Sep 03 2008
Digital Literacy Contest tests Internet-enabled intelligence
The George A. Smathers Libraries will host the Digital Literacy Contest, a competition that tests Internet literacy and cognitive agility, on Wednesday, September 17 in Library West. Two back-to-back competitions begin at 11:00 a.m. Contestants will be given 30 minutes, 50 questions and Internet access. Correct answers earn points and incorrect answers are penalized. The highest score wins the competition and winners are awarded cash prizes.
The contest is free and open to all UF students, faculty, staff and community members. Following the competitions the libraries will host a discussion on digital information literacy. Free pizza and drinks will be provided.
The Digital Literacy Contest was created in 2007 by then Purdue University student Daniel Poynter. It has since grown to other universities across the nation including Brown University and Indiana University.
“This is the first competition in which people wield the Internet as a cognitive prosthetic, said Poynter. It’s a high speed battle of Internet-enabled intelligence. It has three main objectives: to identify people who thrive in information overload; to disseminate their insights; and to create a discussion about what it means to be digitally literate.”
“Our age is both unprecedented and pivotal,” Poynter said. “Unparalleled global access to information is accelerating technological and social change. Making sense of our increasingly complex world depends upon becoming better information filters through the help of libraries. This competition is one way to ease ourselves into this exciting future.”
To enter the competition, enter online at http://www.DigitalLiteracyContest.org . Early registration is encouraged as space is limited. For more information contact Michele Crump at mcrump@uflib.ufl.edu or (352) 273-2505.