Information Overload in Process

Information literacy is a being able to find information, being able to know where to look for such information, and understanding the information that's at our fingertips. I like the term "lifelong learner". Someone who is information literate is constantly learning, accepts the fact that we don't know everything but understands how to retrieve the unknown. I believe it is a skill. As teachers, we must stress the importance of sorting through all of the information that is before us and using it to benefit us. Students often have the "IDK Syndrome" (I Don't Know) and the sad part is most times they don't want to know or they want you to tell them or do it for them. We've got to teach them to want to know and believe that the knowledge needed to survive in life and to be successful is obtainable. We've got to push them, encourage them, and test them. I see it too often that students have a cell phone in front of them and a computer in their lap but still will ask me how to spell something. Lazy, just plain lazy. We cannot accept that or enable them. Encourage them to google it or use microsoft word to spell check. As the teacher, I try to answer every question they ask me. I may not know the answer immediately and I have no problem telling them I don't know. I tell them exactly how I found the answer, whether I googled it, used other resources, or asked someone else for help. I want them to see that everyone has to seek answers to questions at some point. Let's help this generation use and understand the information that is so readily available to them.