Course Syllabus

Syllabus Information Literacy

Welcome

Welcome to Information Literacy! We’re so glad you’re here.

Every lesson is designed to help you grow as a thinker, problem solver, and global learner. As a Mizzou Academy global student, you will complete lessons and assignments on your own schedule, interacting with course content, participating in interactives, and completing practice activities, as well as drafting and revising assignments, preparing for quizzes and assessments, and taking exams.

To stay on track, we recommend using a pacing guide. You can find more information about pacing in the Course Resources section, along with helpful tools, technology support, and tips for online learning success.

As you begin, remember that online learning requires both independence and communication. Be curious, stay organized, and don’t hesitate to reach out to your teacher if you need support.

We’re excited to learn with you, and we’re happy you’re part of our Mizzou Academy community! 

Pacing

This course can be completed in as few as six weeks or take up to 6 months (180 calendar days). The six weeks are counted from the date of the first lesson submission and not the date of enrollment.

This course is asynchronous, meaning you can complete lessons and assignments at your own pace.

Most students spend approximately 10 hours per lesson interacting with course content, participating in interactive activities, and completing practice exercises, as well as drafting and revising assignments, preparing for quizzes and assessments, and taking exams. Your time may vary depending on your goals and learning style. 

We encourage you to work at a consistent pace, allowing time to absorb new ideas, build skills, and reflect on what you’ve learned. Use a pacing guide to plan ahead, stay organized, and finish strong. 

Course Description

What is information and why should you become information literate?  Merriam-Webster defines information as “knowledge that you get about someone or something:  facts or details about a subject.”  It further explains in the full definition that information is “the communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence.”  Information is “knowledge obtained from investigation, study or instruction, intelligence, news, facts, data.” Information may be constructed (in fact, I’m constructing information about this course right now) and measured.  If you are literate about information, you know where to look for information on a specific subject.  

Information comes in many forms, and while some information is reliable and correct, some of it is wrong or unreliable.  What makes information reliable?  In large part, it is the sources distributing the information.  Information Literacy is the ability to understand the difference between reliable and unreliable sources of information, as well as to search for and find the best source of information for specific information needs and queries.  Throughout this course, you will practice finding, assembling, and assessing information.

For instance, imagine that you are in a library filled with books and no online service, and you need to find information about dogs.  Information literacy will help you be a more efficient and effective researcher because you would know that for general background information, encyclopedias would be a great place to start. You might then move on to more specialized books about dogs, or glance through the periodicals section to see if they have the popular magazine “Dog Fancy.”  But you also would know not to waste time looking in a world atlas for information about your favorite type of dog, and that dictionaries and almanacs may make some references to dogs, but that's probably not the kind of information you need. In short: Information literacy means knowing what you're looking for and why; knowing where to look for different kinds of information; and knowing how to judge whether the information you find is trustworthy and serves your purpose.  

Of course in today's world, it would be pretty rare not to have online access to information, but the principles of information literacy in the example above also apply in the digital space. You will learn that there are ways to search for specific information in online encyclopedias, for example, and articles in a variety of periodicals, both popular and academic.  You will learn to use databases, where you can find scholarly articles and professional journals.  You will learn to use online library/media catalogs to find electronic books, news stories, facts and data and statistics, and personal accounts and testimonials. You will explore multimedia sources such as photojournalism and documentaries and--yes--even social media. The possibilities are seemingly without limits, and navigating that much available information requires intention and strategy.

 In this class, you will practice thinking about information in the context of your specific information needs. You will also practice finding information in different ways and forms.  You’ll learn to think of keywords to narrow your search focus, and you’ll assemble information from different types of sources and assess which sources are helpful and which should probably be ignored, and why.  Thanks to our systems of communication, the world is filling with additional information every second.  This course will inform and refine your thinking and research skills to help you become a wiser information consumer.  

Definitions from:  http://www.merriam-webster.com/

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • determine your information needs for distinct situations in school and life.
  • connect media literacy with information literacy for the purposes of academic research.
  • employ active reading strategies to information sources.
  • employ critical thinking strategies to information sources.
  • recognize and avoid disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation.
  • recognize and avoid logical fallacies.
  • understand how information "filter bubbles" are created and how to escape them.
  • recognize common pitfalls and roadblocks to successful research.
  • form an effective research question.
  • use concrete tools and strategies to find information best suited to your information needs.
  • map a research plan.
  • find potential information resources from a variety of platforms.
  • evaluate information sources for quality and credibility.
  • select the best information resources for a specific research purpose.
  • use generative AI tools effectively and ethically.
  • perform research and share your findings with academic integrity.
  • use your research findings to inform a position and to argue it credibly and persuasively.
  • properly cite your research sources.
  • construct a formal annotated bibliography, complete with correct citations and full annotations that summarize and evaluate your research findings.
  • write reflectively on the research process.

Note: Not all of these objectives will occur in every lesson, but they are the basis for our study.

Course Essential Questions

How can we filter information so that we are only taking in those things that help us answer important questions?

How do we find good answers to the questions that we have and share those answers with others?

Course Overview

Lesson

Objectives

Quiz

Assignment

1: What is information?
  • 1.1 - Define information, the information landscape, and information literacy.
  • 1.2 - Recognize the many ways we receive and process information in daily life.
  • 1.3 - Explain the role of skepticism in information literacy.
  • 1.4 - Recognize common forms of information disorder and bias.
  • 1.5 - Use critical thinking and active reading skills to help you understand the meaning and intent of an information source.

