Tech Literacy Brief
-
Upload
brett-sparrgrove -
Category
Documents
-
view
216 -
download
0
Transcript of Tech Literacy Brief
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
1/13
Introduction
It is hard to deny that the development of modern information and communication
technology (ICT) has had a profound impact on how we communicate, share ideas, solve
problems and get answers. With regard to education, ICT has likely changed the way we
learn - in many ways, putting the learner in control of the learning model; but have
classroom teachers kept pace with this shift in educational practice? Teachers and
students now have the ability to get answers to many of their questions with just a few
clicks of the mouse - or taps on an mobile phone. They can share classroom projects with
students down the hall or across an ocean. They can collaboratively solve problems with
little regard to time and distance - the Internet is open 24 hours a day and travels at
speeds approaching the instantaneous. However, in order to take advantage of the
tremendous potential ICT represents, teachers and students must be literate in this new
medium. Taking its place alongside the traditional "Three R's", technology literacy is a
new basic skill that many leading education advocates and organizations feel students
must master (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008; The Partnership
for 21st Century Skills, State Educational Technology Directors Association; U.S.
Department of Education, 2004). The belief is based on the premise that preparing
today's generation of students for a lifetime of ICT use should be conducted hand-in-hand
with teaching them to read, write and think mathematically. To do this successfully,
school leaders will need to hire technology literate teachers who are comfortable, capable
technology users able to provide students with adequate opportunities to apply a growing
and changing variety of ICT applications. However, it will be difficult to ensure that
faculty and staff members are "tech literate" until school leaders are able to identify,
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
2/13
define, discuss, model, and evaluate exactly what a "tech literate" teacher is able to do.
In other words, what does technology literacy look like, how will it be acquired, and how
will it be accurately assessed? The purpose of this brief is to present some common
definitions of technology literacy, provide some guidance about how to assess it and start
a discussion about the role of the educational administrator in promoting it.
What is technology literacy?
Technology (ICT) literacy is a common expression frequently used by educators
and the general public. Due to the familiarity of the term, and the ease with which it is
used, it might appear that there is a clear, shared meaning of what it means and what
characteristics form the foundation of the term. The reality is that there is no clearly
agreed upon meaning of technology literacy and the term itself is actually quite
complicated to define. Many educators, even those who are tech savvy, are likely
confused by the competing meanings and often ambiguous definitions surrounding the
phrase. Despite this lack of shared meaning, the Federal Government believed that
developing technology literacy (whatever it is) was important enough to include it in
federal law, stating that all students must be technology-literate by the time they exit 8th
grade (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001; U.S. Department of Education, 2004).
Unfortunately, they fell short in providing a definition of what technology literacy means,
leaving it up to individual states to determine the (potentially conflicting) details and
ultimately, how to assess if students have "achieved it" or not. As the examples below
illustrate, many of these definitions are vague and provide seemingly little guidance in
how school leaders should proceed in developing technology literacy among teachers and
students. They do, however, represent a starting point for the discussion. For example:
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
3/13
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
4/13
2007). Some states, like Georgia, have essentially merged the SETDA and ISTE
definitions together and describe tech literacy as the ability of students to use the tools of
their society with skill in an ethical, accurate, and insightful manner to meet the demands
of the 21st century workplace and world. This includes the ability to use appropriate
technology responsibly to solve problems and to create knowledge and learning by:
accessing: managing; evaluating and analyzing; integrating and synthesizing; and
communicating information (Georgia Department of Education, n.d.). As of 2007, 29
states were using the ISTE or SETDA definition, the remaining 22 states - including the
District of Columbia - had their own unique definition or were using some other
organization-created definition (SETDA, 2007).
So, what is technology literacy? From the definitions above, perhaps the most
interesting aspect to note that is that the emphasis is not actually on the technology.
