Inquiry+Paper--History+of+Literacy

This is a rough draft of a paper that will become a chapter in a wikibook on information literacy. As yet, the sources are valid, but are not posted. I will remedy that when I have more time. Please feel free to leave any comments.

TM

Brian

Brian: Wow! I love how you have set up your paper and how you have links directing the reader to each section. Very reader-friendly. I also love that you incorporated a picture of a primary source in your paper. Good research. I am in awe! Lauren B. //~Great start! I like the resources that you found and the story that you are telling us.

I do see this as a story, and an important one at that. If we want people to read this and get something out of it, we should engage them and hook them into the story of information literacy. While we are talking about stories, I have an interesting side note about this topic. W.H. McGuffey does not have any direct descendants (his only daughter died very young), but he did have brothers and sisters. My wife is a direct descendant of one of those siblings. We are actually members of the W.H. McGuffey society. It's pretty neat to go into education knowing about that background.

It looks like we may need to decide as a group about style, meaning APA or another style. Since UMW uses APA I am thinking that way. We can discuss as a group though.

I do believe it is important that our Wikibook should use hyperlinks and multimedia so my question to you ... how could you add these elements to make your text come off the page. For example terms, people, acts...what if you provided a link to a wikipage outlining the Old Deluder Act of 1647 ([|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Education_Laws)] -- if it adds to the words on your page. Dynamic information provides more texture for you reader.

Each of the numbers in this draft correspond to a source that I have not yet posted. I intent to make as many of those sources as possible linked. As for the style, I would personally prefer to keep these references as numbers as much as possible, linking those numbers to the reference section. For example, (1, pp. 62-63). The number "1" would link to the reference section and the specific reference there may have a link to the source dependent upon the source itself. I see a case for formal APA style, but feel that the modified version is less clumsy when reading online. //

//Let's say this is a book that our colleagues will read because each of us will share our book with them. What information is important for them to know? What will enhance its importance so they continue reading the book?

A thought...what if you provided an activity for them ...quiz, questions, crossword puzzle...something to get them thinking about this topic and not just reading. Okay, am I pushing it!// //--What if I were to add some "enrichment activities" or "can you find out..." questions at the end of the section? For example, can you find out how many //Eclectic Readers // were sold? Or, can you find out where W.H. McGuffey is buried? //

This is a great page on many levels. It is visually appealing. First strength. As anyone knows who has read anything online..this is important. It is interesting - written in a format that is easy to read and follow. I am a busy teacher and need relevant information quickly and I want to obtain it easily. I like the format - white space, bookmarks, lines, headings, bold, images, links, etc. I like that you used APA format. Important, since that is what we use at CGPS. I really like the questions for further investigation. Gives a textbook feel that is what we want. I like the comments above and the responses...excellent. Is this a model to follow? Question to all. TC

Awesome! I love the information you chose to include, and the organization. I agree with Teresa: We should follow this format.- Arianne I have to agree - this is darn near perfect. I agree it is visually appealing and think this is a great format to follow for the final book. Although you may not want me around for the transferring of data into one wikibook. I've already had several heartattacks of "where'd all th info go?!?" on Jessica's and my page. E-gads. -Lauri :o)

= = =Information Literacy within a Greater Context=

A Brief History of Literacy
Before we consider the current definitions of [|information literacy] and their ramifications on classroom pedagogy, I believe that we should take a look at the historical context of information literacy and of [|literacy], in general. In 1965, Ernest Roe spoke of "'promoting the efficient use' of resources" in //The Australian Journal of Education//. The term "information literacy" was first coined by Paul Zurkowski in 1974 in a report entitled //The Information Service Environment, Relationships and Priorities//. (Bundy, 2004, p. 45) The present-day definition of "information literacy" comes from the 1989 Presidential Committee on Information Literacy's //[|Final Report]// (is there a link to this document? What if I want more!--//link is in the references, but I am adding it here as well//). This report states that "[t]o be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information" (American Library Association, para. 17).

The concept of literacy, however, existed long before Ernest Roe and Paul Zurkowski began speaking of information literacy. Literacy has been defined as the ability to sign one's own name, to read and write, both in a rudimentary or in an advanced manner, and has even been limited to the ability to read and write in Latin (Davis, n.d., para. 1; Stroup, 2001, para. 1). The concepts of literacy versus [|functional literacy] are stilled argued today. In ancient times, literacy rates are estimated to have been no more that 15% and that no more that 5% of the population engaged in advanced studies (Davis, n.d., para. 1). In the Middle Ages, literacy was generally associated with the ability to speak, read, and write Latin, regardless of the ability to speak, read, and write in one's own vernacular (Stroup, para 1). According to Stroup, "[b]y the 16th century, the invention and advancement of printing technology in Europe, and the growing use of languages other than Latin, resulted in an explosion in literacy levels, extending even to people of traditionally lower social classes, such as peasants and merchants" (2001, para. 1).

In the United States, Kenneth Lockridge estimates that, by the late 1700s, over 80% of New England males could sign their wills and that over half of the rest could read (Schudson, 1978, p. 39). In Massachusetts, the [|"Old Deluder Act" of 1647] required that each town establish a grammar school. Students in these schools were taught reading from the //New England Primer//, which contained, among other things, a pictorial alphabet. The entry for "A" reads: "In Adam's Fall, We Sinned all." (Newman, 2002)



In the mid-1800s, William Holmes McGuffey, a lifelong educator with an interest in promoting public education, developed his //[|Eclectic Readers]//. McGuffey thought that education and religion went hand in hand and his //Readers// reflected those beliefs. (National Park Service) As you can see, literacy during these times was directly related to business and religion.

The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization ([|UNESCO]) has defined and redefined the concept of literacy. In 1951, it defined a literate person as one "who can with understanding both read and write a short, simple statement on his every day life" and, in 1978, revised it to mean one's ability to "engage in all...activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning in his group and community and also for enabling him to continue to use reading, writing, and calculation for his own and community's development" (Stroup, para. 2). This revision reflected a movement towards //functional //__(comment, when you add underline to a hyperlinked page the reader will think it is a hyperlink and try to click it. Possibly, italics would work best or bold ~TC --//Done:)//)__ literacy, including mathematics and other methods of communication as adequate for literate individuals.

Today, we view literacy in many lights. Rather than looking at literacy as an all-encompassing concept, we acknowledge multiple literacies including, but not limited to, media, computer, visual, and, of course, information literacies. We no longer focus so much on one's ability to read and write but on one's ability to use those skills to function as a member of their community.

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Questions for Further Investigation
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