Development and Evaluation of a MOOC Extension for Teaching Subject-Specific Skills in Information Literacy for Business Administration

Abstract

Information Literacy (IL) is “the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning” (American Library Association, 2016). IL as a social key competence is particularly essential in post-secondary education and research. According to many studies (e.g. Katz, 2007; Rubinić et al., 2013), student’s information literacy levels are generally low. IL also includes subject-specific skills; e.g. relevant resources are different among disciplines (Johnston & Webber, 2003; Bundy, 2004). Analyses show the need for an attractive tutorial which can be developed on a broad basis of available material. Accordingly, an extension to a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for developing information literacy focusing on higher education students shall be developed and evaluated, that focuses on information skills needed in Business Administration. MOOCs are online courses with no entry barriers open for unlimited participation (van Treek et al., 2013).