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In our 24/7, always-connected world where we are inundated with information from all sides, the ability to identify quality resources to inform our research and actions has become a major focus in higher education. Digital Content Curation, as it is called, is something that many faculty believe they should be teaching their students, but they are not sure where to start. I have created a model of Digital Content Curation that faculty can use to help students sharpen their digital literacy and research skills (Garner, in press).

Studies suggest that many U.S. students are too trusting of information found on the internet and rarely evaluate the credibility of a website’s information. For example, a survey found that only 4 percent of middle school students reported checking the accuracy of information found on the web at school, and even fewer did so at home (New Literacies Research Team & Internet Reading Research Group, 2006). At the same time, the web is often used as a source of information in school projects, even in early schooling, and sites with inaccurate information can come up high in search rankings.

What does digital literacy mean in 2016? I'm currently working with the New Media Consortium (NMC) on a research project (supported by Adobe) aimed at answering that question, and you can play a part. We're surveying people to see what they currently think is in digital literacy: technical skills, human skills, policies, platforms, and definitions.…

The Internet is a swelling ocean of information, and navigating through its steady flow can often be challenging. This is certainly true for a student who is not information fluent, so what are some smart online research strategies? Luckily this question falls within the realm of Information Fluency, which involves the 5As process:

• Asking the right questions
• Acquiring the knowledge
• Analyzing the content for relevancy and credibility
• Applying the knowledge to our use
• Assessing the effectiveness of our message

UNESCO has launched the Five Laws of Media and Information Literacy (MIL). The graph is in five languages (English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese). The graphs are also available on the UNESCO MIL website. 

The Arabic and Russian versions are coming soon.

Digital literacy is like any other core curricular subject. It is no longer an option, just as reading and math are not. Students must be digitally competent if they are to be successful in school and in their professional and personal lives as adults. Indeed, 3 out of 4 of the best jobs for many years to come will involve digital expertise.

Information Literacy started out as library skills. How do we update these essential tools to help us navigate the digital age?