Rather, it is more about using technology tools to foster the "soft skills" that students are
hypothesized to need in order to be productive citizens in an increasing global society. In
a way, this seems appropriate since literacy skills include those that everyone should have
for civic participation; skills that are useful for a lifetime and within reach of just about
everyone. This does not mean that the acquisition of technology-specific skills are not
important. Teachers and students must know how to use the technology tools in order to
apply them to a given task, however, the focus should remain on the task... not the use of
a specific tool. In other words, ICTs are just tools; their contribution to improve learning
depends on how they are used (Chen, Healy, Resnick, Lipper, Lazarus, & Dede, 2000).
Therefore, education leaders should focus on how ICT can be applied to learning
outcomes and not on the acquisitions of specific technology skills (like how to cut &
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
5/13
paste) or frequency of use. The important concept here is that the acquisition of specific
technology skills will come from using the tools within a larger, pedagogical context.
Why is technology literacy important?
For many groups and individuals, creating a tech literate population is one of the
key components to the growth and economic survival of the United States. The US
government figures that the mastery and application of technologies by individuals is
critical for America to successfully compete in the global economy (U.S. Department of
Education, 2004). This sentiment has been echoed by many within the scientific and
corporate worlds who state that the need for young people to receive better preparation in
STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and math, justifies the need for
creating a technology literate educational realm (Partnership for 21st Century Skills,
2008). Given the tremendous impact ICT has already had on the global market place
(Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2005) it's easy to
understand why students will need to exit formalized schooling with a solid foundation
that includes the skills surrounding technology literacy.
Whether or not the creation of a tech literate population is key to the survival of
the American economy, it is clear that technology has become a central force that fuels
the daily life for American youth. In 2005, a report noted that 87% of American
adolescents use the Internet, 81% play online games, 76% read online news, and 51%
claim to go online on a daily basis (Lenhart, Madden, & Hitlin, 2005). It is highly
probably that these numbers have increased over the past 4 years. Given that youth must
become ICT literate in order to successfully consume and produce in online spaces
(Black & Steinkuehler, 2009) the consequences of not facilitating tech literacy
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
6/13
acquisition during the school day are potentially substantial. While these two rationales
form the foundation of the arguments for promoting technology literacy, there are other
reasons including research that shows positive benefits to student achievement through
the thoughtful use of technology (Lei & Zhao, 2007), the importance of raising awareness
to the dangers of the Internet (online bullying, identity theft, copyright issues, fraud, etc.),
and the need to understand the processes and conventions of the online community
(Black & Steinkuehler, 2009).
Of course, it is hypothesized that the many potential educational benefits and
student achievement gains facilitated through the thoughtful application of an ICT is not
going to happen until teachers and students are technology literate. School administrators
can certainly play a role in getting teachers to improve their own understanding of how
the use education technology can support, enhance, and transform their teaching
practices.
Role of school administrators in promoting technology literacy
The adoption of computers and other technology initiatives by classroom teachers
has been a slow and often unsuccessful process. A number of studies have concluded
that many computer-based technologies are infrequently used or unused in most schools
(Becker, 2001; NCES 2000; Zhao, Pugh, Sheldon, & Byers, 2002). What use there is
often remains peripheral and minimal with low pedagogic meaning, frequently limited to
traditional drill and practice exercises, basic word processing applications, and research
or information gathering activities (Lim & Khine, 2006; Sanchez & Salinas, 2008;
Technology Counts, 2004; Vannatta & Fordham, 2004). To change this trend, school
administrators need to be at the forefront of promoting initiatives designed to give
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
7/13
teachers the power to effectively integrate technology into their teaching; not a simple
task.
The biggest challenge for promoting teaching effectiveness in the 21st century is
the ability of teachers to acquire informational literacy competencies and to apply
instructional technology in their teaching (Wen & Shih, 2008). First, leaders need to
ensure that teachers have the proper conditions to use technology with students. The
conditions most cited are: enough access to technology, adequate teacher training,
effective curriculum, relevant and pertinent evaluations, a stimulating school system, and
an encouraging family and community atmosphere (Norris, Soloway, & Sullivan, 2002;
Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin, & Means, 2000). Fortunately, many of these barriers
can be directly influenced by the school administrator assuming the administrator is also
technology literate.
