Readings - Week 9 - Information Literacy

Just a few days ago I received a memo in my box from our librarian that stated teachers should not accept Wikipedia as a reputable source for students when they are researching. This is the first time I have seen something printed out and given to all teachers in regards to information literacy. It is truly overwhelming how many websites are out there for any given topic. Students do carry the mentality that if it's on the internet it must be true. I think this is because they don't really understand hpw the information gets there in the first place. It was scary to read in the article, Authenticating Online Information, that less than three in ten secondary school kids (27%) say they take the time to confirm that the information they find online can be trusted (Thank God I am not an English teacher!!!!). How hard it must be as a teacher to determine what's legitimate and what's not with so much information out there. This is where the importance of teaching our students how to properly search comes in key. If students are first introduced at a young age how to find appropriate and credible information, and teachers keep on showing them as they get older, I think a lot more students that 27% would take the time to make sure what they found was legit.