Online active-learning: information literacy instruction for graduate students

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges of teaching information literacy online to graduate students and evaluate software that supports using active learning techniques. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper analyzes different software tools and their functionality to aid in active learning, as well as describes elements of online teaching that facilitate active learning for information literacy. Findings Although software serves as the delivery tool, there is not one standalone product that provides all the needed aids to conduct active learning. Many other digital tools are needed in addition to the tutorial software to create active learning activities. Practical implications - This paper provides activities and ideas to incorporate into the online information literacy session that contain active learning elements. Originality/value Although there is a wealth of literature about active learning of information literacy, very little surrounds teaching it online to graduate students. This paper focuses on this specific element of teaching information literacy through active learning methods in an online environment to graduate students.