Today’s students are faced with an ever changing, often uncertain, information environment, which requires them to share and disseminate information in myriad forms. With information available in many formats, and of varying quality, it is essential that students have the skills to enable them to exploit the wide range of information resources available and to retrieve, evaluate and use that information effectively, ethically and responsibly. However, it is widely understood that many incoming university students have not yet developed the requisite information literacy skills for HE. Frequently, students do not recognise their need for information literacy skills because of their proclivity for, and use of, technology. Regardless of students’ frequent use of online resources, it is questionable whether they are able to effectively filter through the large quantities found to successfully recognize misleading, flawed, or incorrect information4. Undergraduates enter university believing that their current skills are adequate. However, many students are unprepared for the amount of information they need to find and assimilate for higher level study5.
By empowering students to develop these skills, we can contribute to their academic success and help ensure they become independent and successful lifelong learners.