“The man who has ceased to learn ought not to be allowed to wander around loose.” –M.M. Coady

Parent Information for Information Literacy

Welcome to Information Literacy! With the wide use of the internet and the availability of what seems to be infinite amounts of information, media specialists now need to focus on the management of information instead of merely teaching students to navigate a library which (as I hope you would all agree) is a terrific source of information.

What is information literacy? “Information literacy is knowing how to learn. It is knowing how to find information, evaluate it, and use it wisely and effectively.” It should be taught not just in the library but in every aspect of the curriculum and in students’ everyday lives.

My goal for this course is for the students to be able to use a library effectively by finding information located in books, newspapers, magazines, information on the internet, the POWER Library, and various other reference sources. Once the information is located, the students need to read and evaluate the information in these sources for reliability and relevance. Finally they need to be able to use the information they find in an effective manner. The evaluation or assessment tool used for this course will be the final project which will be a research portfolio, a research paper or a slideshow based on student research. Through this project (topic chosen by the student), they will demonstrate whether they have been able to find, evaluate and then use information effectively.

Your children have already been taught in other courses keyboarding skills, effective searching on the internet and also some information on writing citations. Some of this information will be reviewed in this course so that it can be utilized for this project.

The goal of every educator is for our students to be life long learners. Learning should not end when a course does or when a student graduates, but it should become a passion throughout everyone’s life. We have been successful when our students are curious about life in and out of the classroom; when they seek answers to questions, become engaged in debate, appreciate diversity, look at all sides of issues, explore how various mechanisms work, describe nature or emotions using the written word or do countless other things that engage them in learning and living, and most importantly—search for truth.

You will receive the guidelines for this course and for the research project. Please acknowledge that you have read and understand what is expected of your child by signing and returning the final project form and syllabus. Students will begin immediately to do work on their information location skills. Much of our class time will be dedicated toward this end. If your child can use time wisely, there should be no excuse for a late project or a mad rush at the end of the quarter. Check in on them occasionally. You most know them and their learning style. When you show interest, they place more value on these assignments.

Another reminder before concluding---I consider school, your children’s present occupation. Sometimes things will be difficult for them and sometimes they won’t want to do what is expected of them. We adults sometimes feel the same way in our occupations. We do it anyway. These are life lessons for our children. Pushing through, doing what is difficult, persevering, learning from our mistakes, making improvements—this builds character, self-esteem, and self-respect along with pride and a feeling of worth.

A warning about computer technology. In light of the fact that technology sometimes fails at the time we most need it, I expect your children to be prepared for this and have their projects ready before the due date. It is never good to wait until the last minute to do a major assignment. Working in the library I am finding more and more students using computers in the morning on the day an assignment is due to write it or print it out. This is not good planning. “Forewarned is forearmed.” I expect wonderful things from your children. I feel privileged to share this experience with them and pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire both students and teacher on this journey.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call me before or after school.

Mrs. Nancy Pelepko npelepko@lebanoncatholicschool.org 273-3731 ext 330. 6:30-7:30 AM 2:55-3:30 PM