Participation and Relationships with Colleagues

To participate in information literacy is very exciting because Information literacy skills are important for students´ academic, work and personal lives. In academia, discipline specific information is constantly changing, and much of what students learn in class will become outdated. An information literate student is a lifelong learner, with the skills necessary to continually find and evaluate information about new developments in an academic discipline. In an information economy, students will need information literacy skills to succeed in the work force, whether they are creating a marketing proposal for a new product or looking for current medical research to treat a patient. Information literacy skills also enrich students personal and civic lives. For example, students will draw upon these skills to apply for government services, buy a car, participate in elections, make informed health care decisions for themselves and their families, and manage their finances.
As students, we spend a significant part of our time in the class with each other and our lecturer play a substantial role in the quality of this course, and influence our outlook considerably. The truth is that the state of our relationships with our colleagues in class affects us greatly, in our ability to succeed professionally and in our emotional well-being. Naturally then, it is in our best interests, to form healthy, effective relationships with colleagues. This is not always going to be a straightforward task. Our class brings together a mixed bag of people, not of our choosing, with different values, cultures, expectations, age ranges, and personalities and its all sources of potential conflict. It is not surprising that disagreements and tensions arise when people have little idea of suitable strategies for dealing with others effectively. My relationship with the other students is very good in the sense that I treat everyone with respect and dignity and this ensure a healthy environment for all of us. Everyone is nice and helpful and sometimes we are also working in teams. It is great to have them as friends and class colleagues.