Submitted by Jim Edstrom, Resources for Learning
Do you want to help students across campus know the difference between “real” and “fake” information? Join the newly formed Information Literacy Community of Practice!
The Information Literacy Community of Practice seeks to explore the concept of information literacy—how to teach and incorporate it across departments at Harper College. The issue has assumed particular importance in an era in which students are confronted with the problem of clearly distinguishing between substantive, objective information, and “fake news.”
Information literacy is one of Harper’s five General Education Learning Outcomes and states that upon completion of a degree program, the student should be able to effectively: Apply a variety of credible sources to support a given topic.
Whether educating students in critical thinking techniques or familiarizing them with the concepts of “CRAAP” (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose), developing information literacy is crucial to an informed citizenry and a robust civil society. It is all the more important for us to develop a better understanding of how we currently teach information literacy at the College and how we can better support each other going forward.
Get involved and help Harper students!
The Community of Practice was formed by four Library faculty members. However, because our success depends upon input from all across campus, we invite all interested faculty to join us and become part of the effort to more effectively teach information literacy across the curriculum.
If interested, please contact member Jim Edstrom at jedstrom@harpercollege.edu or any of the members: Jen Lau-Bond, Kristin Allen, Melissa Merlos for more information.