Information Literacy: Key Concepts is one of 10 Digital Literacy creds that are designed as a tool to support lifelong learning; to prepare students for living, learning and working in a digital society. 

The ability to find, manage and interpret information quickly and confidently is an essential skill for graduates as they move into the workplace.

Information literacy is a critical element of successful study and work practices – regardless of the field of practice.

Students undertaking this cred will learn how to search for, organise, evaluate and use the information they need. Students also learn how to properly store and manage information so it can be accessed and referenced later.

Effort: 60-90 mins

Mode: Online

Skill points: 10

Access the Information Literacy: Key Concepts cred.

Learning outcomes

This cred demonstrates that you are able to:

• Identify and articulate your information needs for academic or professional purposes.
• Develop, use and refine appropriate search strategies to locate relevant information.
• Critically evaluate information for relevance, credibility and accuracy.
• Use and create information ethically and appropriately.

Assessment

Final Assessment for this cred is a multiple-choice quiz (MCQ). The assessment is auto-marked so no facilitation from the academic is required. Students will have 60 minutes and two attempts to reach the 80% pass mark. The formative activities cover analysing an assignment topic, developing a search strategy, using RMIT library resources, and evaluating online sources.

The Information Literacy: Key Concepts cred introduces fundamental principles of academic conduct and will benefit:

• students who need to find reliable information as a part of their assessment
• any student new to RMIT University
• first-year undergraduates
• masters students new to RMIT University
• Vocational Education students
• international students new to the Australian academic environment

Student benefits

By undertaking this cred, students will develop key knowledge and skills which will assist them in your course as well as in the rest of their program, including:

• understanding the principles of finding and evaluating information sources
• the ability to select appropriate information to use in their assessment tasks
• understanding the need for appropriate referencing
• competence in finding and managing information which is valuable in the workforce

Information literacy is a foundational skill that supports learning across all disciplines and in lifelong learning.  Information literacy is the ability to locate, organise, and evaluate and analyse information from a variety of sources and for different purposes.  An information literate student will be able to establish effective study and research skills, and to find and reference the best quality academic sources for their assignments. This cred demonstrates the important role in information literacy for students, and links them to relevant RMIT sites which provide further assistance.

How to embed the cred

You can add a link to the cred in Canvas using an existing assignment page or creating a dedicated page.

When embedding a cred in Canvas the following is recommended:

• Make clear the pass requirements and how many attempts your students can make.
• Include information on how your students can claim their badge. Include the link to this help document.
• Explain that students can send you their badge to confirm their completion of the cred.

To align this cred with course outcomes you might:

• use it in conjunction with another piece of assessment that requires students to do research for their assignment
• set the cred up as an introductory assessment
• use it as a standalone assessment

Note: Make sure you include your use of the Information Literacy: Key Concepts cred in your Course Guide information.