ICL

Information and Communication Literacies (ICL) is the process of inquiry in which we search for and question, analyze, curate and cite information to then construct and communicate our understanding. This process involves the use of information, media, visual and technology literacies along with citizenship, design and presentation skills. Librarians and instructional technologists partner to provide instructional leadership in helping students to develop these literacies to the point of fluency. This partnership expands to classroom teachers and administrators to form a collaborative, team-based approach to developing learning outcomes and curriculum that integrates the ICL literacies to enhance student learning.

The origins of this combined library and instructional technology approach can be traced to the efforts of educators at the Hong Kong International School who came together in 2004-2005 to develop a technology strategic plan. In reviewing the standards and outcomes provided by ISTE and the ALA, the committee members decided to develop their own standards. Besides turning away from a focus on technology to look more at information and communication, the members agreed that their goal was to support the school's academic standards and learning goals. They did not see their work as separate from the regular curriculum but rather as an integral part of the program to prepare students for the ever expanding information rich world they were entering.

Here is a very basic framework of the literacies of the ICL construct. There are of course other literacies to fluencies one can find on the Web such as digital, data, citizenship, etc.

• Design & Presentation> Communicating one’s understanding with an eye for good design

• Information> Finding, Analyzing (who, what, why, when) & Synthesizing text-based information

• Media> Same approach as with information literacy along with interpretation of design and elements of multimedia

• Technology> Choosing the right tool(s) for the task(s)

• Visual> Same approach as with information literacy with focus on interpretation of images, objects, art, etc.

What Does ICL Look Like in Our Schools? 

Students engaged with information and technology to ...

ICL Projects

Project creation is a big part of successful application of Information and Communication Literacies. Inquiry, research and making our thinking visible are at the center of ICL. This connects to Kath Murdoch's "discover/resolve/create/uncover/understand something" approach to inquiry.  Well-designed projects engage students due to their purpose, complexity, natural differentiation and other factors. When teachers, instructional technologists, librarians and other partners design lessons involving projects, they need to think about specific criteria during the design process. The following are eight parameters as put forth by Dr. Gary Stager and applied in an excellent post by Dr. Mark Hofer. 

• Purpose and Relevance – will the project be meaningful for students?

• Time – will the students have enough time to engage in deep learning?

• Complexity – will students have to draw on concepts, skills, and practices in other courses or even other fields to complete the work?

• Intensity – will the project inspire the students to engage in intense work?

• Connected – will the students collaborate with each other and/or experts in the field as they learn?

• Access – will students access a range of materials and resources?  

• Shareable – will they share their work with an audience beyond the classroom and instructor?

• Novelty – will students encounter a new challenge or experience in the work?  

ICL Supported Lessons

• Students using tablets to document their field trip (PreK & Kindergarten)

• Screencasting to communicate understanding of book spine labels (First Grade)

• PYP Unit on Weather (Second Grade)

• Research, Documentation and Curation (Third Grade)

• Storyboarding to Design Presentation to Communicate Research (Fourth Grade)

• Social Studies Transfer Task (Fifth Grade)

• Digital Storytelling (Sixth Grade)

• Student eTextbook Creation (7th Grade)

Citizenship

With so many of our youth spending much of their time using devices and the internet, there are some of us who drop the "digital" from the term "digital citizenship" as our world is a mixture of analog and digital. The rules of how we conduct ourselves apply to both the physical and digital worlds we inhabit. With this said, the very helpful diagram above uses the term DQ - Digital Citizenship with the DQ representing "digital intelligence quotient" of skills/dispositions that our students need to attain. The bottom line is that a portion of our time guiding students with their ICL skills also involves helping them manage their activities and ongoing growth as global citizens.  

Additional Resources

• Common Sense Media: Resources to support digital citizenship and information literacy

• CRAAP Test: Evaluating information source by analyzing Currency - Relevance - Authority - Accuracy - Purpose/Point of View

• ICL Learning Outcomes in a PYP School

• InCtrl: Lessons for citizenship, information and media literacies

• Media Literacy Clearing House: loaded with lessons and resources

• NewseumED: Case studies, primary sources, lessons, units to support media literacy and the study of current events

• Podcast on ICL Integration through Collaborative Curriculum approach

• Presentation for Parents

• Preparing 21st Students with the 4C's: Critical Thinking & Problem Solving | Communication | Collaboration | Creativity & Innovation

• Student Created ICL Project Plans

Image Sources:  Document | Curate | Most of the links to the image sources no longer work.