Students show lack of computer skills
Published Oct. 27, 2006
The Educational Testing Service is conducting studies that could reveal a lack of "information literacy" among college and high school students, said ETS spokeswoman Karen Bogan.
Though the studies are not yet completed and no findings have been released, Bogan said so far it looks like technology information is an area in which students need improvement.
"Students can use a computer to download music for their iPod or send instant messages, but what we're finding is that some don't know how to create a spreadsheet or download an attachment, which is important here in the 21st century," Bogan said.
The test that ETS uses to determine technological literacy is called the Information and Communication Technology Literacy Assessment and is given at two levels. High school and first-year college students are encouraged to take the Core Assessment while students entering their junior year of college usually take the Advanced Assessment.
"We created this test with a panel of professors, administrators and experts and came up with a definition of what it means to be 'technologically literate,'" Bogan said. "The test is more than just a measure of how good a student is with technology. They have to apply what they know to complete various tasks in a technological environment."
Bogan said part of the reason the test is so effective is because of how interactive it is.
"The test is set up in a workplace or school scenario where a real life situation is presented," Bogan said.
ETS hopes students will become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses as a result of taking the test, which is open to all students attending universities that are part of the association affiliated with ETS. Only one Big 12 school, the University of Texas, is part of the association right now.
Another unique feature of the test is the way it is scored.
"Students are not just scored on whether or not they get the answer right, but how they approach and solve the problem," Bogan said. "Although we don't have raw numbers, we're finding that students are generally only getting half of the possible points on each test."
Bogan said what ETS is finding might surprise people who think that the younger generation is technologically savvy.
MU does several things to help students become more technologically literate, according to Coordinator of Learning Technologies Sally Foster of the Learning Center.
"I think MU does a pretty good job," she said. "The math department provides instruction in software to orient students to its use in calculus courses. IATS provides wonderful free classes in lots of software, and most faculty that I know do whatever they can to help orient students to Blackboard, WebCT and other software that their courses use."
Foster said she thought it was hard to define technological literacy.
"Do students find technology challenging? Yes," Foster said. "Do students come up against electronic tools and environments that they don't know how to navigate? Sometimes. But it is such a dynamic environment, it isn't possible to keep up with all aspects of it."
The Learning Center also has many ways to make students aware of Internet resources. Foster said the center runs three online writing support services and collaborates with the School of Nursing for one of them. The Online Writery is a two-day computer orientation workshop for distance education nursing students.
"I help introduce them to the electronic environment as the site of their classroom, emphasizing the ways they can personalize it, understand it, adapt it, enjoy it and recognize that everyone is overwhelmed by technology, she said."
Bogan said some schools are incorporating ICT into their courses.
"It's being integrated into some classes at some universities," Bogan said. "Some schools are using the findings as a wake-up call."
