Mackey and Jacobsen began working on this book during the Seventh International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science in 2010, where they presented on the topic of metaliteracy as a redefinition of information literacy. They went on to publish a paper in 2011 entitled ‘Reframing information literacy as a metaliteracy’, and the level of interest expressed by educators has, in part, encouraged the authors to write this book.
In the opening chapter Mackey and Jacobsen include a review of multiple literacy theories and tease out their new meaning of metaliteracy. The world of networked environments is explored in Chapter 2. The implications of the many digital formats, mobile technologies, social media and online courses now openly available to learners and educators are discussed. With this in mind, the authors have developed their metaliteracy framework by expanding the traditional information literacy definition to meet the needs of learners who are already collaborating and sharing their work using these various digital technologies.
In Chapter 3 consideration is given to discrete literacies discussed in the literature such as media literacy and digital literacy. This background enables the authors to propose a new set of goals and learning objectives for metaliteracy that overarches the skills required for all the literacies discussed. The last theoretical section of the book is a review of the literature that examines the effect of new technologies on education at a global level. Trends in open education, media and information literacy initiatives from UNESCO and the IFLA statement on information literacy are some of the issues detailed in the review.
The remaining three chapters recount practical experiences of the metaliteracy model. In one chapter the authors discuss a survey of librarians who incorporate new technologies into their teaching. Among the findings the results show that many librarians are already teaching elements of metaliteracy and that there are few barriers to overcome in converting to a metaliteracy model. The complete survey and results are reported in the book. The final two chapters are case studies. The first shows the practical side of metaliteracy for today's information literacy instruction. It includes examples of tasks that involve Web 2.0 technologies in an online information literacy course. The second case study involves the use of social media tools in digital storytelling.
This book is for anyone interested in how social media, mobile technologies and open and online environments can enhance their teaching and learning practice. Jacobson is a co-chair of the Association of College and Research Libraries task force that is currently reviewing the Information literacy competency standards for higher education. Metaliteracy is incorporated into the draft of the new guidelines. This book gives ample background to an important redefinition of information literacy.