LJ4 21st Century Skills and Information Fluency

In this module, I learned primarily about 

• Information fluency
• Advanced web search techniques using boolean operators
• 21st Century skills that employers are looking for
• Net Neutrality
• Digital citizenship
• Digital footprints
• The Deep Web

Information fluency is a combination of information literacy and digital citizenship. It is not only how we evaluate and critically process information but also the responsible use of it.

Boolean operators such as "and", the minus sign "-" and plain quotation marks "" serve to help narrow and refine my searches. I saw this great infographic in class and found it online to show here.

The following video demonstrates how to get the most of your next google search!


Some of the top 21st Century skills that employers are looking for are:

• Coding
• Data Mining and Management
• Mobile Development
• Network Security
  
  Those are "hard skills" or skills that come from training or practice. The following are "soft skills" or skills are related to emotional intelligence and personality.

• Ability to manage a diverse environment
• Strong communication skills
• Knowledge of other cultures 

Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers should equally provide users access to all legal content and applications on the internet. They shouldn't charge content providers for faster delivery or slow the delivery of content provided by competing providers. It basically means that I should get the same internet experience as the next person at no additional cost. USA Today provides a great article on Net Neutrality. 

Digital Citizenship is how we carry ourselves on the internet. It has to do with our responsible use of the internet technologies available to us. The following link details the nine elements of digital citizenship. Nine Elements. Though I never really considered it, it makes great sense that just as we are expected to behave in a certain way as employees in a workplace, or students in a classroom, so we are expected to conduct ourselves appropriately as citizens of this digital age.

Fractus Learning

Digital footprints are the trails of information that we leave behind about ourselves across the internet. Some informative resources about digital footprints are linked below
Internet Society- Your Digital Footprint Matters 
Tech Radar - How to Protect Your Privacy and Remove Data from Online Services

Though our digital reputation is most commonly linked to our social media accounts and the content we post, It can also be linked to the searches that we make or the websites that we frequent. Using a search engine like DuckDuckGo ensures greater privacy that other major search engines. It is good to "google" ones self once in a while to make sure that what comes up is appropriate. This part of the module made me realize that whatever is posted on the internet, for the most part stays there and that posting personal content should be done wisely.

The Deep Web
The deep web is a part of the web not readily accessible by major search engines. It comprises a great portion of the internet than the surface web - which is what most users interface with daily. I often thought of the deep web as an unsavory, mysterious place but I found that this is not all of the deep web. A great portion of the deep web has valuable content and information. Most databases are stored on the deep web. I didn't realize that when I was doing a scholarly search using paid for databases, I was going beyond the surface web.


New terminology

   Digital Citizenship - The norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use.
   Net Neutrality - The principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.
   Tor browser- A browser that allows for anonymous web browsing and confidential communication.
   Information Fluency - The ability to gather, evaluate and use information ethically and legally.


I participated all throughout this module in both discussions and during lecture. I gained new information throughout.