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A brief introduction to the Five Colleges of Ohio Information Literacy Tutorial |
The ability to locate useful and reliable sources of information is essential for students' academic and professional careers, as well as for their participation in a society increasingly reliant on electronic information sources. It is often difficult to know where and how to look for information. In the vast world of information, there are many steps a researcher must go through in order to be an efficient and effective researcher. This tutorial is designed to teach students information literacy skills by guiding them through the process of conducting effective library research. Although anyone may benefit from this tutorial, it was designed for first year students at liberal arts colleges.
Information literacy is defined as a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." (American Library Association. Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. Final Report. Chicago: American Library Association, 1989). The need to teach information literacy skills is receiving increased attention on academic campuses around the world as the internet and rapid advances in techonology dramatically change how students and faculty conduct research.
The tutorial is divided into three sections:
| Getting Started | How to Find Information | Putting It Together |
Each section contains several lessons, usually several pages in length, that cover essential elements in the research process. These lessons will familiarize you with types of sources you can use to find information, explain how you can make the most effective use of these resources, discuss how to evaluate the information you find, and review the appropriate conventions for citing the research of others in your own work.
The tutorial can be used in a variety of ways:
Lessons can be followed in the order listed on the Home Page, or users can pick and choose among topics they want to learn about.
This Information Literacy tutorial is an ongoing project of the Five Colleges of Ohio, a consortium founded in 1995 with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Consortium members are: The College of Wooster, Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, and Ohio Wesleyan University.
The idea of creating a collaborative web-based, interactive information literacy tutorial for students on our five campuses was first proposed in the Fall of 1998. The Consortium received an AT&T Learning Network Teaching and Technology Grant, which has supported development of the tutorial. The grant period extends from January 1999 to January 2001. During this time, the tutorial is considered a "work in progress." The tutorial will be piloted on each of the five campuses in the Fall of 2000.
This tutorial will function best on Netscape 4.0 or higher, or Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher.