Pedagogical and learning strategies for promoting internet information literacy in Singapore secondary school students

Abstract

Internet information literacy has the potential to open the whole world of knowledge to easy access and use. Computer literacy and Internet readiness alone do not empower the learner to capitalise on the use of the Internet to acquire useful knowledge. Without information literacy, the learner would be overwhelmed not only by the information overload but also by being confronted with the amount of unreliable information posted on the Internet. Therefore this paper looks at how the Internet age might influence the ways that students learn and how to capitalise on it to prepare those students for the digital world of today and how to be empowered for the future challenges of the increasing complexities of tomorrow. The findings indicate that the integration of discipline-specific Internet information literacy into the curriculum is essential before we can enhance student learning using the Internet for resource-based learning. It is also to equip them with relevant information management skills and the ability to learn independently. These are fundamental skills required to become emerging lifelong learners in the midst of an information explosion so as to be able to meet the challenges of the 21st century and the knowledge economy.