Media and Information Literacy (MIL) of College Freshmen of a Public Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Cagayan Valley Philippines: Towards A Proposed Library Media and Information Literacy Instruction Program

Abstract

 Utilizing the quantitative and qualitative research approaches particularly the techniques of survey and open-ended statements, this study gathered information on the college freshmen media and information literacy levels specifically on the components of access, evaluation, and creation. It also compared their media and information literacy skills across components and as a whole and gathered direct experiences on the challenges encountered by students across media and information literacy (MIL) components. The results revealed that the students obtained very low ratings in almost all the items of the MIL test with percentages below 74%, described as did not meet expectations. When compared across sub-areas per domain, significant differences were obtained. However, when compared across the three MIL components, no significant difference was noted. The students also encountered myriad challenges in media and information literacy. The inability to recognize the author’s ideas within a given text, difficulty in searching for and retrieving internet information, difficulty in using automated catalogs, difficulty in using electronic sources for secondary information like databases, and the problem with consulting and using electronic resources as a primary source were among the top five problems students identified as barriers with regards access. On evaluation, some challenges included inadequate knowledge of the laws on the right use of information and intellectual property, difficulty in assessing the quality of information sources, inadequate knowledge of the typology of scientific resources, problems in choosing between different media devices, based on their function, and difficulty in interpreting media messages. On creation, some challenges comprised inadequate installation of needed computer programs, inadequate knowledge of creating creative academic presentations, inadequate skills in creating media content, inadequate technical expertise, inadequate library database managers, and inadequate expertise in using bibliographic reference managers. Thus, the proposed media and information literacy instructional program crafted in this study was deemed relevant as it considered the salient findings of this study.