How literate are you?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Yes, we are literate. At least in the sense that we can read and write, but how adept are we at thinking critically about meaning and relevance?
In honor of National Information Literacy Month, Linn-Benton Community College held an information literacy forum on Friday, Oct. 30.
“We simply think of information literacy as an individual being able to decipher whatever information is presented to her or him,” said Bryan Miyagishima, the reference and instruction librarian at LBCC.
Miyagishima hosted and mediated a panel of four LBCC instructors, who offered their thoughts to the 30-member audience. An open forum tailed the event.
Richenda Hawkins, a reference librarian at LBCC, began the panel discussion with a focus on understanding how to access information and think critically about sources.
Access to information has changed dramatically in the last twenty years. Tools such as computers, web browsers and Internet portals have presented greater complications in gaining information. According to Hawkins, it’s to the point that more training is required for access.
With the explosion of user-generated content, the evaluation of sources is of primary concern. There is a decline in mediation and fewer middlemen.
“It makes knowing what is quality all the more crucial,” said Hawkins
Journalism instructor and advisor for LB’s student newspaper, The Commuter, Rob Priewe, spoke on the subject of media literacy.
Priewe cited the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” which suggests that people use Google to search for bits of information like a hunt for trivia rather than asking for the complete story behind the facts.
“We may be highly qualified to win on Jeopardy, but are we necessarily smarter?” Priewe asked the audience.
Priewe recommended that people analyze the context of information and be aware of bias to further our understanding of the news.
“Why does media literacy matter? Because otherwise we just sort of become a bunch of stooges who respond to the pundits,” said Priewe. “If they tell us to vote a certain way, we just mechanically do it, like robots.”
Gary Westford tackled the visual and artistic form of literacy.
According to Westford, “The aesthetic world can inform us about history, the human condition, the nature of beauty and can open new doors of perception. Art represents a sense of place”.
A visually literate person can comprehend, make meaning of and communicate through visual means.
“If we’re not looking at the world around us, then we’re missing a hell of a lot,” said Westford.
Cultural competency rounded out the panel. The term itself was challenged and discussed by Callie Palmer, a culture and language instructor at LBCC.
“We are shooting too far below where we could go in terms of understanding, appreciating and participating in culture,” says Palmer, “but we have to start someplace.”
Palmer explained that the ability to consider other ways of thinking, while at the same time not making assumptions, serves as the foundation for cultural literacy. She also praised Internet technology for serving as a springboard to further awareness between cultures and break down barriers and biases, such as ethnicity or gender.
Palmer ended the panel by reminding the audience that, “All information is not equal.”
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