Mattson to present webinar on information literacy

Kristen Mattson
Kristen Mattson, Adjunct Lecturer

Adjunct Lecturer Kristen Mattson will present "Information Literacy in Today's World: A Pandemic, Fake News, and Elections," on April 14 as part of the Follett Community Webinar Series. In her talk, Mattson will examine how (and why) information can be misleading and suggest strategies and resources for educators to use when teaching information.

"Information literacy is more important than ever. We are constantly bombarded with content in the forms of written word, video, audio, chart, graph and even meme. Our brains must do a lot of heavy lifting to sort through it all and determine just which pieces of information are of value. My webinar will allow participants to walk away with practical, teachable content and strategies to use and share with others," Mattson said.

Mattson is a high school library media center director in Aurora, Illinois, where she partners with teachers to integrate digital literacy, research skills, creation, and innovation into the classroom. As part of a Future Ready school district, she has embraced the Future Ready Librarians framework to transform her school's library space and practices. At the iSchool, Mattson teaches courses on digital citizenship and media literacy for youth. She is the author of Digital Citizenship in Action: Empowering Students to Engage in Online Communities (International Society for Technology in Education, 2017) and contributing author of International Handbook of Media Literacy Education (Routledge, 2017). She earned her EdD in curriculum and instruction leadership, MS in instructional design and technology, and BS in elementary and middle school teaching from Northern Illinois University.

Research Areas:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

iSchool researchers to present at CHI 2025

iSchool faculty and students will present their research at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025), which will be held from April 26 to May 1 in Yokohama, Japan. 

Undergraduate Research Symposium features iSchool students and mentors

Several iSchool undergraduate students will participate in the 18th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. During the event, visitors will learn about undergraduate research projects through oral and poster presentations, creative performances, and art exhibits. All are welcome to attend the symposium, which will be held on April 24 from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. in the Illini Rooms and South Lounge of the Illini Union. Oral presentations will be held on the second floor of the Illini Union.

Wang wins grand prize at Research Live!

Informatics PhD student Olivia Wang won the Grand Prize at the 2025 Research Live! competition, which was held on April 8 in the Campus Instructional Facility Atrium. At the event, which is hosted by the Graduate College, thirteen finalists presented their graduate research in three minutes or less to a general audience. Wang received $500 as the Grand Prize winner.

Olivia Wang

Zhou defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou successfully defended his dissertation, "A Pragmatic and Human-centered Approach to Promoting Software Accessibility: Design, Education, Governance," on April 3.

Zhixuan Zhou

Knox appointed interim dean

Professor Emily Knox has been appointed to serve as interim dean of the School of Information Sciences, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. Until officially approved, her title will be interim dean designate. The appointment will begin April 1, 2025.

Emily Knox