Introduction: Information Literacy in the XXI Century
Living in the modern world means being able to handle a huge torrent of information. Therefore, the skills that allow searching for the necessary information, locate the required data and process it fast are worth their weight in gold in the present-day world. It is quite impressive that the concept of information literacy has been integrated into every single aspect of human life, altering it and making people adapt towards the new requirements.
After the realization of the unceasing significance of information management, which includes the acquisition of information, the information processing and its further sharing, as well as the following utilization, the concept of lifelong learning was introduced. Therefore, the idea of Scholarship, Practice and Leadership, or SPL, has been provided to embrace the concept of shaping future leaders out of today students. Since in the present-day world, teaching a profession presupposes offering the opportunities to integrate professional skills together with the recently developed technology, it can be assumed that the very idea of information literacy is an integral part of the SPL and the process of shaping a business leader (Price, 2011).
Information Literacy and Its Effect on Scholarship, Practice and Leadership
The positive effects and the ways to make efficient use of them
Information literacy plays a great role in the situations when a search for verified and accurate information past the basic paradigm involving the Google engine is required. In other words, information literacy allows for a quick and efficient location of the required data within the shortest amounts of time and in whichever form is currently the most comfortable one for a regular use. Thus, time, money and effort are saved for the working and/or learning process, which is especially important given the number of skills to be acquired and data to be learned.
In addition, information literacy helps a has-been student pass from the standard form of education to self-education – once the student understands how to get hold of the required information and use it efficiently to train the new skills, no tutorship is needed any longer, which means that a person is able to educate him-herself: “These facts prove that students need not so much knowledge itself, but the so-called information competence to survive in the changing information environment” (Turusheva, 2009, 127).
The negative effects and the ways to make their impact less significant
There is no need to stress that even the most grandeur plans have their negative aspects, and the concept of integrating information literacy into the SPL in order to train experts is no exception to this rule. Therefore, it is necessary to point out the existing drawbacks, as well as the ones that might possibly emerge in the future. The first and the most obvious negative aspect of the introduction of information literacy into the field of SPL in the sphere of teaching profession is the abundance of sources and the search for the most acceptable choice.
While information has, indeed, become as accessible as it has never been before, it has also lost a great chunk of its credibility; as a result, it is highly recommended that the sources for the information should be checked as carefully as possible, which is rather hard when keeping in pace with the fast XXI-century learning process: as the recent researches show, teachers “didn’t provide systematic guidance to using information in the new electronic age” (Badke, 2009, 48). Therefore, the only threat, which, ironically enough, remains the major one, is the loss in quality of the teaching process.
In addition, according to the recently conducted researches, the fact that students are allowed to use search engines like Google or Yahoo! instead of consulting the traditional library sources leads to the students becoming lazier and less reliable. In a very weird way, the affordability of the information to the students leads to them valuing data less than the people belonging to the previous generations do. As a result, modern students are less driven and enthusiastic about their academic activities, especially the ones including research and individual assignments.
Conclusion: A Look into the Future of the Information Literacy
Given the fact that information is quickly becoming the next most valuable item after money, it can be assumed that in some two decades from now, information literacy will become an absolute must for any person to possess. As a matter of fact, the very concept of information literacy is already tied to the idea of the SPL, lifelong learning being the key idea of the latter. It is clear that the current teaching system will have to be changed considerably in order to adopt towards the principles of lifelong learning and the needs of the students of the XXI century: “Different methods of inquiry are better suited to understanding the knowledge of different disciplines” (Why universities need information literacy now more than ever, 2009).
However, when taking a closer look at the modern spheres of education and business, one is likely to notice that the transformation is already taking place; postsecondary education is no longer something out of the ordinary, and the idea of updating the skills on a regular basis does not sound weird any longer. With that being said, the sphere of education is currently getting adapted towards the SPL principles, which means that the learning process for teachers is bound to continue after the postgraduate education and will not probably cease until the very retirement. The given lust for knowledge and constant education can be considered another step in the development of the humankind and the herald of the era of new society – the informational one.
Reference List
Badke, W. (2009). How we failed the Net generation. Online, 33(4), 47–49.
Price, R. (2011). Embedding information literacy in a first-year business undergraduate course. Studies in Higher Education, 36(6), 705–718.
Turusheva, L. (2009). Students’ information competence and its importance for life- long education. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 12, 126–132.
Why universities need information literacy now more than ever (2009). Feliciter, 55(3), p. 92-94.