Chart Your Information Course

Information Literacy is a course available to PVCC students that focuses on research, validating sources of information, and the common platform for both students and employees: Microsoft Office.

How is a course for college students appropriate for preteen children? The simple answer is the content does not require advanced knowledge of other subjects. There is no need for higher math or science. The English skills required have been acquired by most young students by sixth through eighth grade. The most important thing, however, is what they could learn from the course.

We live in a world with an unprecedented level of information available to us. It is estimated by Karl Fisch, Director of Technology at Arapahoe High School in Colorado, that a week’s worth of New York Times contained more information than a person in the 18th century would  have been likely to come across in a lifetime. Consider that this newspaper is a single source of print journalism; compare the single source to the vast sea of information that is the internet and one can see that humanity has reached a deluge with access to  extraordinary quantities of information.

The reality then becomes obvious. With so many sources of information, how can anyone be certain they are getting quality information? This is incredibly important in a time where people lacking any scientific credentials are convincing citizens to avoid medically sound procedures, politicians make claims their histories and beliefs don’t back up, or when anyone is trying to assert that something is a sound choice.

This is where Information Literacy comes in. Beyond simply teaching its attendees how to use software platforms or the fundamental concepts of how technologies interact, students in this course will learn the steps to inspect the veracity of information. How to separate the wheat of empirical evidence from the chaff of pseudo-scientific mongrels.

Admittedly the bulk of the class involves learning software platforms, however this is still a worthwhile thing to learn. Even if a student only comes to learn how to verify information sources, learning to use programs that are invaluable to school and business is hardly a foolish way to spend time.

The class is taught by George Williams, who has 37 years of experience in technology related fields.  His experience includes managing computer systems for UVA and IT work for the commonwealth itself. When asked what he thought was the most important thing for students to take from the class, he remarked, “For students to be comfortable finding reliable information…and to be aware of the current and dangerous security threats online.”