Wikis for Information Literacy: Critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity

Wikis hold great promise for information literacy instruction. They can support knowledge building theory, the constructivist theory of learning, and the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. At the University of Rhode Island, the wiki has been used as a collaborative teaching and learning tool that supports students' research. Specific applications include creation of a concept map, formulation of manageable research questions, laying out of "Opposing Viewpoints," and location of source materials. The final part of the presentation will focus on future plans for assessing student learning outcomes, restructuring and adjusting the face-to-face library instruction, redesigning the Library Resources component on the Wikispaces page, and using Inspiration software for concept maps and graphic organizers.