The threats of social media misinformation, fake news and fast information transmission have made digital tools dangerous for everyone, especially learners.

To overcome this, education experts believe that information literacy is required in learning.

Information literacy is the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyse, and use information.

It’s also a combination of research, critical thinking, computer technology, and communication skills.

Fridah Manishimwe, a teacher at Mother Mary Complex School in Kigali, says in general, information literacy helps sharpen minds of students and empowers them to separate fact from fiction.

How to go about it

Aimable Bizumuremyi, a Kigali-based IT specialist, says the internet is one of the best places to exercise information literacy, and that the current situation — schools being closed to curb Covid-19 — makes it imperative to understand this.

He says that information literacy is essential for academic success, and effective functioning even at the workplace later in life.

"This is not something a student can learn by reading a book, it takes hands-on practice,” he says.

it’s crucial to instruct learners to develop a habit of checking out an author’s credibility or bias, or cross-referencing sources, to avoid being misinformed or duped. Net photo.

He says depending on the age of the learner, it’s important to first conduct strategic online searches, judging the legitimacy of online sources.

John Nzayisenga, Director of Kigali Harvest School, says it is imperative to help learners understand that with the internet, anyone can publish content for others to access.

He says that this will, therefore, help them know that there is a lot of bad information to sort through when doing research; therefore, taking precaution is key.

"It’s not always easy to determine which credible, peer-reviewed sources are, and which are not,” he adds.

Also, Nzayisenga adds that parents or mentors can help their children filter out misinformation.

For instance, he notes that students can learn to search effectively and efficiently with the right keywords.

"Learners can also identify or learn that sponsored links, (which commonly appear at the top of the search result list) are forms of adverts and therefore, not always the best resources,” Nzayisenga says.

Manishimwe says that it’s also important to teach learners to develop a habit of checking out an author’s credibility or bias, or cross-referencing sources, to avoid being misinformed or duped.

Why it’s important

Elie Munezero, a youth centre coordinator in Gikondo, says students cannot achieve the study target without practicing special information literacy skills.

In other words, he says, information literacy skills empower them to become independent lifelong learners.

"These skills will enable learners in the future to apply their knowledge from the familiar environment to the unfamiliar,” he says.

Munezero adds that information literacy helps learners do well in school, work, and personal matters.

He says that this is so because students can recognise the difference between good information and bad information, therefore, are able to evaluate situations from several perspectives.

Manishimwe says that learners who understand information literacy can solve almost any problem they encounter.

"It also promotes problem-solving approaches and thinking skills — asking questions and seeking answers. Students can as well recognise that not all information is created alike,” she says.

For instance, she says, content on the internet continually grows, but it doesn’t always come from credible sources.

Students do not go to encyclopaedias and other books at the library to look up information; they instinctively go to the internet.

In addition, Manishimwe says that when students are familiar with information literacy, it helps them sort through data to interpret it logically.