Therefore, perhaps the initial step administrators need to take in promoting
technology literacy is to become tech literate themselves. School administrators need to
understand and believe how positive educational change can be facilitated through the
application of technology tools and applications. ISTE believes that the role of the
school administrator is so pivotal in determining how well technology is used in schools
that they have developed additional National Education Technology Standards (NETS-A)
and Performance Indicators specifically for administrators (ISTE, 2009). Among the
stated indicators of the NETS-A is the mandate that administrators need to "inspire and
facilitate among all stakeholders a shared vision of purposeful change that maximizes use
of digital-age resources to meet and exceed learning goals, support effective instructional
practice, and maximize performance of district and school leaders" (ISTE, 2009).
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
8/13
Technology literate leaders must also take a role in allaying the concerns and fears that
often accompany new technologies, possibly based on a lack of understanding or flat out
ignorance. There is a perception that educational decision makers are quick to shackle
tool functionality or filter content away from students altogether out of a fear that the
technology will be misappropriated. Evidence of this can be seen in school policies
regarding student use of mobile phones, iPods, student owned laptops, access to social
networking sites (ex. facebook, twitter, etc.) and video sharing sites (YouTube).
Technology literate leaders will understand the positive applications these types of
emerging technology tools can bring to the academic and social growth of students and
they will be savvy enough to anticipate and mitigate the negative aspects of the tools.
How do you assess technology literacy?
If a student is literate in reading, that literacy can be measured; the evidence of it
is obvious and quantifiable. It's a bit harder to measure technology literacy, especially
the way it has been defined by the majority of state educational authorities. For example,
how will the state of Virginia measure if students possess the technology skills that will
help them support learning, personal productivity, decision making, and daily life? It is
much easier to assess specific technology skills (like inserting a picture into a MS Word
document) but that sort of assessment has limited value since the definition of technology
literacy goes well beyond simply knowing how to operate a computer or a computer
related device. Technology literacy goes into the knowledge of how to appropriately
apply the plethora of technology tools to solve problems and improve overall quality of
life. Essentially, this means that school leaders will need to identify technology
assessment devices that will measure how well students can utilize their critical thinking
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
9/13
and problem solving skills in a digital environment. There are some commercial products
available that are designed to help schools assess student technology literacy. The iSkills
assessment from Educational Testing Services (ETS) was one such measurement tool but
it was removed from the market in September 2009. Learning.com also sells a tech
literacy assessment - specifically designed for K-8 students - but it appears to only
measure student proficiency with the technology tools, not the "soft skills" represented in
the definitions of technology literacy presented above. School administrators should
consider using other methods to assess technology literacy acquisition among teachers
and students. These alternatives might be electronic portfolios, interviews, narrative
reflections regarding tech integration, performance assessments, and direct observation of
evidence of integrated technology usage. In an atmosphere that mandates so much
quantitative data gathering, administrators should be open to these more qualitative
assessments with regard to measuring technology literacy levels at the schools they lead.
This will hopefully encourage teachers to experiment with and utilize the technology
solutions that match the dynamic problems they are having in their classrooms rather than
only using the prescribed tools and skills that are easily measured.
Conclusion
Technology literacy is a complex concept that is difficult to define and assess but
it's critical that school leaders spend the time coming up with a working knowledge of the
concepts that surround the term and how to "spot it" when they see it. But it is also
important that administrators realize that technology integration is more about teaching
and learning than it is about the technology tools. ICT can support and enhance teaching
- which, in turn, will support and enhance student learning outcomes. Technology can be
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
10/13
used to develop critical thinking skills, content expertise, and lead to authentic learning
activities. ICT allows teachers to have more control over their teaching and provides
students with more opportunities to have increased control over their own learning
(within and outside of school). However, no amount of technology will make an impact
on learning unless teachers are involved in finding new and creative ways to exploit the
tremendous potential it represents; after all technology by itself rarely has an impact on
learning (Montgomery, 1996). Teachers need to put forth a conscious effort to make a
variety of technology tools an integral part of their teaching. Teachers must make the
pedagogical changes necessary to fully take advantage of the digital resources that will
shape the futures of so many young children. The stakes are high and ultimately, it is the
responsibility of the school administrator to create the atmosphere required for this
teaching metamorphosis to occur. An atmosphere that will likely require transformation
in the administrator as well.
