Information Skills

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What are Information Skills?

Information skills help people find solutions for information problems. The acquisition and competence in using these skills enables people to become independent, lifelong learners. These skills include:

ability to access and use resources found in print, pictorial and electronic format
understanding and using effective and efficient research strategies
locating, selecting, interpreting, evaluating and using information from all sources and media
thinking critically and making decisions according to values and beliefs as well as factual evidence
sharing information and opinions and being able to justify these through reasonable discussion
understanding and respecting values and beliefs of other cultures

What is the Information Skills Process?

This is a process that can be used whenever information is required, and is able to be modified to meet individual needs and situations. This process is well suited to problem solving across all curriculum areas and also outside of school.

Why teach Information Skills?

Students of today live and learn in an environment where the amount of information available to them is increasing at a rapid rate. It is essential that students develop skills to be able to effectively discriminate in the use of the information at their disposal.

The steps of the Information Skills Process are outlined below.

The Information Skills Process

	Defining What are the key ideas and words of the problem or task? What do I really want to find out? What do I already know? What more do I need to find out? What information do I need?
	Locating Where can I find the information I need? What sources can I use? Where can I find these resources? Do I need help? Which search terms will help me find what I am looking for?
	Selecting What main ideas am I looking for? How can I use these resources effectively? What actual information do I need? Do I understand the material in the sources I have chosen? How will I know if it is recent, accurate and unbiased? How do I acknowledge my source of information?
	Organising How am I able to best use this information? Does it need to be in a special order? How will I present it so it is easily understood by other people? Have I responded to the original question? Do I need more information?
	Presenting How can I present my information? Who will be my audience? What do I need to do this presentation? Have I included everything?
	Assessing What have I learned from this? Did I answer my focus questions? Which parts did I do really well? What parts would I change if there was a "next time"? Where do I need help for future assignments?