LIS 201: Introduction to Information Literacy
Fall 2010, Cook Library 207
Monday & Wednesday, 2:00 - 3:15pm


"Information is the new world currency and wealth will be measured by how much information
a company, individual, or country can create, distribute, accumulate, and mine."

Mark Dean, PhD, IBM Fellow, Inventors Hall of Fame
computer mouse

Professor
Teresa S. Welsh, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Southern Miss School of Library & Information Science
Cook Library, Room 206H
Office Hours: Mon-Thurs, 1:30-4:30 pm or by appointment
Phone: 601.296.0528
drtwelsh@yahoo.com
http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~w146169/

Description
This three hour course follows the guidelines of ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. According to ACRL, information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."

Recommended Text

Information Literacy in the Digital Age: An Evidence-Based Approach

by Teresa S. Welsh and Melissa S. Wright.

Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2010.

Course Objectives (From ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education)
After completion of the course students should be able to:

  1. Determine the nature and extent of needed information

  2. Access information effectively and efficiently

  3. Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into a knowledge base and value system

  4. Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

  5. Understand the variety of economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and to access and use information ethically and legally.

Course Outcomes
The following General Education Curriculum outcomes are addressed (Undergraduate Bulletin 2010-11, 82-86):

  1. Students will demonstrate skill in electronic collaboration.

  2. Students will demonstrate the ability to create structured electronic documents.

  3. Students will demonstrate the ability to do online research and evaluation.

  4. Students will demonstrate competency in the operation of a computer.

  5. Students will demonstrate the ability to connect ideas in a coherent essay.

  6. Students will demonstrate the ability to find and use (and cite) relevant sources.

Teaching Strategies
This course will be taught in a lecture/discussion mode with supplementary online discussion and assignments. Weekly exercises and other assignments are structured to provide practical experience and a basic knowledge of information-related issued. Most readings will be from online lecture notes, but supplemental readings from journals and the Internet will be included as appropriate.

Course Requirements

Grading %

A = 93-100
B = 84-92
C = 73-83
D = 64-72
F = 0-63

Weekly Schedule of Topics
Subject to Revision

Week 1: Cultural Literacy
Introduction to Blackboard, E-mail, Netiquette, Special Collections

Week 2: Library Literacy
Library History, Classification Systems, OPACs, Information Source Types

Week 3: Ethical Literacy
Plagiarism, Blogs, RSS, Microsoft Word

Week 4: Midterm Exam
Citation Styles, Evaluating Information, Database Searching

Week 5: Network Literacy, Financial Literacy
Scholarly Communication, Periodicals, Database Searching, Excel

Week 6: Computer Literacy
Basic Computer Concepts, History and Development of Computer, Internet, Web

Week 7: Visual Literacy/Media Literacy
Statistical Sources, Government Information, PowerPoint

Week 8: Final Presentations
Oral Presentations, Final Paper

Course Policies

  1. Students are expected to read the text and other required readings.

  2. Class attendance is expected. Attendance and participation are 10% of the grade and students must be present during the entire class time to receive attendance credit.

  3. All assignments must be typed or in legible handwriting. Late assignments will not receive full credit.

  4. All major course documents (syllabus, lecture notes, assignments, etc.) will be posted on the Blackboard.

  5. Writing skills: Any student who suspects that he/she has a deficit in grammatical skills or whose work in the early stages of the term indicates a weakness in such skills is encouraged to seek assistance from the writing lab offered through the Department of English. All work must be in Standard English; inappropriate grammar, punctuation, and/or spelling will result in lower grades.

  6. Plagiarism is a serious offense and will not be tolerated.

Academic Code of Conduct
Students are expected to follow the Academic Code of Conduct, which includes mutual respect and academic honesty.

"When cheating is discovered, the faculty member may give the student an F on the work involved or in the course. If further disciplinary action is deemed appropriate, the student should be reported to the dean of students. In addition to being a violation of academic honesty, cheating violates the Code of Student Conduct and may be grounds for probation, suspension, and/or expulsion. Students on disciplinary suspension may not enroll in any courses offered by The University of Southern Mississippi." Undergraduate Bulletin 2009-10, p. 72.

"Plagiarism is scholarly theft, and it is defined as the unacknowledged use of secondary sources. More specifically, any written or oral presentation in which the writer or speaker does not distinguish clearly between original and borrowed material constitutes plagiarism. Because students, as scholars, must make frequent use of the concepts and facts developed by other scholars, plagiarism is not the mere use of another's facts and ideas. However, it is plagiarism when students present the work of other scholars as if it were their own work. Plagiarism is committed in a number of ways:

  1. Reproducing another author's writing as if it were one's own.
  2. Paraphrasing another author's work without citing the original.
  3. Borrowing from another author's ideas, even though those ideas are reworded, without giving credit.
  4. Copying another author's organization without giving credit.
Plagiarism is a serious offense. An act of plagiarism may lead to a failing grade on the paper and in the course, as well as sanctions that may be imposed by the student judicial system." Undergraduate Bulletin 2009-10, p. 72.

Disability Statement
If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies. Mailing address: 118 College Drive, # 8586; Telephone: 601- 266-5024; TTY: 601-266-6837; FAX: 601-266-6035.



Note: This is an abbreviated version of the course syllabus.
The complete syllabus is posted on the Blackboard LIS201 course site.

Web page Design
Teresa S. Welsh
e-mail: drtwelsh@yahoo.com
Updated 10/10/2010