IMC402 Social Media AND Information Agencies PDF

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2020 will be the year that has been expected Malaysia to be a developed year. Many technologies have been produced either from within or outside the country. The society in 2020 will also become an IT literate society. There are many technologies produced that facilitate daily affairs as well as com...

Description

2020 will be the year that has been expected Malaysia to be a developed year. Many technologies have been produced either from within or outside the country. The society in 2020 will also become an IT literate society. There are many technologies produced that facilitate daily affairs as well as community work affairs. This can be proved by looking at all places whether at home, office or factory, most of these places use technology that is dedicated to their use. With the advancement of technology, today's society has become an information literacy society. This society is a set of skills that individuals need to find, retrieve, analyse and use information properly. However, there is still a small part of society that has the proper information literacy. In this article, the author will explain in more depth about information literacy.

Information literacy is not a new topic born of the Web everywhere. Early education interest in information literacy for students seems to have arisen from the increase in awareness of advertising and marketing in the sixties, under the term “media literacy” or sometimes “consumer awareness”. The term has been defined by library/media specialists and their organizations, higher education faculty in library and information sciences, and education and technology teacher organizations. Generally, all refer to three big ideas which are understanding the role of information in problem-solving and decision-making, evaluating variation in sources and their quality, and the process of finding information, where and how to look.

There are many characteristics of people who are information literate. People who are information literate usually obtain information easily and accurately in accordance with their needs. Those who are information literate can access information efficiently and accurately. This is because they know how to find information by using the right search medium whether in the form of books, articles, videos and so on. The information they get is correct and they are also good at distinguishing right information from wrong information. As we all know, if we surf the internet and make the internet a medium for searching for information, there is information that is sometimes inaccurate and sometimes there is false or incorrect information. So, for individuals who are information literate, it is easy for them to get accurate and authentic information.

Next, these information literate individuals use the information obtained creatively and effectively. This means they convert the information into a simpler and more understandable form. In the 21st century, there is a popular learning and teaching technique in the form of mind maps or very creative folding notes. This technique educates students to convert the information or learning they acquire into notes that make it easier for them to review. As we know, a note is very simple meaning only the important contents are written there is the note, and the rest of the explanation is according to our understanding and memory. This makes information literacy very important in our lives. So, it is very clear that individuals who are information literate can use the information obtained creatively and effectively to facilitate their affairs in performing a task.

Individuals who are information literate also practice good behavior in relation to IT information. Good behavior is in terms of not disseminating false or unauthentic information either through writing or conversation. This includes creating false information related to current affairs that can cause the security of the community to be threatened. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic season, there was a lot of fake news spread through the WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and so on such as news about employees climbing the fence out of the quarantine area. This news spread widely causing panic among the people around the area. When panic occurs in the community, their peace and tranquillity will be disturbed. Therefore, as an information literate, good behavior on what is related to information must be maintained for the good of society.

As an information literate society, there are many skills that must be present in individuals who are information literate. These skills must be practiced by all parties to create an information literate society. In this article, the author will highlight four skills of information literacy.

The first skill is the information literate group know how to propose strategies and processes to solve information-related problems. As a student, these skills are important. This is because these skills make it easier for students to perform tasks where students ask important questions in each of their assignments. These are the questions that will be elaborated by the students. As a result, student assignments will be neat and orderly. Not only students, but these skills are also applied by the public such as educators, office workers and more.

Next is the skill in knowing how to find information in databases and files from any source. A database is a collection of structured information, or data, that is usually stored electronically in a computer system. Databases are usually managed by a database management system (DBMS). Together, data and DBMS, along with related applications, are referred to as database systems, often abbreviated as just databases. Inside the database there is a lot of information or data stored. This makes it difficult for users to search for information if they do not have the skills to search for any information in the database. With these skills, users can easily find information on the database or any other resource centre. If the user is not skilled in finding information on the database, this will slow down the user's work because they need to examine everything that is in the database. So, these skills must be present in every society to create an information literate society.

If previously related to information seeking skills, of course the next skill is the skill of knowing how to analyze and interpret the information presented by any format or technology. Analyzing means determining the important points found in the information provided. In addition, the analysis of this information is also to determine whether the information provided is correct or incorrect. Interpreting is knowing and understanding the information obtained according to one's own understanding where it is easier and simpler to understand and remember.

These skills are very useful in daily life. Every society certainly has these skills without realizing it. This is because we humans have our own way to enable us to understand and remember the information presented. For example, a student attending a lecture analyzes all the information given by the lecturer and converts the information in any form such as notes. This is to make it easier for the student to better understand the information presented by the lecturer. Not only that, but those skills are also applied at home. For example, we watch news broadcasts on television. We certainly analyze everything that is conveyed by the news and interpret the news so that it is better for us to understand it.

