Misinformation found in the media and online is not a new problem, but it is one of growing concern. Students at Kapiʻolani Community College (KapCC) struggle to evaluate information resources in order to complete their research assignments. Beyond completing school assignments, there are broader implications for the need to apply these types of skills in everyday life. At many institutions, librarians teach information literacy (IL) skills to help students search for, and analyze information and resources they encounter; and these skills can become useful tools in the defense against misinformation. This project sought to support students and faculty with IL via an online asynchronous instructional e-learning. The instruction was designed based on instructional strategies such as Keller's ARCS Model of Motivation and Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia. To evaluate the e-learning, a brief usability study was administered to participants (n = 3) to analyze ease of use, instructional content, and functionality. A learning assessment was then administered to students (n = 15), with results indicating the use of multimedia IL instruction was effective and had a positive impact on students' understanding and motivation. Pre- and post-tests measuring cognitive performance showed an increase in average participant IL scores. In addition, survey responses revealed an increase in the number of participants agreeing they felt more motivation to apply IL skills, and greater confidence in their ability to practice IL skills upon completion of the e-learning. Recommendations for future research include streamlining the e-learning's assessments to provide more instantaneous feedback and continuing to refine instructional content within.
Allyson Ota