Digital Literacy

As a student of the Ivy Tech Honors College and while completing the LIBA279 Honors Capstone Course, we were tasked with creating a Learning Portfolio and reflecting upon artifacts that pertained to specific Honors Program Outcomes.

Below is one of those reflections.

Thank you for your time.

- Michael

Honors Program Outcome 4:

Apply knowledge to academic research, digital literacy, and the creation of new ideas, processes, and/or approaches to relevant issues.

Reflection

It is easy to assume that digital literacy and, in turn, academic research should come easily to someone who grew up with technology but that would be a narrow viewpoint. It is one thing to navigate to your favorite site or find an old video to show a friend. It is another thing entirely to operate at the cognitive level needed to produce quality work with the use of credible and reliable academic research. I thought I was a decent researcher before college, but I have learned many things in just a short amount of time.

Staying Current

Academic research! Picture an old dusty tome hidden in the labyrinths of a library. Students scrambling to decipher the ancient text. While it might make for a fun scene in a movie, in the modern world research is literally at our fingertips and it does not have to be ancient. In fact, it is worthwhile to also pay attention to the here and now if we hope to have an impact on the world. I highlighted a journal assignment from World Politics Honors because it is an example of the type of assignment that really activates my mind. It is the combination of history and present utilized in such a way to develop a greater understanding of the issues we face that gets the brain going for me. It is through digital literacy and understanding credible sources that we can glean information in almost real-time to better educate ourselves. As the world continues to advance at an exponential pace, I try to remember that I have the information and need only seek and sort it out to better myself.

You Have Got to Put in the Work

One of my most significant learning lessons during college has been developing the understanding that quality research takes time. Lots of time! Lots of effort! Thankfully I learned that lesson quickly and with gusto in my very first class at Ivy Tech, English Composition. Having been out of school for several years, I definitely had to hit the ground running when the professor walked us through the requirements for our 12-source minimum critical annotated bibliography which was the basis for our argumentative essay. After completing the assignment, which ended up at 24 pages, I had a newfound respect for the effort required to conduct quality research. One thing I found interesting was that the final essay was half the length of the research in the bibliography, but now reflecting on the work it made the writing of my paper exponentially easier as I had digested a tremendous amount of information that helped me to synthesize a clear and concise piece.

Reflecting on Research

Research alone does not a student make! While the ability to find credible research that lends itself to your work is important, I truly believe a significant portion of quality research lies in the ability to reflect and analyze on it. While taking Introduction to Sociology Honors, just such an assignment presented itself. While the previously highlighted bibliography from English composition was more clinical, this project was presented primarily as an analysis piece backed by research. It was a different approach to take because I had to weave my voice into the information but it taught me how to use critical thinking to form new ideas and opinions while connecting the dots of academic literature.

Proposing

These stepping stones paved the way for a project that I am proud of and believe is relevant to my future career as a clinical psychologist. Research Methods in Psychology was my first opportunity to dive into the statistical side of psychology. To look not just at “what” was researched but “how.” Due to the knowledge gained in previous courses on research, information analysis, and psychology I was prepared to tackle this assignment. I knew that I had to set aside the time to conduct quality research, it would require true introspection and analysis to understand how the research played a role in my work, and I was able to frame my proposal to address what I believe is current and relevant.

And that is what college is all about. Building on the diversity of skills to develop a mindset that utilizes every subject available in order to achieve newer and greater goals.