Metaliteracy ─ Reinventing Information Literacy to Empower Learners

The authors propose a concept of metaliteracy that expands the scope of traditional information literacy skills to include the collaborative production and sharing of information in participatory digital environments and emerging technologies like social networks, blogs, wikis, mobile devices and apps, virtual worlds, online communities, cloud computing, and massive open online courses (MOOCs). They discuss the theory of metaliteracy and the context in which it was developed; the impact of Web 2.0; how the social media environment challenges established assumptions about information literacy; the role of metaliteracy and information literacy in the context of the increasing number of literacies focused on technologies and formats, such as mobile and visual literacy; the context of global literacies; and understandings of information literacy by instructional librarians around the world. They present two case studies, which examine the introduction of Web 2.0 tools in an information literacy course and the use of social media tools in a course about digital storytelling. Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)