Information didactics

Information didactics explores the handling and conveyance of information . Information is ubiquitous in the information society. In order to cope with the flood of information in a profitable way, the individual needs basic knowledge and techniques on how to deal with the individual information.

Question of information didactics

Jank and Hilbert Meyer (Didaktische Modelle, 1994) defined didactics as the question of “who should learn what when, with whom, where, how, with what, why and for what purpose.” This leads to the question for information didactics , namely which information and when and in what form it is processed and / or to whom it is transmitted and why this is done. An optimal transfer of information requires that the answers to all W questions are linked.

etymology

The concept of information theory originally comes from mathematics and engineering . Over time, the term also established itself in the natural sciences and humanities. The term developed to optimize electronic transmission systems was also carried over to human communication . In today's humanities, however, one no longer speaks of the term information theory, but that of information didactics .

definition

As in German, there is no general definition for the English term information didactics ( information literacy ). One possible definition, however, would be: The ability to gain access to information, to evaluate it and to be able to filter and use it from a variety of sources.

In addition, information didactics should teach how to learn. What has been learned must then be conveyed in such a way that others can understand it. Information didactics, however, is more than just the correct use of, for example, computers to obtain information. It is also necessary to be critical of the information that can be found on the computer and, if necessary, to identify and filter out insufficient or incorrect information. One has to be aware of the nature of the information itself, its technical infrastructure and its social, cultural and even philosophical context and influence. In order to make a person “information literate”, one must at least point them in the right direction. This should start in school. When you are finally informed, the quality of life automatically improves. For example, you have fewer problems finding a good university because you know exactly what to look out for in the large information network. Another example of this improved quality of life is that you have fewer problems making investments than someone who doesn't know what what information is.

Stages of information discovery

There are four stages in finding information: First, you have to ask yourself what you already know about a certain topic, what information is still missing and where you can find it. Then you have to identify and find the sources. Resources such as books or encyclopedias can be helpful. As a third stage, one then has to subdivide the sources found into “usable” or “not usable”, select the usable sources and ignore the useless sources. Finally, the information found must now be organized and processed or processed in such a way that in the end the knowledge and the solution to the problem emerge.

Information didactics today

Applications for information didactics today are, for example, the effective evaluation of the extensive database content of companies or new content in school lessons that enable students to use sources of knowledge effectively.

Excessive media consumption can lead to real-world problems, such as: E.g. media addiction, loneliness, aggressiveness, poor language and reading skills, overactivity or problems dealing with reality. Therefore, preschoolers and some of their parents need to learn how to use the media responsibly, e.g. For example: how many minutes can the child sit in front of the television / computer, can they already play computer games or visit websites.

Handling information / knowledge process

In today's media-flooded society, information users are faced with the problem of finding their way between data and knowledge. Data only becomes information when it is perceived by the information user and viewed as relevant. The information obtained becomes self-acquired knowledge through a wide variety of processes.

Information can be processed according to the following criteria:

Collection and evaluation of stored and still unstructured data
Reduce data
Select relevant information
Check the information obtained for quality and quantity
Exchange of knowledge with others
Reflect on knowledge in a group or alone

From this it follows that knowledge is secured information which u. a. can be confirmed by experience and expectations. The test person undergoes a constant learning and knowledge process.

literature

Matthias Ballod: Information Economy - Information Didactics . Strategies for social, organizational and individual information management and knowledge transfer . W. Bertelsmann, Bielefeld 2007.

Michaela Goll: Working in the net: communication structures, work processes, knowledge management . West German Publishing House, 2002.

Manfred della Schiava, William H. Rees: What knowledge management brings, coping with the flood of information, mind maps for practice, new technology used in a targeted manner, case studies from Silicon Villey . Signum Verlag, 1999.

H. Lyre: Information Theory. A philosophical and scientific introduction . Fink, Munich 2002, p. 9 f.

F. Attneave: Application of Information Theory to Psychology . Henry Holt and Company, New York 1969, p. 13 f.

Lisa Deutschmann: Knowledge management in further education. The potential of new learning environments. Rainer Hampp Verlag, Munich / Mering 2003, p. 29 f.

Tatjana Högy, Horst Weiß (Ed.): COMMUNICATION / LANGUAGE Materials for course and project teaching. Communication and information . Moritz Diesterweg Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1974, p. 20 f.

Hans-Dieter Kübler: The magic word 'information'. Why theoretical discourses are also necessary in library circles. In: Department of Library and Information at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (ed.): Biblionota. 50 years of library training in Hamburg - 25 years of the library and information department . Münster / New York 1995, pp. 225-254. Online version

Lexicons

H. Bussmann: Lexicon of Linguistics. Kröner, Stuttgart 2002, pp. 305-306.
Willi Albers (Hrsg.): Concise dictionary of economics. Volume 4: Commercial law representation up to and including the banking sector in the Federal Republic of Germany. Gustav Fischer Verlag, 1987.
Economic lexicon. 16th edition. Gabler, Wiesbaden 2005.
Ralf Schnell: Lexicon of contemporary culture . Metzler Verlag, 2000.

Web links