This video sums up perfectly why "being able to read" does not mean one is literate. Knowing the words on a page or sign is one thing, but being truly literate is a higher level of learning and intelligence. To be information literate, one needs to know more than the words and how to navigate technology. To be truly information literate, a person has to:
1. Access information efficiently and effectively
2. Evaluate information critically and competently
3. Use information accurately and creatively
4. Be an independent learner and pursue information related to one's personal interests
5. Appreciate literature and other creative expressions of information
6. Strive for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation
7. Contribute positively to the learning community and society and recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society
8. Practices ethical behavior regarding information and information technology
9. Participate effectively in groups to pursue and generate information
The above are the Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning laid out by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and Association for Educational Communities and Technology (AECT). These are a lot of standards, but they are all right. The best part about these standards - they're easy to meet.
Clearly, literacy is more than reading books. One cannot sit back and passively soak in piles and piles of information anymore. You might win a Jeopardy that way, but you won't be truly information literate. Unless you can actively synthesize, analyze, and contribute to the information society, you are not information literate. This has always been the case, but current information technologies (the Web, Web 2.0, Mobile technologies, etc.) make this point even easier to witness.
So, be information literate. Read, write, share, discuss. Be active in your use of information. Information is not a thing; it's an ever changing energy.
Don't be a sponge.
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