Measuring the Effectiveness of Training to Improve Electronic Information Literacy

Abstract

This chapter uses a case study approach to highlight issues surrounding the provision of government agency sponsored programs aimed at increasing Electronic Information Literacy (EIL), as a basic requirement for community engagement in an electronically enabled world. The Skills.net program was designed to increase EIL skills by providing “free or low cost access to training in online services and the Internet for those in the community who are least likely to have access” in Victoria, Australia. This study found that whilst the Skills.net program did increase EIL, it did not adequately address the accepted training needs of the participants nor did it adequately adhere to known guidelines for success in information literacy enhancement. This experience provides further evidence of lessons being learned from many government agency imposed programs which do not provide adequate outcomes for regional areas as they grapple with the impact of being increasingly marginalized in an electronically enabled age.