Help your students ask better questions, and know which answers to trust. Search results, social media, AI chatbots, viral videos: students are surrounded by information.
This free online course from Oregon State University librarians shows you how to teach them to question it, weigh the evidence, and use and share what they find responsibly.
You won’t need to add a whole new unit to what you teach. You’ll build information literacy, media literacy and research skills into the lessons you already have, guided by Oregon School Library Standards.
Space is limited, and priority goes to Oregon educators at schools without a teacher librarian. Apply free for Winter 2027.
Apply. Learn at Your Pace. Bring It to Class.
Step 1
Apply Free
A short application, about five minutes. Tell us what you teach and which lesson you'd like to strengthen.
Step 2
Learn on Your Schedule
8 online modules over 10 weeks, about 3 hours a week. No live sessions and no set class times.
Step 3
Leave With Better Lessons
Revise your own lesson plans as you go, and earn 21 PDUs toward license renewal.
The course is free. The only thing it asks of you is about 3 hours a week and a lesson you'd like to make stronger.
The Challenge Isn't Finding Information. It's Knowing What to Do With It.
Most teacher preparation programs touch on research skills. Few offer real training in how to teach them. Meanwhile, students are asked to frame research questions, weigh evidence, pull sources together and create work of their own, often without anyone showing them how.
Students with strong information literacy skills can:
Ask better research questions
Find information effectively, using search tools that go beyond the first result
Evaluate evidence, authority and an author's purpose
Recognize bias, misinformation and fake news
Synthesize sources to draw conclusions and make informed decisions
Create and share work that shows what they've learned, including with AI tools
Cite sources and use information ethically
Take part in their communities as informed citizens
Those skills pay off in every subject, and in college, careers and civic life.
Why Learn Information Literacy With OSU Librarians
Here's what makes this course different from a one-off workshop or a list of websites.
Learn From the Librarians Who Meet Your Students Next
OSU librarians help first-year students step up to college-level research every term. They know which skills make the biggest difference, and which ones students wish they'd learned sooner.
Fits Into What You Already Teach
No new curriculum to build. You'll practice small, practical changes that fit your existing lesson plans, in English, social studies, science, health, CTE and more.
No Teacher Librarian? This Is for You
Many Oregon schools don't have a teacher librarian. This course gives you the librarian's toolkit and connects you with school, public and state library help.
Built on Oregon School Library Standards
Every unit follows the information literacy standards from the Oregon Association of School Libraries, approved by the Oregon State Board of Education, so your lessons map to standards you can cite.
There is no one perfect way to teach information literacy! The best approach to building and using these skills will be the one you can actually incorporate effectively into your work over time. ~ Kelly McElroy and Zach Welhouse, course instructors
What You'll Explore
Information literacy helps students inquire, evaluate, create, communicate and take part thoughtfully in their communities throughout their lives. The course has an introduction plus seven units, each built around one Oregon School Library Standard. Every unit includes a "For All Teachers" section on working with colleagues across grades, and a reflection where you apply the ideas to your own teaching.
Introduction: Building an Information Literacy Mindset: Why information literacy matters, how it builds from grade to grade, and how to fit it into the teaching you already do.
Unit 1: Teaching Students to Ask Better Questions: Help students generate research questions, get the most from Google and Wikipedia, understand how search algorithms shape results, and check answers against other sources.
Unit 2: Reading and Evaluating Sources: Teach students to judge an author's purpose and authority, separate evidence from opinion, and show understanding through notes and summaries.
Unit 3: Turning Information Into Decisions: Guide students to analyze and compare information, see how information is created, and reach conclusions they can defend with evidence on real problems.
Unit 4: Creating and Sharing Work, Including With AI: Help students choose the right format for their audience, use tools well, collaborate and reflect, with a focus on generative AI.
Unit 5: Citation, Plagiarism and Copyright: Teach students to use authoritative sources from several perspectives, cite them correctly, avoid plagiarism and respect intellectual property.
Unit 6: Misinformation, Media Bias and Ethical Communication: Explore facts versus opinions, fake news, media bias and personal bias, and how to help students share information accurately and respectfully.
Unit 7: Digital Citizenship and Civic Life: Help students take part as responsible members of their communities, use resources responsibly and understand intellectual freedom.
Modules open January 18, and you'll have 10 weeks to finish all eight. See course dates below.
What You'll Walk Away With
You'll finish with changes you can use in class the next day, not just ideas to file away.
At Least One Revised Lesson: A lesson plan or teaching material of your own, rebuilt with information literacy at its core.
