Information Competency Plan

Information Competency Plan

Definition of Information Competency:(as adopted by the COS Academic Senate, 2001)

Information competency is the ability to recognize when information is needed, and to access, locate, evaluate, synthesize, use and communicate in various formats.

An information competent student will be able to:

• Recognize when information is necessary
• Access technology appropriate to his/her information needs
• Develop effective research strategies
• Locate, retrieve and use information in a variety of formats
• Critically evaluate and synthesize information
• Competently use computers and other information technology
• Use a variety of information technology tools to facilitate communication
• Understand the legal and ethical issues relating to information and its use

------

Currently, the instruction for information competency may be achieved by taking one of the following Library courses: LIBR 101, LIBR 102, LIBR 103 or equivalent course from a regionally accredited college or by passing an information competency test.

The LIBR courses address the followingInformation Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL):

Recognize when information is necessary

Students will be able to identify types of information necessary to fulfill research assignments.

Students will recognize when background evidence is necessary and how it helps to distinguish fact from opinion.

Students will reevaluate the nature and extent of information they obtain for a research purpose.

LIBR 101: Students identify the topics/subject headings related to the research projects and classes they are taking or their personal interests and goals.

LIBR 102: Students state their search query in a complete sentence and identify key words.

LIBR 103: This class covers information sources in print and in electronic format such as books, newspapers, magazines, journals, government documents, statistics, web sites and local sources of information that would generally be required for research papers.

Access technology appropriate to his/her information needs

Students will understand basic operating concepts of research databases.

Students will implement appropriate search strategies for various information retrieval systems, using different user interfaces and search engines.

LIBR 101: Use variety of information sources: printed books, reference books and periodicals; databases; eBooks; online tutorial (IRIS and Research Roadmap); COS Library website; online catalog, etc.

LIBR 102: Students are taught the difference between the public Web and the invisible Web and practice searching with each one.

LIBR 103: Students learn how to find books physically in the library as well as e-books. Students use databases for periodicals and search engines for web pages. They are required to conduct an interview for the local information source.

Develop effective research strategies:

Students will be able to create search queries using Boolean operators, quotes and database limiters.

Students will understand how to broaden and narrow topics effectively.

Students will understand and demonstrate the use of subject classifications.

LIBR 101:Develop topics and link them to LCSH; search online catalog; define keywords; create search queries; learn Boolean operators, nesting, and truncation; use database limiters, etc.

LIBR 102:Students must have search strategies for the Invisible Web and the Public Web. For the searches in the Public Web, they learn directory and search engines strategies with a variety (about 9) of web directories and search engines. They are assigned a worksheet just on ways of making their Google searches more effective. They may have to modify their searches many times for best results.

LIBR 103:The student must decide on a topic and develop research strategies to research the topic in the book catalog, periodical databases, and in web search directories or search engines. This requires knowledge of Boolean operators and key word and controlled vocabulary.

Locate, retrieve and use information in a variety of formats:

Students should be able to use the various features of a source (table of contents, index, “see” references, abstract, bibliography, related subjects, etc.)

Students should be able to use the full potential of a source, understanding how to persist in a search.

LIBR 101:The course introduces students to a variety of information sources available, including books, periodicals, databases, and websites.

LIBR 102:From the Invisible web, the student must retrieve an article from a newspaper, magazine or journal, read the article and summarize it and state their opinion of the topic in the article. They must use databases NOT the public web, and they must use word processing to write their summaries and opinions.

LIBR 103: The students use the electronic book catalog, periodical databases and the web to locate and retrieve information. They are asked to give short evaluative written answers on worksheets according to specific criteria. For the final, they use word processing to create an annotated bibliography.

Critically evaluate and synthesize information

Students will understand and be able to use information cycles and classifications of available resources.

Students will create source-specific criteria for evaluating information.

Students will tailor sources for a particular purpose and an intended audience.

LIBR 101:Students evaluate different types of books and other resources which are needed to research a givensubject, including electronically driven reference tools, and justify using a variety of source materials.

LIBR 102:The students are given specific criteria (6) and are asked to evaluate web pages. After the demonstration of how to apply the criteria, the students are divided into groups and asked to concentrate on one criterion and evaluate a specific site according to that criterion. The students practice individually evaluating other sites on a worksheet. Part of the final is evaluating two web sites they find on their own. Then they are asked whether they would use this site for research paper and why or why not according to the criteria.

