Information Skills

Preface
The learning process and the information search process mirror each other: Students actively seek to construct meaning from the sources they encounter and to create products that shape and communicate that meaning effectively. Developing expertise in accessing, evaluating, and using information is in fact the authentic learning that modern education seeks to promote.

Intent
The Information Skills Standard Course of Study K-12 identifies the essential knowledge and skills that prepare students to locate, analyze, evaluate, interpret, and communicate information and ideas in an information-rich society. Authentic practice of these skills enables students to realize their potential as informed citizens who think critically and solve problems, to observe rights and responsibilities relating to the generation and flow of information and ideas, and to appreciate the value of literature in an educated society.

Revisions
Historically, the framework for teaching information skills has evolved and has been defined within the broader context of education. Sweeping changes in society and education since the 1960's have influenced skills identified, over time, as library skills, library/media skills, and currently, information skills.

The 1985 Standard Course of Study and Teacher Handbook, Library Media and Computer Skills curriculum was the most comprehensive identification of skills in North Carolina, to date. This document was revised and approved by the State Board of Education in 1992. The terminology changed in the 1992 revision from Library/Media Skills and Computer Skills to Information Skills and Computer Skills.

The 1999 revision represents an expansion of the competency goals to clearly identify process skills needed by all students in order to actively construct meaning from the resources they encounter and to create products that shape and communicate that meaning effectively.

Philosophy
The Information Skills Standard Course of Study helps students develop skills to be information literate. "Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people who are prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand."

In 1995, the State Board of Education published The New ABCs' of Public Education, its plan for restructuring education in our state. The B in the ABCs' focuses instruction on the basics-specifically the mastery of reading, mathematics, and writing. Information Literacy skills are essential for students. When integrated with the core curricular areas, these skills enable students to improve and enhance their learning of the other basic skills.

The Information Skills Standard Course of Study is intended to equip learners with the skills needed to find, evaluate, use, and create information and ideas in order to communicate with greater power and effectiveness.

National Standards
Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning (AASL/AECT, 1998) describes the content and processes related to information that students must master to be considered well educated. The student who is information literate:
· Accesses information efficiently and effectively
· Evaluates information critically and competently
· Uses information effectively and creatively
· Pursues information related to personal interests
· Appreciates and enjoys literature and other creative expressions of information
· Strives for excellence in information-seeking and knowledge generation
· Contributes positively to the learning community and to society by recognizing the importance of information to a democratic society
· Contributes positively to the learning community and to society by practicing ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology
· Contributes positively to the learning community and to society by participating effectively in groups to pursue and generate information .

Student Outcomes
The revised North Carolina Information Skills Standard Course of Study complements Information Literacy Standards for Students Learning. Students meeting these competency goals and objectives will be:
Self-directed learners who:
· Pursue knowledge throughout life
· Use systematic processes to seek and use information
· Select discriminately from a wide array of resources
· Read, listen, and view for pleasure
Complex thinkers who
· Use pertinent and reliable information
· Judge quality and usefulness of resources for the specific task
· Question the messages presented in the mass media
· Adapt and transfer strategies for seeking information among various technologies
· Solve problems effectively and make appropriate decisions
Quality producers who
· Communicate information and ideas through products and presentation
· Use systematic processes to create products
Collaborative workers who
· Communicate information and ideas effectively and in a variety of ways
· Recognize that people are sources of information
· Cooperate to complete a task
Community contributors who
· Recognize and appreciate similarities and differences in diverse cultures and environments
· Respect ownership of ideas and information
· Adhere to copyright laws, guidelines, and interpretations

In order for today's students to function in the 21st century, they must be able to acquire, evaluate, and use information effectively. Today's students must become information literate workers, teachers, facilitators and coaches. Information Literacy Skills emphasize the problem solving, critical and creative thinking, decision making, and cooperative learning that prepare students for the challenges in society. The new curriculum is more than lessons to be taught at a fixed time. It offers the wider window of opportunity to connect learning with meaningful experiences. In collaboration with all classroom teachers, the library media specialist focuses on student involvement, activity and action. Through the integration of process and content, today's learners will be better educated to live in a democratic society.

Purpose
Information Skills are the skills that prepare students to gather, process, use, and communicate information. As we move toward a dynamic, global society, we are continuously bombarded with diverse ideas, new information, and innovative technologies that increase the demand for students to become skilled in accessing, processing, and using information. Integrated with other curricular areas, Information Skills will enable students to become lifelong learners and informed decision-makers.