This article provides basic, clear and easy to understand definitions of what is Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy; most important and what I found most interesting is that it explains why it's important for human beings that are not specifically studying computer science or computer-engineering science, to have knowledge on these forms of literacy. As a Humanities/English/Archives student, or I could say as a student alone, there are numerous of times when my laptop has shut down or I can't download programs that are essential for my educational experience, any just minor technological problems that limit the effective outcome of my daily projects and tasks that I have to perform using a machine and using the Web. Given my bad luck I started to try to master some skills in the use of different tools but realized that most of the time I just needed to know why that particular problem was happening in order to understand how it could be resolved. I wanted to do my own trouble-shooting! This article confirms my thoughts and beliefs on the importance of having knowledge, basic as it might be, of information technology literacy:
"Information technology literacy limited to a set of largely route skills will limit not only career opportunities but also one's ability to function intelligently in society" (Lynch 1998, 4)
I too began to take charge of my defenseless ignorance on troubleshooting when my old laptop kept getting "sick" with adware and spyware. I read up on user friendly DIY troubleshooting and with the guidance of an online tech support guy through this program I downloaded I totally combated a couple of spy wars. Though eventually I got tired of it (my computer was 7 years old), and I bought a new one :)
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