Technological literacy

Last updated

Technological literacy (Technology Literacy) is the ability to use, manage, understand, and assess technology. [1] Technological literacy is related to digital literacy in that when an individual is proficient in using computers and other digital devices to access the Internet, digital literacy gives them the ability to use the Internet to discover, review, evaluate, create, and use information via various digital platforms, such as web browsers, databases, online journals, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and social media sites.

Contents

UNESCO and Technology Literacy

UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) strives to bring technology literacy to students throughout the world by ensuring educators are using technology in every aspect of their teaching. The more students are familiar not only with learning about technology but learning with technology, the more they will be prepared to use technology to improve their lives.

An entire module in their 2011 publication ICT Competency Framework for Teachers focuses on Technology Literacy in the classroom. [2] This publication was updated in 2018 to reflect evolving ICT competencies (Information and Communications Technology). The framework has been used worldwide to develop ICT in education policy, teacher standards, assessment criteria, curriculum design and course-ware development. A highlight in the updated publication shows how the Technology Literacy module was put into action in an ICT in Education curriculum for a bachelor's degree by a university in Latin America and the Caribbean Region, and an associate degree offered by local teacher training colleges. Technology Literacy is the focus of the associate degree and the first two years of the bachelor's degree in Education. Some of the skills and knowledge taught in the program are how to operate computer hardware, learn the terminology and function of hardware components and peripherals (e.g. laptops, printers, storage), and how to troubleshoot if a computer is not working. These all lead to overcoming apprehension or fear of using technology. Another focus topic is word processing, which includes how a word processor operates, how it differs from a typewriter, how to use word processor software on computers, how to format documents, and how to check grammar and spelling. [3]

In 2016, UNESCO detailed how teachers can show Technology Literacy in their classrooms when providing ICT education. Teachers will:

On May 9, 2019, the UNESCO Cairo Office began a technology literacy project to teach basic literacy skills, life skills, and legal empowerment to 150-200 illiterate women between the ages of 15 and 35 living in the Giza Governate. [5]

Sources

Definition of Free Cultural Works logo notext.svg  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO( license statement/permission ). Text taken from UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers, Version 3 , 53-55, UNESCO, UNESCO. UNESCO Digital Library.

Definition of Free Cultural Works logo notext.svg  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO( license statement/permission ). Text taken from Diverse approaches to developing and implementing competency-based ICT training for teachers: a case study , 132, UNESCO Office Bangkok and Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO. UNESCO Digital Library.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adult education</span> Any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling

Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. It can mean any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling, encompassing basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong learner, and to ensure the fulfillment of an individual.

Media literacy is an expanded conceptualization of literacy that includes the ability to access and analyze media messages as well as create, reflect and take action, using the power of information and communication to make a difference in the world. Media literacy is not restricted to one medium and is understood as a set of competencies that are essential for work, life, and citizenship.

The Association of College and Research Libraries defines information literacy as a "set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning". In the United Kingdom, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals' definition also makes reference to knowing both "when" and "why" information is needed.

Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual, that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information.

M-learning, or mobile learning, is a form of distance education where learners use portable devices such as mobile phones to learn anywhere and anytime. The portability that mobile devices provide allows for learning anywhere, hence the term "mobile" in "mobile learning." M-learning devices include computers, MP3 players, mobile phones, and tablets. M-learning can be an important part of informal learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technology education</span>


Technology education or tech ed is the study of technology, in which students "learn about the processes and knowledge related to technology". As a field of study, it covers the human's ability to shape and change the physical world to meet needs, by manipulating materials and tools with techniques. It addresses the disconnect between wide usage and the lack of knowledge about technical components of technologies used and how to fix them. This emergent discipline seeks to contribute to the learners' overall scientific and technological literacy, and technacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer literacy</span> Skill in using computers and digital technology

Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with skill levels ranging from elementary use to computer programming and advanced problem solving. Computer literacy can also refer to the comfort level someone has with using computer programs and applications. Another valuable component is understanding how computers work and operate. Computer literacy may be distinguished from computer programming, which primarily focuses on the design and coding of computer programs rather than the familiarity and skill in their use. Various countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have created initiatives to improve national computer literacy rates.

Technology integration is defined as the use of technology to enhance and support the educational environment. Technology integration in the classroom can also support classroom instruction by creating opportunities for students to complete assignments on the computer rather than with normal pencil and paper. In a larger sense, technology integration can also refer to the use of an integration platform and application programming interface (API) in the management of a school, to integrate disparate SaaS applications, databases, and programs used by an educational institution so that their data can be shared in real-time across all systems on campus, thus supporting students' education by improving data quality and access for faculty and staff.

"Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting... Effective technology integration is achieved when students can select technology tools to help them obtain information on time, analyze and synthesize it, and present it professionally to an authentic audience. Technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions—as accessible as all other classroom tools. The focus in each lesson or unit is the curriculum outcome, not the technology."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in South Africa</span> Overview of education in South Africa

Educational Systems in S.A

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital literacy</span> Competency in using digital technology

Digital literacy is an individual's ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information using typing or digital media platforms. It is a combination of both technical and cognitive abilities in using information and communication technologies to create, evaluate, and share information.

