According to Ojedokun (2007: xiii), the coming of the information age, with the resultant technology, increased interest in information literacy. McClintock (1996) notes that the major impact of technology on teaching and learning is the change in the learning environment, from a scarcity of information resources to an abundance of information resources. Information literacy becomes critical because of the resultant need to address such issues, including evaluation of the information resources for their validity and authenticity and ethical use. The use of technology in teaching and learning generally opens doors and widens the range of opportunities for passing on information or skills. ICT has impacted society in a myriad ways and Badke (2009) declares that this has transformed the world of knowledge. However, McCormick & Scrimshaw (2001) stress that attention must be given to the impact of ICT on learning before introducing the use of technology in the classroom for effective curriculum change. They present a model to help in assessing ICT impact and postulate that for any positive impact of ICT use in the classroom to occur, there must be a clear change in practice.
New technology means preparedness to perform things differently.
In a study of teachers’ response to the use of ICT for literacy activities in the UK, Waite (2004) found that ICT was used to get learners to engage in new reading and writing processes, provide a further information source for their research, improve presentation of research and writing work, practise in reading and writing skills, facilitate co-operative reading and writing tasks and facilitate electronic communication with each other, in 1998 and 2001. She found the use of computers and the internet changed the way in which teachers planned their work and so time and technical support is required for the teachers if the initiative is to succeed (Waite, 2004). Before the introduction of computers and the internet, librarians were already involved in information literacy training through bibliographic instruction, courses and talks on how to use the library to find information. The introduction of computers, the internet and electronic resources that are remotely available in the 1990s called for a re-evaluation of lecture-type approaches (Brandt, 2001). Today, many learning environment designs include web-based technologies and therefore knowledge of use of the technologies is critical (Brown 2002:3).
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Many institutions consider information literacy as a foundational component of their teaching and learning practices (Bruce, 2004; Maybee 2006; Baro & Zuokemefa, 2011). Various authors agree with the emphasis on information literacy in ALA’s 1989 report, but emphasize that information and information communication technology (ICT) are inseparable. There is thus a need not only to learn how to access and use information, but also understand the technology in which the information operates (Brant, 2001; Ghaznavi, Keikha & Yahgoubi, 2011; Swan, 2011 ). Brant (2001) adds that effective seeking, evaluation and use of information in a technologically oriented society requires not only appropriate IT skills, but also the conceptual understanding of how the technology works in a broader sense. The ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education states: “Information technology skills enable an individual to use computers, software applications, databases and other technologies to achieve a wide variety of academic, work-related and personal goals” (ACRL, 2000:3). In this regard, information literacy is seen as the over-arching concept enhanced by technology skills.
With increasing online learning comes the need to equip students with skills to search and evaluate information. Online students do not have the time that regular students have to come to the library for IL instruction. Gurney and Wilkes (2008) studied first-year undergraduate students at the University of New England doing applied science, to establish the impact of the library’s additional online assistance to an online course they did, with regard to the number of journal articles cited. The findings were that students using the search strategies provided by the library online were more likely to cite more articles and do proper citations, compared to their colleagues who relied on their own searching skills.
As ICTs keep developing and making the information environment complex, players in the information field must be updated and adequately prepared to handle issues as they arise (ACRL, 2001). This understanding led the education department of the province of Alberta to create the ICT curriculum that infused within core courses and programme. The document seeks to introduce students to a broader understanding of the nature of technology, the best way to use it and the impact the use of the technology will have on them and the society in general (Albertan Ministry of Education, 2002). While several authors (McCormick & Scrimshaw, 2001; Waite, 2004; Cooper & Nichols, 2007; Hatlen & Spungin, 2008; Baro & Zuokemefa,
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2011) cite the important role ICT plays in IL learning, Waite (2004) agrees with Hatlen and Spungin (2008) that one of the key challenges to the implementation of ICT in IL learning is having teachers that are not conversant with the new technology. Such teachers are not able to fully utilize the pedagogical potential of the technology.
Cole and Kelsey (2004) concluded that computer literacy and information retrieval techniques are both skills that are required to effectively undertake further educational study. In 2000, a group of post-registered nurses and midwives on undergraduate courses completed a self- assessment questionnaire to examine their knowledge and competence of computer and information literacy. The study found that the students deficient in both computer and information literacy. The female respondents had more difficulty in the application of computers in their learning. This agrees with the conclusion of Nielsen et al. (1998) that female students in Australia perceived computing as a male domain and this affected their use of the technology.
From their study of university graduates Contreras and Colom (2001) explained that one reason for the difference among sexes on the use of technology could be the way they view and understand relationships between spaces, areas and shapes. This was after a spatial experiment was done on 602 male and female graduates who were all computer literate. The results revealed a higher spatial performance in males than females (Contreras & Colom, 2001). They concluded that this revelation needs to be considered when designing IL curricula that are ICT oriented or ICT dependent. Young (2000) surveyed 462 high school students on their attitude towards computer use. The study revealed great male confidence, compared to their female counterparts. However, this trend was challenged by a later study by Imhof, Vollmeyer and Beierlein (2007), which found the gap between male and female with regard to access, use, motivation and performance negligibly low. By sampling 48 university students, the study noted some gaps with regard to the purpose of use, with men spending more time on computers compared to the female students. Studies by Kominski (1992), Kominski and Newburger (1999) and Dholakia (2007) have also realized the bridging of the gender computer use gap.
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