and ethics clearly marked for staff. However, I understand where NCON is coming from when they are saying that for a new nonprofit you should post your values in a public space so people truly know what you are all about. Nonprofits are tricky when it comes to interacting well with the public because people do not always know the point of the business. Having your mission statement and ethics out for everyone to know is vital to the success of the business. The nonprofit I was a part of was a Christian organization, so they had to clearly mark what their views and beliefs were specifically for financial purposes so that people did not think that they were taking handouts.
Information Literacy and Libraries
According to the Mackey article, literacy and literacy definitions differ depending on what type of place you are in (whether it be a library or a school, ie. educational institution). According to the article, "In 1989, ALA issued ... which states that students must play an active role in knowing, identifying, finding, evaluating, organizing and using information.(FN2) While these elements are generic and applicable to a variety of situations, they do not address the now pervasive online environments in which many forms of information are fluid and information seekers might become information contributors at almost any time and in a public setting." (Mackey, 1). This quote is such an interesting one for us as information professional's to think about because currently there are so many more ways for, not only kids but, also adults to get access to information. I like to think of social media as a hub of information for teenagers and undergraduates in college. Twitter especially is a used for getting all kinds of information out into the open whether its political or strictly entertainment. But is this a good way of getting quality information? In the grand scheme of things, yes. You will get a quick bit of info that is needed, however, it is most likely second hand or not all that factual. Media, digital, and visual literacy (to me) are all relatively similar in theory. Media and digital things can most definitely be found on the same platform and visual literacy is basically the same idea as well.
One of the other things in the article that I agree with is that there has been too much emphasis on an introduction to technology rather than literacy. "...we need a more coherent and complex response to new media than simply focusing on skills development and the technologies themselves" (Mackey 1). Learning about technology in general is great and pushes forward things for the technological future, but it should not be used for literature purposes only. Technology is something that is such a hot button issue especially within schools right now. Parents think that their kids should be using hard copies of books while schools think that chrome books and audio books are the new go to, while in reality a mixture of both is preferred. Using technology that is new and old will make for a more well rounded individual.
In the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education piece, I also agree with the section labeled "searching as strategic exploration". The fact that they are saying that coming up with questions needed to search is stating that students are at least still curious enough to use the internet as well as literature to find the answers to their questions. All of this seems to tie in as well with the other article in stating that teens seem to be losing their curiosity when in fact, curiosity just needs to be poked and prodded a little bit. This is especially pertinent for younger children especially because their brain muscles are growing and they are learning how to research for things. Making sure that they have the correct tools but also tools that are a little challenging for them is crucial in school for them to learn correctly.
Stacia! I'm so sorry that you haven't been feeling well, and hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I also really appreciated the discussion about the difference between developing technological skills and information literacy. I can't even tell you how many times I have learned how to use some cool new bit of tech (hardware or software) but walked away from the training session (or online tutorial, or whatever) not really knowing what I was supposed to use it FOR (or how it could help me with research/work/etc). I think that's good for us to think about as we develop our training materials: we need to be sure to explain what the thing is and how to use it, but ALSO what it can do to help us be better learners/researchers/etc.
Information navigation vs. technology awareness in information literacy is a huge issue, I agree. I think the reason there's been so much emphasis on the tech side of things is because of the reticence some people have towards technology. My SO works in the Wayne State library and has a regular customer who doesn't use e-books or online information sources at all because "[she's] a real student." Some people may view focusing on actual navigation as putting the cart before the horse when not everyone has even agreed to use modern information access methods.
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