Mark Warschauer is a professor in the Department of Education and the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, where is also the director of the Ph.D. in Education program and founding director of the Digital Learning Lab. He is the author or editor of eight books and more than 100 scholarly papers on topics related to technology use for language and literacy development, education, and social inclusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Information and media literacy</span> Overview of information and media literacy

Information and media literacy (IML) enables people to show and make informed judgments as users of information and media, as well as to become skillful creators and producers of information and media messages. IML is a combination of information literacy and media literacy. The transformative nature of IML includes creative works and creating new knowledge; to publish and collaborate responsibly requires ethical, cultural and social understanding.

Commonly called new media theory or media-centered theory of composition, stems from the rise of computers as word processing tools. Media theorists now also examine the rhetorical strengths and weakness of different media, and the implications these have for literacy, author, and reader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Computers in Education Conference</span>

This National Conference is the biennial conference of the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE). The conference opens to anyone who in interested in sharing their digital teaching experiences. The first conference took place in Melbourne, 1983. Between 1983 and 1996, the conference was held annually across Australia. After 1996, the conference became biennial. From 1994, a series of frameworks were launched in Australia to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into education. Western Australia's 2001 Competency framework for Teachers identified teachers as an important component in developing computer education. In 2010, Education Minister Julia Gillard, proposed an education agenda to provide Australia a better education system. Besides ACCE, there are many organizations and conferences supporting the development of computer education in Australia. Technology in education consists of two major approaches: Learning with technology and learning from technology. Technology in education learning and traditional classroom learning have different focuses and defining features. There are also four types of computer education: Bring your own device(BYOD), blended learning, online learning, and flipped learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital studio</span>

A digital studio provides both a technology-equipped space and technological/rhetorical support to students working individually or in groups on a variety of digital projects, such as designing a website, developing an electronic portfolio for a class, creating a blog, making edits, selecting images for a visual essay, or writing a script for a podcast.

Global citizenship education (GCED) is a form of civic learning that involves students' active participation in projects that address global issues of a social, political, economic, or environmental nature. The two main elements of GCE are 'global consciousness'; the moral or ethical aspect of global issues, and 'global competencies', or skills meant to enable learners to participate in changing and developing the world. The promotion of GCE was a response by governments and NGOs to the emergence of supranational institution, regional economic blocs, and the development of information and communications technologies. These have all resulted in the emergence of a more globally oriented and collaborative approach to education. GCE addresses themes such as peace and human rights, intercultural understanding, citizenship education, respect for diversity and tolerance, and inclusiveness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st century skills</span> Skills identified as being required for success in the 21st century

21st century skills comprise skills, abilities, and learning dispositions identified as requirements for success in 21st century society and workplaces by educators, business leaders, academics, and governmental agencies. This is part of an international movement focusing on the skills required for students to prepare for workplace success in a rapidly changing, digital society. Many of these skills are associated with deeper learning, which is based on mastering skills such as analytic reasoning, complex problem solving, and teamwork, which differ from traditional academic skills as these are not content knowledge-based.

Information Communications Technology is usually included in the Home Economics and Livelihood Education program in grade school and taught through the Technology and Home Economics program in high school. The recent status of ICT education in the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, was surveyed by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in 2011. Using the UNESCO model of ICT Development in Education, the countries were ranked as Emerging, Applying, Infusing or Transforming. The Philippines were ranked at the Infusing stage of integrating ICT in education, indicating that the country has integrated ICT into existing teaching, learning and administrative practices and policies. This includes components such as a national vision of ICT in education, national ICT plans and policies, complementary national ICT and education policies, professional development for teachers and school leaders, community or partnership and teaching and learning pedagogies. A 2012 study reported that public high schools in Metro Manila had a computer to student ratio of 1:63. While 88 percent of schools have internet connections, half of the students claimed not to be using it.

Educational technology in sub-Saharan Africa refers to the promotion, development and use of information and communication technologies (ICT), m-learning, media, and other technological tools to improve aspects of education in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the 1960s, various information and communication technologies have aroused strong interest in sub-Saharan Africa as a way of increasing access to education, and enhancing its quality and fairness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital media in education</span>

Digital Media in education is measured by a person's ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and produce media content and communication in a variety of forms. These media may involve incorporating multiple digital softwares, devices, and platforms as a tool for learning. The use of digital media in education is growing rapidly in today's age, competing with books for the leading form of communication. This form of education is slowly combating the traditional forms of education that have been around for a long time. With the introduction of virtual education, there has been a need for more incorporation of new digital platforms in online classrooms.

References

  1. Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (3 ed.). Reston, Virginia: International Technology Education Association. 2000. pp.  242. ISBN   1-887101-02-0.
  2. "UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers, version 2". unesdoc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  3. "UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers, version 3". unesdoc.unesco.org. 2018. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  4. "Diverse approaches to developing and implementing competency-based ICT training for teachers: a case study". unesdoc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  5. "UNESCO Cairo Office Launches the Project "Technology-enabled Literacy for Marginalized Girls and Women in Giza Governorate" in Collaboration with HQ and Donor 'WeiDong Group of China' | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2019-05-12.