The fourth skill which is the last skill is the skill of knowing how to produce information and transfer information through any format or technology. To produce information, we need to master the above three skills first. This is because in order to produce information, we need to have correct and reliable references and of course the information we produce should be useful. This is because to facilitate other communities who want to make the information we provide as a reference for them to do their work. The information generated earlier we need to display in general, for example, using social media platforms, writing books, magazines and

so on. This is the skill to transfer information through any format. This includes transferring information in the form of video.

In this modern era, there are many obstacles and issues related to this information literacy. The issues that will be discussed are not only issues related to information literacy, but there are also issues that are often piled up on how to create an information literate society more. As we all know, information literacy is very important for people. However, there are many people facing problems in various aspects.

The problems and constraints faced are in terms of groups of people who are illiterate to get information. For example, adults or senior citizens who previously did not get the proper education due to the difficulty of getting a formal education in colonial times. This group of community have difficulties to find information except through conversation and hearing. They cannot read or write. It must be difficult for them to get information because most of information are obtained and found from written sources such as books, newspapers, magazines and so on. In addition, they also find it difficult to transfer the information obtained in written form and they deliver the information through conversation. This leads to the existence of parties who get less accurate information. This will cause an error in the information that has been submitted.

Furthermore, the problem faced in creating an information literate society is that people do not have the proper source of information. This includes libraries and smart technologies such as smart phones and usurious computers. Why is it smart technologies? This is because people have access to information online, meaning information is at their fingertips only. With the internet, people can find and get all kinds of information at any time. The problem is people living in areas that do not have internet network such as in rural areas. These areas often do not have enough internet network and allow them to surf the internet to find information and so on. So, it is difficult for those who live in areas like this to get information.

Information literacy is very important to us. Information literacy basically requires one to evaluate information to add knowledge. Implicitly, the role of information literacy in education in Malaysia is enshrined in the national education philosophy which is "Education in Malaysia is a continuous effort towards further developing the potential of individuals as a whole and integrated to create a balanced and harmonious human being intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically based on faith and obedience to God. This effort is to produce Malaysians who are knowledgeable, responsible and able to achieve personal well-being and contribute to the harmony and prosperity of society and the country”.

Why does the government encourage an information literate society? This is because information literacy gives many advantages to society in all aspects. Everything that happens is information. Only we as an information literate play a role in composing such information in various forms. Information literacy is very important because if we want to apply for a job, employers will choose employees who are information literate to facilitate employment. Not only in Malaysia, but also when abroad, information literacy is also very important.

Information literacy is not only used in the world of work or study but also used for other things. For example, traveling abroad. When we travel abroad, we definitely want a smooth trip without any problems. It is at this time that information literacy skills are used. How? Everything we read and see is information. So, it is up to us to manage the information in order to smooth our affairs while travelling. Abroad, it is certainly difficult for us to find halal food. Based on the information we get from internet searches such as halal food, non-halal ingredients and so on, we can classify this information to get halal food.

In conclusion, information literacy is important for society. There are many features for information literate. In this writing, the author presents three characteristics of information literate that is to be able to access information efficiently and accurately, use information creatively and effectively and practice good behavior in relation to information. The author has also discussed the skills that must be present in an information literacy society. However, to create more information literate, there are many obstacles that need to be faced. In this writing, author has highlighted two obstacles which are the illiterate society and the society that does not have the proper sources of information.

The author hopes that more information literacy community is born. This is to make the society of our country as a society that is able to manage and convey information properly. There are many programs organized by various parties to create an information literacy community. These programs certainly provide guidance on how to become an information literate person. Not only that, the skills to find, analyze, transform information will also be the concern to those who organize the program. So, the community is advised to follow such programs to make the society of our country as an information literacy society.

References

BAHRI, C. N. (n.d.). PROGRAM LITERASI MAKLUMAT DI PERPUSTAKAAN AKADEMIK;. Malaysia Sebagai Negara Maju. (n.d.). Wawasan 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.pmo.gov.my/ms/wawasan-2020/malaysia-sebagai-negara-maju/

Sharun, S. (2020). Practicing information literacy: Practicum students negotiating information. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. Stephanie J. Graves, S. L. (2020). Uncovering the information literacy skills of first-generation and provisionally admitted students . The Journal of Academic Librarianship. What Is a Database? (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.oracle.com/database/what-is-database/...