Information is a broad concept that can be defined through many lenses. A physicist, librarian, and a reporter would each treat it differently. Christine Bruce discusses the way that our viewpoint of a topic correlates with our understanding of that topic. As we learn to look at information in a different manner, we are gaining knowledge. "We engage with and transform information; information engages with and transforms us" (Bruce, 2008, p. 53). We become different through the process of gaining knowledge.
Christine Bruce discusses a trend to refer to information literacy or information literacy instruction as learning specific skills; she feels that it should pertain to experiential use of information for direct learning (Informed Learning, 2008, p. 5). It is interesting that she comments on the distinction between gaining a skill set and transformational learning because the AASL's Standards for the 21st-Century Learner are presented as a set of skills to be acquired.
These standards discuss the globalization of information and the necessity of educating students regarding the ethical use of information and the importance of analyzing information from a myriad of diverse sources (Standards, 2007, p.2). The standards acknowledge the vast quantity of information available and the importance of learning to choose, evaluate, synthesize and utilize that information.
In her Relational Frame for Informed Learning, Christine Bruce explains that, "Information may be experienced as objective, subjective, or transformational" (Informed Learning, 2008, p. 32). Much of the information students are presented in school comes from an objective or subjective perspective. I would even say that much of the subjective information that is presented, is done so under the guise of it being objective. In past eras, this was especially so. For example, I remember being in elementary school, learning about how Christopher Columbus discovered America.
History classes have often been presented from the perspective of a particular culture. In Arizona, a controversial law has just passed regarding the viewpoint through which American history classes are taught. This tells me that, while I would like to believe that all Americans believe in equitable access to all perspectives, there are still plenty of closed minded individuals attempting to control access to information.
As information has become increasingly digitized, access to that information has greatly increased. This has led to a democratization of information as individual citizens are able to publish information from and around the world instantly and effortlessly. With this democratization has come a reinterpretation of what information truly is. Where once, information users had access to a limited scope of perspectives, they are now able to access a wide variety of perspectives on any particular manner. This has allowed information users to synthesize a multitude of perspectives to be able to obtain a more objective understanding of a concept, as noted in the AASL standards.
Before the invention of the printing press, information was more difficult to disseminate. At that point in time, information was largely controlled by the ruling class-- the wealthy and religious sectors. People would receive information from one particular, subjective viewpoint. This is only possible in a closed society-- where there is no outside perspective to compare against. In today's modern society, with widespread digital information, people are able to develop more holistic understandings in their research. This has led to a transformation in the way that information is presented. Synthesis and creation have become important facets of information literacy instruction. This has brought us to an era of open information. Users are no longer expected to digest information, but to evolve alongside it.
