Mobile Information Literacy Curriculum

"Mobile information literacy is necessary to help people learn how to find and evaluate the quality and credibility of information obtained online, understand how to create and share online information effectively, and participate safely and securely. Mobile information literacy is critical to help people better consume, generate, and disseminate trustworthy information through both digital and traditional media."

The Mobile Information Literacy Curriculum is a growing collection of training materials designed to build information literacies people worldwide using a mobile phone to get online. Most information and digital literacy curricula were designed for a personal computer (PC) age, and public and private organisations around the world have used these curricula to help newcomers use computers and the internet effectively and safely. The central question for the Mobile Information Literacy curriculum project is: What are the relevant skills, concepts, and attitudes for people using mobiles, not PCs, to access the internet?" This 6-module curriculum is the first output of the project.

Research shows that in countries such as Myanmar, more people use Facebook than the internet. Mobile-specific practices, such as zero-rating, mean people are coming online much more frequently through a handful of "walled garden" applications without an understanding of and similar access to the broader internet. Also, some mobile applications and websites don't offer the full functionality of their PC counterparts. In countries and contexts like Myanmar, where for many using a mobile phone marks their first experience with the internet and digital technology, these training materials can be used by various organisations, such as libraries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to both train their staff and to build knowledge, skills, and mobile information literacy competencies within the populations they serve. The curriculum thus aims to empower mobile internet users to be equal participants in the online world by addressing topics such as: mobile information and communication technology (ICT) basics, affordances of mobile phones, the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web, online safety and privacy, "netiquette" and how to work with others and share information on mobile devices, using search engines, and using collaborative tools such as Dropbox, Google Docs, and Facebook Groups on mobile devices.

The curriculum includes the following 6 modules:

• Module 1: Introduction to Mobile Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
• Module 2: A Mobile Lens on the Internet
• Module 3: Basic Web Searching via Mobile Devices
• Module 4: Working Online and Using Information via Mobile Devices
• Module 5: Putting It All Together
• Module 6: Module 5 Project Presentations

The curriculum was designed to be flexible and customisable, depending on the baseline skills of those being trained, and translated into other languages. The materials are offered with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license, so others are free to use, adapt, and share the materials with attribution. Curriculum creators are also available to help organisations create customised materials based on their particular country or regional contexts and literacy training needs. (In Myanmar, the materials have been translated into Burmese, and master training sessions have been conducted to train library staff to further train their colleagues, as well as library patrons.) If you have questions on the curriculum or would like more information, please email tascha@uw.edu. The Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) also encourages individuals and organisations that use and adapt this curriculum and training to provide feedback, ideas, and adapted materials. In addition to email, you can leave a comment and upload materials on the main Mobile Information Literacy curriculum webpage, and/or participate on their Facebook page.

The project and curriculum are part of a larger programme, Information Strategies for Societies in Transition, which is situated in Myanmar. This country is undergoing massive political, economic, and social changes, and mobile penetration there was expected to reach 80% by the end of 2015 from just 4% in 2014. "Combined with the country's history of media censorship, Myanmar presents unique challenges for addressing the needs of people who need the ability to find and evaluate the quality and credibility of information obtained online, understand how to create and share online information effectively, and participate safely and securely." The project is supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Tableau Foundation. The programme is housed in the University of Washington's Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and is run in collaboration with TASCHA in the University of Washington's Information School, and 2 partner organisations in Myanmar: the Myanmar Book Aid Preservation Foundation (MBAPF) and Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF).