Information Literacy is more Critical than Educational Success

Tweens use media.  A recent study from the Kaiser Foundation claims that tweens use media an average of 7.5 hours a day, and that because they often use multiple types of media simultaneously, they are actually exposing themselves to 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content every day.  They are using laptops and smart phones to access high-speed Internet, and MP3 players to download music.  They have facebook accounts, create podcasts at school, and some even write research papers on their phones.  No longer is cutting edge technology reserved for the elite, everyone uses technology across the board.

Technology has been deeply entrenched in the everyday lives of all Americans.  From the flatscreen TVs that hang from the ceiling of our SUVs to the telephones we use for driving directions and to check our email, Americans use media.  The fact that tweens are using media on their own should be no surprise.  Instead of biting our fingernails, adults, and librarians in particular, should embrace this new found opportunity to help mold our tech-savvy kids into competent and successful individuals.

  

According to Beaufort (2009), “technology plays an increasingly important role in both classroom and workplace settings and affects literacy activities significantly” (p. 243).  Today’s tweens must become information literate if they expect to succeed in school, or at work.  Libraries can help tweens attain the evaluative skills they need to choose reliable Internet sites, abide by the rules that prevent plagiarism, and turn their natural inclination towards using media to serious educational assets.  Partnering with schools and teachers, creating regular library programs that teach information literacy skills, and maintaining collections that are conducive to media learning are essential activities of all librarians serving youth. 

The reality is that information literacy is more critical than educational success. “Just about a quarter (23%) of online low income teens look for Health information [online] compared with 11% of teens from households earning more than $75,000 a year.” (Lenhart, 2010).   However, inexperienced with wading through the thousands of search results generated, tweens and teens report having difficulty searching for online health information.  They often feel frustrated by the lack of consistent quality information, or daunted by the number of sites from with to choose (Vargas, 2005, p. 17-18).  

It is not enough to say that these kids should go to their parents or their doctors.  The truth is that they aren't going to qualified adults for answers to their health related questions.  They are going to the Internet.  It is imperative that libraries work to provide access to the most reliable and comprehensive sources of information online.  Evaluating health websites, setting up pathfinders, creating mobile apps, and directing tweens to reputable sites can eliminate some of the frustration tweens experience and can minimize the threat that they will encounter misinformation.  One excellent health related website for tween girls is: girlshealth.gov

Beaufort, A. (2009). Preparing adolescents for the literacy demands of the 21st-century workplace. In L. Christenbury, R. Bomer, & P. Smagorinsky (Eds.), Handbook of Adolescent Literacy Research (pp. 239-255). New York: Guilford Press.

Lenhart, A.; Purcell, K.; Smith, A.; Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media & mobile internet use among teens and young adults. Pew Internet and American Life Project. http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2010/PIP_Social_Media_and_Young_Adults_Report_Final_with_toplines.pdf

Rideout, V.M., Foehr, U.G., & Roberts, D.F.(2010). Generation M²: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf

Vargas, K. (2005). Teenagers, health, and the Internet: How information professionals can reach out to teens and their health information needs. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 9(3), 15-23. Retrieved March 9, 2009, DOI:10.1300/J381v09n03_02

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Boys' Literacy

Recently, a lot of scholarly attention has been given to boys and their literacy rates because boys are falling behind their female counterparts in reading ability and interest. This problem is international in scope and can first be traced through to kindergarten where boys are retained at a higher rate than girls. Whether the problem of boys' literacy can be traced to female teachers teaching female books as argued by St. Jarre (2008), or to external factors like video games and medicines (Sax, 2007), is irrelevant. What is relevant is that teachers and librarians can take positive measures to combat the international trend.

If boys lose interest in reading because the book selections taught in school are introspective and/or deal with meditative subjects, open curricula to include books with more appeal to male audiences. In a study by Farris, et al. (2009) researchers found that boys like fact-filled books, comics, magazines, and scary stories. They are drawn to books that "look good" with sections of text that are divided by graphic elements and separated by wide margins and white space. "As literacy educators, we need to acknowledge the reading preferences and interest of boys in our classrooms and examine what types of texts are available to use that will encourage boys to read" (p. 181). While classic texts have an indelible place in school curricula, there are many new works that can be incorporated to facilitate important classroom discussion while being more accessible to those students who resist traditionally assigned works. Librarians should work to build collections that include these works, and should foster relationships with teachers and school administrators to attest to the merits of newly published works in a variety of formats.

If boys learn through experiential activities and are inclined to move and do (Sax, 2007), make allowances for their natural tendencies. Story Times and class visits to the library should not be so draconian in their expectations of stillness and quiet. Instead, read a book about the history of outdoor activities and then go outside and play an old fashioned game. Or, start a book club where participants read a well-acclaimed novel as a group, and then use the machines in the computer lab to write to electronic pen pals on skype or via email. Of course, librarians must always work to uphold the safety of all library users, and logistical questions of screening potential pen pals and privacy issues must be thought about carefully.  The point is that boys like the interaction and will better relate to any text that is enhanced for them through action.

Farris, P., et al. (2009). Male call: Fifth-grade boys' reading preferences. The Reading Teacher, 63(3), 180-188. doi: 10.1598/RT.63.3.1

Sax, L. (2007, September). The boy problem: Many boys think school is stupid and reading stinks. School Library Journal, 40-43. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/printissuecurrentissue/863623-427/the_boy_problem_many_boys.html.csp

St. Jarre, K. R. (2008, January). Don't blame the boys: We're giving them girly books. English Journal, 97(3), 15-16. Retrieved from Arts & Humanities Full Text database.