Info Literacy

I've been teaching again part-time at the community college level, and I've been reading many blogs, articles, and list discussions about info literacy. I'm also helping to plan an info lit conference where participants will discuss info literacy in the workforce. The recurring theme in all of these discussions and readings is students' lack of engagement and critical thinking abilities.

So, what are the best methods/courses/vocabulary/examples to connect students' real lives, interests, motivation, and passions with info lit objectives? I'm researching successful and engaging lessons based on constructivist ideas and active learning that ask students to create and collaborate, synthesize info from multiple sources, and that use language and examples relevant to their current and future interests as students and needs as workers. I will share the best ideas.

trailer and other videos

Here's a video illustrating 21st century literacy skills:




 Here is a short trailer I created for All Shook Up:

Holiday Comic Life Creations

Fourth graders researched a few holiday facts, searched for images, experimented with Photobooth, and experimented with Comic Life for the first time!

digital portfolios

So I've this idea about students creating digital library media portfolios...about searching..and their favorite books...and their self-selected best or favorite projects from different grades...maybe a podcast or a digital story or a reader's theater performance...and also about researching so they don't forget from one year to the next how to evaluate a website or take notes or critically examine a source or distinguish between primary and secondary sources...and perhaps they can document experiences they've had with authentic learning...times they've blogged with an astronaut or submitted an email to a senator...or Skyped with an author in class...Now to investigate the best platform for this idea :)