Computer Literacy
What will this mean in 2005?
What do we mean by computer
literacy?
• If you are computer literate are you
fluent?
“Both information literacy and FIT
are essential to use information
technology effectively”
Literacy and FITness are interrelated but distinct
According to the National Research
Council
• Being Fluent with Information Technology
Encompasses
Intellectual Capabilities
Information literacy focus
A set of intellectual capabilities, conceptual knowledge, and contemporary skills associated with information technology
• Deals with content and communication: finding, organizing and analyzing information -research, assessment and evaluation
• Takes the form of text images, video, simulations, multimedia, interactivity
The National Academy of Engineering
Technically Speaking, 2002
The technology literate citizen
• Has knowledge –everyday pervasiveness, use, tradeoffs between costs and benefits
• Understands benefits and risks, seeks information about new technologies, participates in (ways of thinking and acting)
• Can apply capabilities
Intellectual Capabilities
• Able to apply productively to work and
everyday lives in complex situations
understanding consequences
• Understands when IT assists or impedes
• Adapts to changes and advancements
• Involves communications, information
processing, and problem solving
Referencing the Computer Science
and Telecommunications Board
• One who is fluent with technology (FIT)
– Engages in sustained reasoning – defines, clarifies, revises, tests etc. using programs, design tools,
visualization and modeling environments, web resources
– Manages complexity involving a number of tasks as problem clarification, solution formulation, design, implementation,, testing, evaluating the outcome
• Plans, designs, integrates, responds to the unexpected, diagnoses (debugs)
• Manages resources – memory, storage, bandwidth, time effective benchmarks
Intellectual capabilities for FIT continued Testing a solution
• Understands design meets user needs. • Tests a solution • Comprehends the
connections between iterative design, testing, implementation
• Organizes and navigates information structures
FITness
• Manage faulty solutions
• Ability to find and evaluate information
– Reading a manual– Using online help
– Applying Boolean logic
– Evaluating sources and information- valid, relevant, timely, complete, accurate.
• Collaborate – work in groups to complete
a complex project
• Communicate at appropriate levels
FITness
• Expect the unexpected – understanding the whole picture, additional needs, changes, add-ons, budgetary changes
• Anticipate changing technologies
• Think about IT abstractly – related to culture, policies, embedded procedures, hierarchy, power structure
• Becoming independent lifelong learners so can adapt to new technologies
Conceptual Foundations of IT Contributing to FIT
• The programming sequence – programming fundamentals/structures , algorithmic thinking • Basics of Information systems – hardware,
software, people, processes, networks,
data/information, interfaces, storage, security, privacy
• Digital representation
• Information organization – forms, structure
FIT Technology Skills
• Connecting the parts of a PC and its major peripherals – learning about cables, ports • Using basic operating system features
• Using a word processor to create a text document
• Using software for graphics, art work, illustrations – presentation software • Connecting to a network
• Using the Internet to find information –
FIT technology skills continued
• Using a computer to communicate with
others
• Using a spreadsheet to model
• Using a database system to set up and
access useful information
Is the distinction between fluency and literacy real or a problem for virtual reality?
What else? Privacy and Data Mining?
Photographic truth? Issues for informed citizens?
Upon successful completion
of a course in computer
literacy
What should a
Competencies to be Learned?
• Upon successful
completion, the student will be able to
– Define “computer” and its role in converting data into information
– Describe computer
categories and their roles – Identify input, processing,
storage, output hardware and peripherals
– Explain the difference between system and application software
- Identify interface elements prompts,
menus, graphical objects, commands
- Use documentation resources: manuals,
tutorials, and online help - Understand the computer
market by analyzing
computer advertisements for price, technical
More competencies
• Define computer compatibility • Select the best application
software for a task
• Understand physical and logical storage
• Format a disk – Why?
• Create valid file and folder names
• Understand architecture – ROM, RAM, virtual memory, cache, CMOS, factors effecting CPU performance, expansion boards, busses transporting bits and bytes. Word size • Apply telecommunication
technology for research and communicating – email, FTP, Telnet, search engines,
Activities Supporting Outcomes
• Tutorials • Cases • Projects
• Write an essay using Boolean logic to find sources online and format, edit, insert a picture
• Design a computer
configuration using online sites such as Dell or
Activities
• Create a spreadsheet for data presentation,
decision support, and graphing – e.g. a budget
• Create a Power Point presentation
• Create an effective web page for web publication
• Create a chart using Paint
• Identify issues relating to computer crime, security, and privacy and present findings in a table
More Activities