LIBR 103:The students are given criteria for each type of source and are asked in a series of worksheets to evaluate specific sources according to the criteria. The final project is an annotated bibliography that is both descriptive and critical. The emphasis is on critical evaluation which shows their ability at synthesis.

Competently use computers and other information technology

Students will demonstrate competency in accessing a variety of technological formats, includingeBooks, academic electronic databases, websites, wikis, blogs, etc.

Students will select the most appropriate technology for a given research task and be able to extract necessary information.

LIBR 101:Both the online and on-campus classes heavily rely on use of computers and information technology: online version (uses Bb as its platform) and F2F (taught in a classroom with 40 computers and uses Bb). In addition, students use academic electronic databases; eBooks; online tutorials (IRIS and Research Roadmap); COS Library website; online catalog, etc.

LIBR 102:The students use the Internet to search for web sites; they use computer databases; they use word processing and printers.

LIBR 103:The students use the Internet to search for web sites; they use computer databases; they use word processing and printers.

Use a variety of information technology tools to facilitate communication

Students will use various technologies to manage and organize information they select.

Students will select an appropriate type of communication for a given task or project.

LIBR 101:Email (including email option from NetLibrary and academic electronic databases), Blackboards Discussion Board (in both F2F and online class)

LIBR 102: They may use email to contact their instructor. They use Blackboard for online classes.

LIBR 103:They may use email to contact their instructor. They use Blackboard for online classes.

Understand the legal and ethical issues relating to information and its use:

Students will understand and be able to distinguish copyright, public domain, fair use, citation, and universal access (Creative Commons).

Students will be able to determine the nature of a source from a citation, use citations to find physical and electronic sources and correctly cite sources for use in research.

Students will understand the issues of privacy and security.

LIBR 101: Copyright, public domain, fair use, universal access (Creative Commons), plagiarism, and citations are taught. Additionally, students are asked to determine the nature of a source from a citation, use citations to find physical sources and cite sources used for research papers (from SLOs).

LIBR 102:Copyright is defined and discussed especially in regard to Google Books and Google Images. The need for citation in order to avoid plagiarism is discussed and citations for databases and web pages are taught. Issues of privacy and security are discussed.

LIBR 103:The need for citation in order to avoid plagiarism is discussed and citations for books, periodicals and web pages are taught. Citations are necessary for the final project which is an annotated bibliography.

Information Competency Test:

As another avenue for meeting this requirement, students may take and pass the Information Competency Test.

The test for information competency will be conducted through Blackboard. Students may attempt the test once per semester, for two semesters. Two failures to pass the test will result in students taking one of the approved courses to meet the requirement. Students must pass the test with a score of 75% or higher to meet the Information Competency requirement.

Information Competency in Other Courses:

Courses that incorporate 17.5 hours of instruction in information competency may be used to satisfy the GE requirement, if they meet all standards as listed on the Information Competency Proposal Form (below). The recommendation of whether or not a course meets the standards for information competency will be forwarded from General Education Committee to the Curriculum Committee.

Steps to propose an additional course to meet Information Competency:

Step 1: A division may propose an additional course to satisfy the COS-GE Information Competency requirement. Divisions should submit the Information CompetencyProposal Form (see below) to the General Education Committee by September 15 of each academic year. Proposals should include a current course outline and course outcomes.

Step 2: The General Education Committee will evaluate the criteria and ways in which the proposed course meets those criteria. The General Education Committee will approve the course using their usual procedures OR will not approve the course as meeting the competency. The committee will provide written feedback about why the course does not meet the requirements, if that is the case.

Step 3: Process and dates

General Education Committee will approve the course(s) by October 1 and forward to the Curriculum Committee.

The Curriculum Committee will review the course and approve at the December meeting. The course(s) will be sent to the Academic Senate.

The Academic Senate will approve the course(s) in January. Once approved, the course will be included in the next catalog.

Information Competency Course Proposal

Courses that incorporate 17.5 hours of instruction in information competency may be used to satisfy the GE requirement, if they meet the all standards as listed on the Information Competency Proposal Form (below). The recommendation of whether or not a course meets the standards for information competency will be forwarded from General Education Committee to the Curriculum Committee.

Course Number and Title:

Course Units: