Module 6: Information Literacy in Real Life

OVERVIEW

You made it! This course has presented you with a lot to consider when it comes to information and media literacy and has hopefully helped you develop your skills. You have learned a lot about locating quality information, evaluating sources, and the biases that can prevent us from doing both of these tasks well. You have also learned about how to cite your sources.

Now, it’s time to put what you have learned together and consider how the skills you have developed impact you in your academic, professional, and personal life. Why are these skills so important to you? How do they impact your perceptions of the world, as well as how others perceive you? In Module 6 reflect on these questions and practice responsibly sharing information in various formats as you wrap up your journey through this course.

TOPICS

Module 6 covers the following topics:

How you represent yourself online

Sharing verifiable and trusted information for constructive purposes What information literacy means in real life

OBJECTIVES

After successfully completing Module 6, you should be able to:

MO 6.1  Demonstrate how to effectively share information in different formats. [CO 5]

MO 6.2  Consider how information impacts your life and how you present yourself online. [CO 4, CO 5]

MO 6.3  Reflect on what you have learned in the course and how you plan to apply it in your life. [CO 4, CO 5]

STUDY MATERIALS

Required Resources

Bernnard, D., Bobish, G., Hecker, J., Holden, I., Hosier, A., Jacobson, T., Loney, T., & Bullis, D. (n.d.). Present: Sharing what you’ve learned In The information literacy user’s guide: An open online textbook

TED. (2020, January 3). Media literacy—The power (and responsibility) of information | Lisa Cutter [Video]. YouTube.

Written Assignment 6

Throughout this course you have learned how to locate information, evaluate it, and then properly attribute and cite it. Now you will get to practice sharing your findings in different contexts. After all, once you have researched a topic thoroughly and used credible sources, you may be able to help educate others.

For Written Assignment 6, you will complete a revised version of one of the exercises in “Present: Sharing What You’ve Learned” in The Information Literacy User’s Guide.

Using your final project topic as your guide, write a short paragraph in the form of a formal content summary. This should summarize what you have learned about your topic for an academic audience. Next, using that same information, create a social media post that shares with friends and family what you learned about your topic. Finally, use the information to create a visual that you might share on social media or in online work groups that colleagues or professional friends might view. For example, you can create a brief Prezi, PowerPoint, or a short infographic to share what you know.

In a Word file for submission, include your paragraph, the text or a screenshot of your social media post, and the visual you created. Then, respond to the following questions in a short reflection:

Which of these formats seems most effective to you and why? Which seems the most complete and why?

Which seems the most attention grabbing and why?

Which of these was the most challenging to create and why?

The following resources may be helpful to you as you complete this assignment:

Writing for Social Media in 2022: Tips and Tools Prezi Basic Account Creation (free account) Piktochart Free Infographic Maker

Discussion Forum 6

In Discussion Forum 6, post your response to the following discussion question. Reply to at least two classmates’ responses by the date indicated in the Course Calendar. [MO 6.2, MO 6.3]

For your final discussion forum of the course, it’s time to reflect on your learning. What are the most valuable things you’ve learned about locating quality sources, citing sources, evaluating your own biases, and so forth? How do you think the

lessons from this class can be applied in your personal life, on social media, in your professional life, and in your academic work? Be sure to give an example for each.

In your responses to your classmates, comment on what they have shared. What did you learn that was similar or different? What, if any, additional benefits of this learning can you share?