Online Information Literacy Module for Freshman Composition Students

The purpose of this Open Access Information Literacy module is to provide students with an interactive, online question-and-answer module to teach the basic fundamentals of information literacy and its uses as defined by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. This module’s audience is a first-year/ freshman writing or composition student, but research has shown there is a lack of information literacy among all levels of college education. The need for information literacy and library classroom instruction at the collegiate level has grown significantly in response to the exponential growth of information available for students when using the Internet as a research tool. Outside of direct library instruction, which is often dependent on a professor carving out class time to have students interact with librarians, students are not universally equipped with basic information literacy skills. Information literacy terms like scholarly, peer-review, journal article, database, and plagiarism that appear undefined in syllabi and rubrics leave students to define the terms and interpret their uses themselves. Students learn to use research methods through trial and error, differing citation styles, and evaluate information. Please adapt questions (denoted by asterisks) as needed to fit specific university/college standard use of practice