Below I have identified 5 tools/resources that students and teachers could use to facilitate developing information literacy skills.
Source Evaluation Quiz - developed by Kimberly Shotick in 2015 at Northeastern Illinois University. https://www.carli.illinois.edu/sites/files/pub_serv/ICForum150618ShotickHandout.pdf
Worksheet for student to complete when finding sources. Fits under critical thinking and searching (Critical Literacy and Research/Library Skills)
EasyBib - https://www.easybib.com/
Formats source information according to which style guide you are using (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc...). Fits under copyright, searching, and computer literacy (Media Literacy, Research/Library Skills, Information Ethics)
GoogleSearch Education - https://www.google.com/insidesearch/searcheducation/index.html
Mini-lessons on how to correctly use Google Search function. Fits under computer literacy and searching (Media Literacy and Research/Library Skills)
Free Rice https://freerice.com/categories/english-vocabulary
Vocabulary builder. Fits under critical thinking/critical reading (Critical Literacy).
Padlet - https://padlet.com/
Digital collaborative white board. Fits under searching or critical thinking (Research and Library Skills).
I found these sources simply by googling "information literacy tools" and evaluating the listings that came up. I've actually used 3 of them as a student myself.
Source Evaluation Quiz. This resource popped up as a tool that was created by Kimberly Shotick a few years ago. It is fairly straightforward to complete. The student assesses their research source answering 5 questions. This tool helps the student determine whether the source is appropriate for their assignment/research goals. I included this because it is a very direct teaching tool to assess the strength of your sources. I've used something similar in my own learning. I don't think it is that innovative and it only addresses 2 areas of the NFIL infographic (Research and Library Skills & Critical Literacy).
EasyBib. One of many websites like it. This source assembles your references page for you and correctly formats it according to the style your teacher wishes. It also has developed the ability to double-check your writing for plagiarism by scanning to ensure you have cited correctly. This is a new feature as when I was student, this didn't exist. This tool teaches about copyright, searching, and computer skills. I think this type of tool is great when you have multiple courses and each professor is asking for a different style. This happened to me several semesters in college. It can be tiresome to switch back and forth between MLA and APA and EasyBib can help you to catch any mistakes.
Google Search Education. I wish this had been around when I was in high school and early college. I think it is important enough to be included in introductory college courses or high school courses because many folks do not understand how to properly use this tool. In 2021, if you can't use google effectively, you are automatically at a disadvantage because Google controls a lot of information on the web. I consider it an essential tool for learning and functioning in the world.
Free Rice. I don't consider Free Rice to be particularly complex or advanced, but I'm nostalgic for it because it was around when I was in college and is a really cool concept. The idea is simple: you get correct answers with vocabulary quizzes and Free Rice gives food for for the hungry. It only teaches a small part of literacy (critical reading/thinking), but I think every English class in grade, middle, and high school should use this tool.
Padlet. This is a visually engaging digital, collabortive whiteboard (and other things) that a class or group can design together. There are a lot of possibilities for the teacher to design a space for specific lessons. Your notes can be saved and you can come back to them later. I think this tool replicates classroom activities in an engaging way.
I specifically included tools that either a teacher or a student could use as I didn't just want to include tools for the teacher. The areas of the NFIL infographic that aren't addressed by any of my tools are Visual Literacy, Boolean Logic, and Security & Privacy. I don't actually think that you can justify leaving those areas out of any classroom teaching. I don't think that they can all be taught by one tool or in one lesson effectively. I think Information Literacy encompasses so much now that a teacher must strategically pepper in the concepts throughout varied assignments over the course of a semester or year. I also think that there are tools/resources that can be used to teach all of the concepts, I just haven't listed them all here.
Examples:
Using Padlet for group collaboration activity:
Content: 2 learning objectives for using Padlet to facilitate a group research project - history: 1. The student will use the map function to assemble information about their selected geographical region 2. The student will modify and develop the timeline function to create a historical timeline of the region they are researching.
Pedagogy: This is a collaborative approach - all learners in the group are contributing to the learning of others.
Technology: Padlet allows the students to modify and provide feedback within the tool. Students can make a visually engaging presentation of their information. They can collaborate in real-time and you can track the input from each student.
Using the Source Evaluation Quiz by Shotick to teach students how to find quality sources:
Content: 2 learning objectives - research skills: 1. The student will learn to select appropriate sources for their research topic and assignment 2. The student will assess the quality of their sources by completing the quiz for each source.
Pedagogy: This is an inquiry-based approach to learning as the student connects the sources to the project of their choosing, they investigate sources, then they are synthesizing ideas, and presenting their assessment of the source.
Technology: The quiz itself could be administered via paper or uploaded into a Google Form very easily so that the student can complete the assessment digitally. The content of the quiz is most important, as is, the search databases (JSTOR, Ebscohost, etc...) that the student will use.
I'm moving to Colorado Springs this week so I made a Padlet example on that topic! Enjoy!
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