Metaliteracy
This Metaliteracy MOOC explores the metaliteracy model originally developed by Tom Mackey and Trudi Jacobson in Reframing Information Literacy as a Metaliteracy. This open learning experience turns theory into practice by exploring emerging technologies to collectively create and distribute information in an open participatory environment. We will interact with global participants and continuously reflect on our learning in this environment. This MOOC has been developed for course sharing between the University at Albany and Empire State College, at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and to engage with participants globally. It is also available to use in any way you find helpful or supportive in your own teaching, research, and/or learning journey. This is an open and flexible space that situates participants at the center of all learning activities. We hope to provide a meta perspective on the process of teaching and learning with the connectivist MOOC format.
What is Metaliteracy?
According to the Mackey and Jacobson:
Metaliteracy promotes critical thinking and collaboration in a digital age, providing a comprehensive framework to effectively participate in social media and online communities. It is a unified construct that supports the acquisition, production, and sharing of knowledge in collaborative online communities. Metaliteracy challenges traditional skills-based approaches to information literacy by recognizing related literacy types and incorporating emerging technologies. Standard definitions of information literacy are insufficient for the revolutionary social technologies currently prevalent online (Mackey & Jacobson, Reframing Information as a Metaliteracy, 2011, 62-62)
This framework builds on decades of research and practice in information literacy, while expanding this work to promote a complete reinvention of the term for open social media environments. As part of this model, we identify meaningful connections to related literacies, such as visual literacy, digital literacy, news literacy, and transliteracy. Metaliteracy provides a unified and comprehensive approach to learning that encourages the production and sharing of original and repurposed information in participatory environments. This approach supports metacognitive reflection as an empowering practice for learners.