Blog#4 "Information Competency"

Information Competency is the ability to access, evaluate, organize, and use information in order to learn, problem solve, make quality decisions in formal and informal learning context at home, work, and like this, an educational setting.

It is very important to be Information Competent because we do the aforementioned things on a daily basis. It also encompasses critical and analytical thinking, preventing one from making rash decisions. I do believe I am a growing Information Competent student, even more so after being engaged in this class, and researching and completing the various assignments.

Such a student should 1) be able to determine the nature and extent of the information needed.
2) access needed information effectively and efficiently, from a variety of sites keeping in mind key words or phrases, etc. 3) be able to thoroughly evaluate information and it's sources critically and incorporate selected information into his/her knowledge base and value system.
I must say emphatically, "Yes" I am a life-long Information Competency student, and feel I can improve my experience and conceptions of researching, teaching, and learning influences with constant practice, using the techniques in other classes, and everyday affairs.

I have discovered our method of learning experiences influences learning results. I never knew there was such a myriad of sites with a wealth of information on any subject matter. Already I have been able to use some the sites I discovered to help in my personal life. The challenge of this class for me, has now become an adventure!

Taking this with you Dena, has inspired this concludung paragraph. I learned that information is
ephemeral, meaning short-lived or transitory. A website may vanish overnight. Material published in books, magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals has to be reviewed for accuracy and reliability, but a webpage can assert anything, no matter how fanciful or unreliable.

Now as Information Competent students, we must approach each site with critical and analytical thinking, in our undaunted quest for truth over fraud and erroroneous reporting, promotion, or advertisement. Who knows, we could create a site like snopes.com;)