Classroom-Ready Strategies: Search, source-evaluation and citation practices that university librarians teach, adapted for grades 6-12.
A Plan for Teaching AI and Misinformation: Practical ways to help students question AI output, viral claims and biased sources.
A Standards Map: A clear link between Oregon School Library Standards and the work you already assign.
A Support Network: School, public and Oregon State Library resources and people you can turn to.
21 PDUs: Professional development hours from Oregon State University.
Where You'll Use It
Information literacy isn't one more subject. It makes the projects you already assign work better, including:
Research and Writing
Research papers, essays, lab reports, inquiry projects and project-based learning.
Media, AI and Citizenship
Source-evaluation activities, media literacy lessons, AI literacy discussions and digital citizenship.
Who This Course Is For
Middle School Teachers: Build research habits early, before students face high school and more advanced academic work.
High School Teachers: Prepare students for college-level research, academic writing and independent learning.
Teachers at Schools Without a Teacher Librarian: Bring library-quality instruction into your own classroom.
School Librarians and Library Staff: Including those who serve several schools. Get fresh ideas and a shared language to use with teachers.
Instructional Coaches and Academic Support Staff: Support schoolwide work on inquiry, research and digital literacy.
Any subject that asks students to research, read sources or argue from evidence is a good fit.
What About AI?
AI tools can answer a research question in seconds. They can also get it wrong, leave out sources or repeat bias.
The habits this course teaches are the same ones students need with AI: ask who made it, check it against other sources and look for evidence. Unit 4 looks at generative AI directly.
Those skills stay useful no matter how the tools change.
Meet Your Instructors
Kelly McElroy, Student Engagement and Community Outreach Librarian, OSU Libraries Kelly has helped OSU students build research skills since 2014. She co-edited the two-volume Critical Library Instruction Handbook, named the 2017 Irene F. Rockman Publication of the Year by the Association of College and Research Libraries Instruction Section. She teaches workshops, guest lectures and credit courses on information literacy, and holds a Master of Library and Information Studies and a Master of Archival Studies from the University of British Columbia. If she had a catchphrase, it would be, "That's a great question!"
Zach Welhouse, Online Learning Librarian, OSU Libraries Zach has been OSU's Online Learning Librarian since 2019 and is the liaison librarian to OSU's College of Education. His work focuses on information literacy instruction, open pedagogy and affordable education. He holds an MLIS from the University of Washington and an MA in English from Kansas State University. He doesn't have a catchphrase yet, but he's trying to make "I don't know. Let's see what we can find!" happen.
What's Included
A free course, with the structure of a university program.
$0
No tuition, no registration fee and no textbook to buy.
8 modules
An introduction plus seven units, each built on an Oregon School Library Standard.
10 weeks
to finish at your own pace, about 3 hours a week.
21 PDUs
from Oregon State University when you complete the course.
How to Apply
The application takes about five minutes. You'll tell us your role, the grades you teach, whether your school has a teacher librarian, and the part of your teaching you'd like to focus on.
We review applications in the order they arrive and aim for a mix of participants. Priority goes to Oregon educators, especially those at schools without a teacher librarian. If this session fills, we'll let you know about future offerings.
Quick Answers
Is this course really free?
Yes. There's no tuition, no registration fee and no textbook. Space is limited, so we ask you to apply.
Do I need to be a librarian?
No. The course is designed mainly for classroom teachers of grades 6-12. School librarians and academic support staff are welcome too.
How much time does it take?
About 3 hours a week. You'll have 10 weeks to finish eight modules, with no live sessions or set class times.
Will I earn credit?
Yes. You'll earn 21 PDUs when you complete the course. Check with your district on how you plan to apply them to license renewal.
What Is a Self-Paced Course?
Learn on Your Schedule
The course has a clear start and end date, but within that window, you're in control. Log in before school, during your prep period or after the kids are asleep: whatever works for your week.
All eight modules are ready when you are. Each one mixes short readings, examples and teaching ideas, and ends with a reflection that helps you apply what you learned to your own classroom.
Most teachers spend about 3 hours a week, fitting it around grading, planning and everything else the school year brings.
Have questions? Request more information. Ready to start? Apply free.
College Partners
This course is a collaboration between Oregon State University Libraries and Oregon State University Professional and Continuing Education.
Additional Information: Oregon teachers need 25 PDUs for each year of their license. This course provides 21 hours of professional development, nearly a full year’s requirement, at no cost.
Past Students' Work
Take a look at some recent projects our students have created.
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