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
11/13
References
Black, R.W. & Steinkuehler, C. (2009). Literacy in Virtual Words. In L. Christienbury,
R. Bomer, & P. Smagorinsky (Eds.),Handbook of Adolescent Literacy Research
(pp. 271-286). New York: Guilford Press.
Chen, M., Healy, J., Resnick, M., Lipper, L., Lazarus, W., & Dede, C. (2000). Five
commentaries: Looking to the future. The Future of Children: Children and
Computer Technology, 10, 168-180.
Georgia Department of Education (n.d.). Georgia technology literacy defined. Retrieved
October 6,2009, from http://www.gadoe.org/it.aspx?PageReq=ToolKit.
International Society for Technology in Education (2007). The ISTE National
Educational Technology Standards (NETS-S) and Performance Indicators for
Students. Retrieved October 9, 2009, from
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/
NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf.
International Society for Technology in Education (2008). Honor. Celebrate. Envision:
30 Years of Technology in Education. Retrived October 7, 2009, from
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutISTE/AnnualReports2/ISTE_
Annual_Report_08_09.pdf.
International Society for Technology in Education (2009).National Education
Technology Standards (NETS-A) and Performance Indicators for Administrators.
Retrieved October 9, 2009, from
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForAdministrators/2009Stan
dards/NETS-A_2009.pdf.
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
12/13
Lei, J., & Zhao, Y. (2007) Technology uses and student achievement: A longitudinal
study. Computers & Education, 49, 284-296.
Lenhart, A., Madden, M., & Hitlin, P. (2005). Teens and Technology: Youth are Leading
the Transition to a Fully Wired and Mobile Nation. Washington, DC: Pew
Internet & American Life Project.
Maryland Technology Literacy Consortium (2007). Maryland Education Technology
Standards for Students. Retrieved October 23, 2009, from
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/techlit/docs/Definition%20of
%20Technology%20Literacy.pdf.
Montgomery, K. (1996). Children in the digital age. The American Prospect, 27, 69-74.
NCLB (2001) Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001
Norris, C., Soloway, E., & Sullivan, T. (2002). Examining 25 years of technology in US
education. Communications of the ACM, 45, 15-18.
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (2005).Are students ready
for a technology-rich world: What PISA studies tell us? Retrieved August 13,
2009, from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/28/4/35995145.pdf.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2008). 21st century skills, education and
competitiveness: A resource and policy guide. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/21st_century_skills_education_and_
competitiveness_guide.pdf.
Roschelle, J., Pea, R., Hoadley, C., Gordin, D., & Means, P. (2000). Changing how and
what children learn in school with computer-based technologies. The future of
children. Children and Computer Technology, 10, 76-101.
-
8/14/2019 Tech Literacy Brief
13/13
State Educational Technology Directors Association (2003). Technology literacy:
Definition, criteria and models. Retrieved October 15, 2009, from
http://www.setda.org/toolkit/nlitoolkit/TLA/tla02.htm.
SETDA (unknown). Maximizing the impact: The pivotal role of technology in a 21st
century education system. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from
http://www.setda.org/c/document_library/get_file?
folderId=191&name=P21Book_complete.pdf.
State Educational Technology Directors Association (2007). 2007 Technology literacy
assessment and educational technology standards report. Retrieved October 10,
2009, from http://www.setda.org/c/document_library/get_file?
folderId=247&name=Tech+Lit+MA+11+1+07.doc.
Virginia Department of Education(2002). Educational Technology Plan for Virginia:
2003-2009.
Wen, J.R., & Shih, W.L. (2008) Exploring the information literacy competence standards
for elementary and high school teachers. Computers & Education, 50, 787806
U.S. Department of Education (2004). Toward A New Golden Age in American
Education: How the Internet, the Law and Todays Students Are Revolutionizing
Expectations, Washington, D.C., Office of Educational Technology.