Ohio IT Skills Blog

Testing for Technology Literacy :: Inside Higher Ed

Link: Inside Higher Ed :: Testing for Technology Literacy.

The California State University system has been active in helping the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in developing a test for information literacy for students in college - that development is just about complete.

While there is a fairly well-accepted feeling that young people are somehow automatically imbued with technological knowledge, research shows something very different.  Students need a focus dedicated to using technology properly and with productive goals in mind.  And, of course, "information" literacy incorporates all media -  television, advertising, print media, etc. - not just the Internet or computer-based resources.

The ETS program is an assessment - not an educational program - that challenge now lies with the higher ed institutions themselves.  Here in Ohio, most of the 4-year universities are addressing this information in some way - the availability of a standard assessment will no doubt help.

Meanwhile, in parallel with knowing how to interpret media - everyone should have the skills to use that information efficiently - and that's where the ICDL program comes in.  Combined with the fact that the vast majority of the workforce will not have access to these new higher ed initiatives for a decade or more, Ohio Computing Unlimited's facilitation of computer literacy with program like ICDL will be a lifeline for many years to come.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

Visit to Cambridge-Zanesville

Had a terrific trip today to the eastern part of Ohio.

First, stopped to visit with Dave Pendleton and the crew at the ICDL Testing Center at the Test Center at Zane State in Cambridge.  Lively discussion followed a quick demo of how the system works, and how the program can appeal to Zane's constituents.  Zane has invested in the ICDL program and staff are looking to promote the certification through their computing classes starting this fall.

Then I headed back to Zanesville to meet with Rob Guentter and Sue Gibson and their staff at the Mid-East Career Center.  They have organized virtually their entire program around certifications - not just for the exercise - but so that each student who goes through one of their career programs leaves with a professional certificate from a recognized agency or association - a substantive addition to the student's resume.  And a strong indicator of quality and commitment for any employer considering their students for hire.

And that's really what the ICDL program is all about as well.  We are creating a new horizontal class of professional throughout the workforce these days.  Regardless of the business focus, product, market or industry - there are large numbers of people whose responsibility is to create access to data and an increasingly valuable collection of information resources - using these computer thingies. 

Love-hate relationship with technology - so it may be - but completely necessary - vital to any enterprise - and essential for any current or prospective employee.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

Video now available - ICDL the Movie!

ICDL- The Movie!  (5 minutes - Windows Media Player only)

A new video - including my face and voice - summarizes the ICDL program, purpose and audience in about 5 minutes.  Won't win a prize at Cannes - but hopefully sets the stage for specific questions about  applicability and implementation.

Check it out!

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

ICDL in Celina

People are really terrific - I have greatly enjoyed getting out to Ohio campuses and meeting the people who are responsible for conducting business and teaching classes and working in their communities on a day-to-day basis. The Wright State University - Lake Campus - right on the banks of Grand Lake at St. Mary's - is a beautiful facility. And walking around looking at the walls and showcases of the main building, and eavesdropping here and there on conversations - it's obvious that the people in this community care about each other and care about the area in which they live and work. Great fun. Need to get wireless in there, though!

This event will be the last in our series of pilots  with the International Computer Driving License (ICDL), as we  move to take action on a program to increase levels of computer and IT literacy around Ohio.  This is the latest event after our pilots in Newark, Youngstown and Columbus.

Judy Miller did a great job of finding, around the Celina area, a mix of students, local employed staff, and a couple of people working with the local JFS office to find a job and looking for ways to improve their skills to accomplish that. We had 16 testers and just each of the previous events there were a number who took off running and whipped through all 7 of the test modules, and others who struggled mightily. Even those who were struggling felt that this was knowledge they ought to have - and they will be back to complete the certificate after the pilots and when we get the make-up procedure in place.

