Information Fluency Expectations for Students at Macalester
Information Fluency Expectations for Students
at the End of their First Year
Technical/Productivity Tools
Knows how to:
- navigate and use the campus network - email, course folders, personal
server space.
- find and use lab resources.
- print from the labs and dorm rooms.
- get help on campus with technical issues.
- use CLICnet, including accessing their own patron file
Research/Critical Thinking/Ethical Use
Is able to:
- distinguish between scholarly and recreational information needs.
- identify basic scholarly resources.
- describe what a peer-reviewed source is.
- evaluate a resource for content and scope.
- distinguish publicly available resources from those provided by the college.
- exhibit an understanding of academic dishonesty.
- live appropriately in a community of shared resources
(overlaps with Interpersonal)
- Has an awareness of responsible use
- Understands information citizenship
- Understands ethical issues associated with peer-to-peer file sharing
- identify relevant staff on campus to go too for help with research/library
issues.
- use interlibrary borrowing services for materials available outside of
Macalester.
- extend research capablities to non-digital resources (e.g. printed indices,
journals).
Communication/Presentation/Interpersonal/Team
Is able to:
- determine what Media Services offers and how to access those resources.
- show development of skills for living in a community of shared resources.
- comfortably request help from roommates/peers before accessing staff.
- determine when appropriate to access staff for help.
- listen to and outline a lecture into salient sections, points, etc.
- organize own thoughts into an oral presentation, including OHP slides
or digital visuals when appropriate.
Information Fluency Expectations for Students
in a Major
Technical/Productivity Tools
Knows how to:
- use the major software tools for the discipline, such as statistical packages,
spreadsheets etc.
- access and retrieve information for the major scholarly research tools in
the discipline
- save files to the network
- share and comment on shared files on the network
- accepted publication citation format for the discipline
Research/Critical Thinking/Ethical Use
Is able to:
- understand the value of major authorities, theories and classic works in
the discipline
- effectively use the major scholarly databases for the discipline and related
disciplines
- identify the major scholarly journals in the discipline
- outline the publication sequence within the discipline
- effectively evaluate arguments in the discipline based on the relevance
of the evidence presented
- understand the ethical importance of crediting scholars' works
- apply discipline based skills across disciplines
Communication/Presentation/Interpersonal/Team
Is able to:
- understand the conversation and collaborative nature of scholarship within
the disciplinary culture
- effectively present arguments based on evidence in appropriate formats,
whether they are print, visual or oral presentations
- recognize and understand that students have a voice and can make contributions
within the disciplinary conversations
An Information Fluent Student Upon Graduating from Macalester
Technical/Productivity Tools
- Knows and is proficient in computer applications relating to their major
area of study
- Is proficient in the use of networked communication technologies (e-mail,
web, networks)
- Knows available presentation technologies
- Knows and can use available database, spreadsheet, and word-processing technologies
Research/Critical Thinking/Ethical Use
- Knows how to contribute to their chosen scholarly field
- Is proficient in using information gathering and processing skills to find
information within their chosen field
- Knows how use information gathering and processing skills to find information
relating to other disciplines and for life long learning
- Understands legal and ethical uses of information as contained in the Digital
Millenium Copyright Act and other appropriate laws
Communication/Presentation/Interpersonal/Team Skills
- Knows how to present complex ideas succinctly and effectively
- Knows which presentation technologies are most appropriate for a given need
- Understands issues of multiculturalism, diversity, and internationalism
- Is able to work cooperatively in a team environment
return to Information Fluency
Information Fluency Task Force, Feburary 2003