Lecture 1: Welcome to Information Literacy

It is the 14 July 2015 and we have our first class of Information Literacy(IL) LBS 707. I did not have much knowledge about IL, but after reading the article prescribed for us titled "How we got here: a historical look at the academic teaching library and the role of the teaching librarian" by Susan Ariew it has broadened my perspective and increased my knowledge. But it was the lecture itself and the summary of the article presented by the lecturer, Mrs Mohamed, that really gave me insight into IL and how it has come about.

A link that I would like to share, which I think my fellow classmates will benefit from deals with the IL Competency Standards for Higher Education and has links to the Framework for IL for Higher Education as well as other valuable information pertaining to Information Literacy. The link is as follows: http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency 

I enjoyed the way the lecturer encouraged participation and engaged with the class. I also did not hesitate to participate; however due to the lack of prior knowledge on Information Literacy, I did not feel like I had much to contribute. The only basis of my knowledge on the topic was the article the lecturer sent us to read. Also, not coming from a library environment , I find it difficult to comprehend certain aspects and for the fear of seeming dumb I would rather keep quiet. But I take this as a challenge to research, read up more on IL and empower myself so as to broaden my own understanding and make meaning full contributions in class.

I am very impressed with my classmates as we have a really great working relationship. We help each other if we do not understand and never mind if it is chatting via what social media application, we do not hesitate to assist when we are called upon by a struggling fellow classmate. It really warms my heart to see how concerned we are about our fellow students when they miss a class due to ill health or some other personal problem.  

I look forward to the rest of the course as the lecturer, Mrs. Mohamed, is quite clued up and seems very approachable. I foresee a really interesting learning experience ahead.