reading report #2

Information Navigation 101

Although college students are constantly using technology to interact with friends and listen to music, when it comes to using technology for academic research they can be clueless. Information available electronically has exploded over the years, leaving some students confused. Due to this confusion of students, instruction in information technology is occurring at colleges across the country. Not only are classes being taught on this, but information-literacy programs are also being considered as a means to measure an institution’s performance. Information literacy showed up in academics as early as 1989 when the American Library Association urged colleges and schools to incorporate it into their curriculum. One of the reasons for this confusion of academic research via technology is because there is an overwhelming amount of information available and people need help determining what is relevant. Most college libraries have a staff member available to aid in narrowing down search results in order to point people in the right direction when researching data. Some librarians feel that information literacy should not be a separate academic discipline while others feel that it is a very important topic but that it is not a new issue. Since many accrediting agencies and colleges say graduates must be literate in information, standardized tests are now available to measure students’ skills in this area. A few of these tests are multiple choice while others present students with the same type of problems they would encounter in the work force. Although students are generally the ones getting questioned about being information illiterate, some people wonder if it is the faculty members who are slacking in this area.

I feel that some students are in fact information illiterate, while others have a grasp on this subject. Due to this separation in students I think a test should be given at the beginning of junior year to test the knowledge of each student’s ability to use technology for research. By the time a student is a junior they should have had to perform research for classes, thus giving them enough experience to pass the test. If the student does not pass the test they should be required to take a class on information technology. By requiring a test on this subject it will ensure that all graduates have some knowledge on information technology and will be better prepared for the “real world”.