Lesson 1 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

No Assignment

2: Introduction to Academic Research
  • 2.1 - Identify the features and qualities of an academic research purpose.
  • 2.2 - Generate topics of interest for your course research project.
  • 2.3 - Recognize the features and qualities of an effective research question.
  • 2.4 - Distinguish between the four types of research questions: comparison/contrast; cause/effect; measurement; process.
  • 2.5 - Draft your research question for your course project. 

Lesson 2 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

Lesson 2 Assignment: Project Milestone #1 (20 Points)

3: Skills and Strategies for Online Searches
  • 3.1-Distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of information.
  • 3.2-Practice using search strategies on a variety of web search platforms.
  • 3.3-Generate keywords for your course project topic to use as search terms and alternate search terms.
  • 3.4-Use Boolean operators to deepen and specify your online searches.
  • 3.5-Develop a concept map to organize your research plan.

Lesson 3 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

No Assignment

4: Evaluating Information Resources
  • 4.1 - Learn scanning techniques for warning signs that a web source may be unreliable.
  • 4.2 - Use critical reading skills to deepen your understanding of information and the manner in which it is communicated.
  • 4.3 - Use the CRAAP method (Currency, Relevance, Accuracy, Authority, and Purpose) to evaluate potential information sources.
  • 4.4 - Add to your an initial list of potential web sources for your course project with book sources and reference sources.
  • 4.5 - Learn fact-checking strategies for online information sources.

Lesson 4 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

Lesson 4 Assignment: Project Milestone #2 (85 Points)

5: Scholarly Resources
  • 5.1 - Distinguish between scholarly, peer-reviewed information sources and other kinds of information.
  • 5.2 - Employ search strategies for Google Scholar and the Directory of Open Access Journals.
  • 5.3 - Apply the elements of CRAAP evaluation to scholarly resources with a particular focus on Relevance and Purpose.
  • 5.4 - Create complete and proper citations for information sources in MLA style.

Lesson 5 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

No Assignment

Midterm Exam (50 MC Questions, 2 Points Each & Midterm Project Milestone #3 - Research Project Proposal, 150 Points)

6: Information in the Real World
  • 6.1 - Define the features of news media sources, periodicals, and social media sources.
  • 6.2 - Describe the differences in purpose and audience for these real-world information sources.
  • 6.3 - Define the “filter bubble” and employ strategies to break it.
  • 6.4 - Explain the information timeline and its relevance to your selection of resources.
  • 6.5 - Use the CRAAP evaluation method to assess the quality and relevance of nonacademic information sources for your course research project.

 

Lesson 6 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

No Assignment

7: Getting Organized: Note-Taking and Annotation
  • 7.1 - use effective note-taking strategies to read actively, to organize your ideas, and to avoid plagiarizing your research sources.
  • 7.2 - organize your information sources for your course project.
  • 7.3 - identify parts of an annotation.
  • 7.4 - create your own annotations.

Lesson 7 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

Lesson 7 Assignment - Project Milestone #4: Citations and Annotations (100 Points)

8: Research Findings - Evaluation and Review
  • 8.1 - check your information sources and your own conclusions for logical fallacies. 
  • 8.2 - find and fill information gaps in your project resources.
  • 8.3 - critically evaluate visual information sources.
  • 8.4 - use AI tools thoughtfully and responsibly to assist learning and avoid academic dishonesty
  • 8.5 - use lateral reading strategies to ensure the accuracy of your research findings.

Lesson 8 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

No Assignment

9: Synthesis and Argumentation
  • 9.1 - Make your final selections for the 10 best information sources for your course project.
  • 9.2 - Choose the most important and compelling information from your research sources to meet your information needs.
  • 9.3 - Synthesize selected information from a variety of sources into compelling evidence that supports logical argumentation.
  • 9.4 - Write a complete, unified, and well-constructed argument essay.
  • 9.5 - Correctly cite your selected research sources in MLA style, using both in-text references and a complete Works Cited list of source citations.

Lesson 9 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

Lesson 9 Assignment - Project Milestone #5: Research Synthesis Essay

10: Information Health and Well-Being
  • 10.1 - understand the physical, mental, and emotional impacts of persistent information overload over time.
  • 10.2 - develop skills and habits to cultivate a healthy relationship with the information landscape.
  • 10.3 - apply goal-setting and time-management skills to make information-based learning and projects less stressful and more manageable.

Lesson 10 Quiz (10 MC Questions, 2 Points Each)

No Assignment

Final Exam (50 MC Questions, 2 Points Each & Final Course Project, 200 Points)

 

Grades

Your final grade will be based on the number of points you earn on submitted work and exams. The available points are distributed as follows:

Source Available Points
Lesson Assignments 335
Lesson Quizzes 200
Midterm Exam 250
Final Exam 300
Acceptable Use Policy/Handbook 2
Total 1087

 

Textbook & Technology Requirements

To fully participate, make sure you have:

  • A computer that meets our Mizzou Academy technology requirements
  • A microphone and webcam for recording audio and video assignments
  • Any other required textbooks or materials for the course

Textbook

No textbook is required for this course. All reading materials are contained within the course content. 

Technology

The most up-to-date requirements can be found here: 

Additional requirements for the course are below: 

  • audio and video recording capabilities (e.g., smartphone, camera)

If you ever have trouble accessing course materials or recording tools, reach out to your teacher for support. We are here to help!

Accessibility

If you anticipate barriers related to the format or requirements of this course, please let Mizzou Academy know as soon as possible. If disability-related accommodations are necessary (for example, a scribe, reader, extended time on exams, captioning), please contact Mizzou Academy.

Canvas Technical Support

Canvas will be used as the primary platform for accessing course materials and assignments for this class.