Electronic Literacy

Electronic Literacy by Abigail Garthwait, Librarian, Asa Adams Elementary School

New technology ushers in opportunities for exciting research, innovative teaching and motivation of library users, but also it also presents challenges and concerns. Many librarians and teachers are excited, yet others feel the foundations of their professionalism shaken.

Definition

Electronic literacy: ranges from tool and resource literacy to publishing literacy (electronic communication), emerging technology literacy (understand and incorporate new technologies) and critical literacy (the intellectual and social value of information). These literacies require creating, decision making and synthesizing other literacies into an understanding of the potentials and limits of information technology. from Debra Jones' definition:

What Is the Same?

.Return to the Information Skills Guidelines for Maine Educators and see how many of these skills are applicable in the print and non-print realms. Still crucial are the needs to define the problem, assimilate prior knowledge, searching, selecting and evaluating new information. Specific skills such as the ability to read and interpret text and graphics are as vital as ever. The creative and coherent demonstration of learning, whether in print or multimedia, is highly valued.

What is Different?

Navigational ability (Keeping a grasp of the big picture prevents getting lost in hyperspace.)
Non-linear writing requires an understanding of logistics such as "If... then; while... until."
There is a huge difference between "browsing" and "searching" and "key word" and subject searches.
The amount of information available electronically requires separating gems from the garbage.
Issues of bias, reliability, fact and opinion need to be seriously considered because of the ease of publication on the net.
It is even more important with technology to separate the bells and whistles from the content: Just because a multimedia author can produce elaborate effects, should they?

Potential Problems with Curriculum Internet Use

The internet is constantly changing. (What the teacher discovers on the week-end may be entirely different from what the student finds on Thursday.)
The structure of access to the net forces use of multiple tools requiring varied approaches to locate sites. (There is no Master Cataloger on the internet .)
Learning experiences are easily decontextualized. (Being inside, staring at a computer screen removes the experience from real life.)
How do you know that the search engine you are using recalls (most) everything?
Info-glut often produces a feeling of wishing to ignore everything.
Be ready with alternate game plans. Servers sometimes go down, are too busy or are on-line for backing up.
Not all schools have multiple access points for student use, causing management problems.

"how can we use the Internet in meaningful ways to help achieve educational goals -- is often unanswered. Library media specialist are in a unique postition to meet this Internet challenge."
Michael B. Eisenberg, "Library Talk, Library Talk," Technology Connection. Sept. 1996, p. 7"

SELECTED SITES

SOME FIRST STEPS SITES. Please note: These sites were checked as recently as possible; but changes do happen overnight so be sure to use the search engine of your choice if some of these web pages are no longer available.

Censorship Issues

Cyberspace Law for Non-Lawyers Links

A Dozen Reasons Why Schools Should Avoid Filtering

On-Line Policy Resources

General Net Usage

Classroom Connect

Educator Checklist for Using the Internet

Librarian's Professional Internet Guide

Taking Care on the Internet

Web Page Evaulation

World Wide Web Manuals and Demos

Acceptable Use Policies

* http://www.tenet.edu/tenet-info/accept.html
* http://chico.rice.edu/armadillo/acceptable.html * http://www.nhmccd.cc.tx.us/groups/lrc/kc/usepolicies.html

CITATIONS OF ELECTRONIC SOURCES

Most teachers and librarians today have a firm grasp on citing print sources but may be lost when explaining how to list a usegroup entry or a web page. The following resources carefully explain the ins and outs. If using the print versions, be sure that you obtain the latest one.

APA STYLE:
PRINT:

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (4th ed.). (1994). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

MLA STYLE
PRINT:

The MLA Style Manual, by Walter S. Achtert and Joseph Gibaldi. Modern Language Association of America.
or http://www.uvm.edu/~xli/reference/mla.html

To find other styles: go to Advance Search on AltaVista and enter "electronic" near "citation" ranked with "style" first.

OTHER LIBRARY-RELATED SITES

BIG SIX (Information Problem Solving)

DIRECTORY OF MEDIA LITERARY ORGANIZATIONS:

INTERNET PUBLIC LIBRARY ISSUES FORUM Includes topics such as censorship, image and policies

MAINE SCHOOL AND LIBRARY NETWORK

December 1997
Maine Educational Media Associaton

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