A University in New York defined information literacy as "the ability to recognize the extent and nature of an information need, then to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information." I think this is a good definition of information literacy because teachers and students need to be able to analyze the information they are presented with. Being information literate helps you use technology to communicate, solve problems, access, manage, integrate, evaluate, design, and create information to improve learning.
Can we teach our students to have the skills essential to information literacy?:
Sure. It's perhaps more difficult than in the past because there is so much more information available today, but there are ways to educate a student on how to be information literate. For example, a teacher could have his or her students search the internet and discuss how or why a website is credible or not (like we did in Ed 270). A teacher needs to be able to analyze information and also be able to teach his or her students how they can analyze information too.
Can we truly prepare students to be effective users of the most powerful medium?:
Anyone can make a website, even one that looks professional, so it's hard to distinguish what is reliable and what is not. There are clues to look for that can help you determine the validity of a website, though.
Here is an image to help you understand a URL and its structure:
You could also use www.google.com or www.altavista.com to "sleuth" your internet search, which basically means to investigate a websites validity. On these websites, you type in "link:" followed by the web address you are "investigating." This can give you clues to an author's credibility, or the purpose of the website (some sites are trying to sell products, etc.).
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