October is Information Literacy Month; learn more

Information Literacy is an Institutional Learning Outcome at UAA, and an outcome for GER Capstone Courses. It is essential that in the fast-paced, digital world we live in, we have the information literacy skills necessary to acknowledge the creation of information, recognize when we need information, how to obtain it, evaluate it, and apply it ethically and effectively.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan have proclaimed October Information Literacy Month. Think about these issues, and talk to a librarian if you need help overcoming information hurdles.

The National Forum on Information Literacy is the initiator of the state proclamation initiative, which happened on the heals of President Obama declaring October as Information Literacy Month in 2009.

UAA professor of library science Deborah Mole has created a website with resources for faculty called Information Literacy Instruction: Resources for Faculty. There are links to tutorials and other resources about information literacy. Hint: the University of Sydney's tutorials are pretty fun. Here is a link to the iResearch: Information Skills for Life games. 

In regard to "finding good information," the State of Alaska pays for many databases available to all Alaskans, which can be found at www.sled.alaska.edu/databases. This aligns with the Governor's proclamation, and provides an opportunity to share information about the resources. The most recent addition to the list of databases paid for by the State of Alaska is www.brainpop.com, which includes a variety of short animated videos that educate elementary school age students on a variety of topics. 

Mole also included a few more sites, for those interested in drilling down deeper:

• From Manhattanville College Library; projects  and presentations completed with support from an American Library Association grant.  Includes presentation for EDU 5617 (New Technologies and Literacy) taught by Courtney Kelly.
• From the International Society for Technology in Education.