The Digital Divide and Information Literacy Project

The long range aim of The Digital Divide and Information Literacy Program is to train secondary school teachers, librarians, and community network staff to help their clients, whether students, other teachers, workers, or the public, to evaluate as well as design digital information. The program will aim to enable people in the community to search for and evaluate information, and acquaint them with the skills they need to be "literate" in a digital and connected environment.

The Program will target both urban and rural areas in Texas, with an aim of reaching some areas that have significant minority populations. TIPI's intention is to link the Institute's academic expertise and commitment to the political values of intellectual freedom and expression with concerns for community networks, student retention, preparation for work, and civic life.

The Digital Divide and Information Literacy Program will enable people to evaluate information's relevance to the individual or community, its credibility (or cognitive authority), its reliability and its authenticity. Such determinations involve high-level cognitive skills and judgments that go well beyond comparatively simple skills such as building Web pages and sending email. These critical thinking skills are essential for individuals' success in school, at work, and as citizens, and they are likewise essential to building an online environment that is responsive to more than consumer needs.

The Project is headed by TIPI Director Sharon Strover and Phil Doty, Assoc. Professor, School of Information .