I had a conversation with one young lady who did very well and completed the certificate in good time - and told me about some of the tough times that have struck Celina - just as plant closures and cut-backs have affected other areas. Though young, she had observed older workers who never expected to have to deal with computers - suddenly spending time in basic classes learning the fundamentals of turning on and using a computer. It's rough. And she agreed that a widespread computer literacy program across the state - all culminating in the same outcome - a test like ICDL - would be a boon for employers who not only would get more value for their investments in equipment and software, but would be able to better judge the abilities of hiring prospects - and would have a,leg up on additional specialized training that might be required for their particular business.

Bad news is that we have decided to suspend - at least - next week's test event scheduled for Lima at Rhodes State. For whatever reason, the stars were not aligned to get enough people in that spot at that moment to allow it to happen.

Not necessarily a bad thing, though. This will give me extra time to tabulate results of all the events - we have now benefited from the time and insights of more than 75 people around the state - and give us the information we need to go forward.

Don't even think there won't be more to come on this - and soon!

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

ICDL in Columbus

On the road again ... well, not so far as Youngstown (last week's event) this time. Since I'm based in Columbus, this pilot event was just down the road a bit. But not so for others. Some of our participants came from Zanesville, Chilicothe and Marion, as well as around the central Ohio region.

The purpose of this event was to introduce the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) approach to a number of people who influence decision-making about education, computer literacy and training and related subjects. It was an opportunity to let people dive into the experience as real testers, but still put on their "just trying this out" hat if things didn't go too well. The amazing thing was the number of people who are used to offering and giving tests - but are very unaccustomed to taking them.

This is the latest of our ICDL pilot events, following Newark and Youngstown.

We had a great deal of support from ICDL at this event because of the technical problems at the Youngstown event last week. ICDL President Grant Castle was in attendance, and enjoyed talking with individual testers as they took a break or completed their session. The results of the survey remain to be tabulated, but the general feel was still very positive - and this is a pretty tough crowd. Eighteen attended - and among the group were people who influence decisions about training thousands of State employees. One certainly cannot argue against a better informed and more flexible public workforce would be a bad thing. Also in attend ace were private sector employers and a number of educators.

My special thanks to Mary Simpson of Columbus State for the use of the temporary home of Business & Industry Training Services on Goodale Blvd., and the above-and-beyond help of Dave Watts for his support in preparing the computer lab. Dave, and Steve Ottana (technical specialist for ICDL) and I spent a lot of extra time under some hard circumstances, and it is appreciated.

More to come ....

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

ICDL in Youngstown

Today I participated in an energetic pilot test event of the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) at the Youngstown State University Metro Campus. Our host was Julie Sharrow, and she had a computer lab set up and ready to go for an expected 20 or so testing participants.  This is all part of our plan to take an active program to increase computer literacy in Ohio, working with our partner the Enterprise Ohio Network.  And this is our second pilot event, after the initial experience in Newark in June.

A total of 16 testers actually showed up and, after a brief introduction, dived into the test environments. We had a few technical difficulties (ICDL says they are not generally set-up for a whole lot of people hitting the enter key at the same time - practically speaking their testing is more spread out in time over a day). But we got through the problems thanks to the help of Jeff Cuff of ICDL, Julie's persistence and the patience of our testers.

Beyond those issues - the results appear to be very similar to our Newark experience in June. A number of people got through all the modules and earned their certificates in that single sitting (I won't have an exact number until I have the time to tabulate the results) - and others had varying degrees of difficulty. One thing we noticed was that very experienced user can be at a bit of a disadvantage in these tests. The questions are designed for entry level users - and the testing software can't handle complex keyboard shortcuts - so experienced people who haven't clicked on an icon in years can be taken by surprise.

In the main, however, even with the technical issues we encountered, it looks like the testers survey forms returned to me after the event are almost exclusively positive and on the "would recommend" side.

More to come next week ...

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

EON - a computer literacy power player

One of the beautiful things about the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) approach to certifying computer and IT literacy is that they publish their syllabus, and - while they do offer some various courseware opportunities - they really don't care where the tester acquires his/her information. They are "training agnostic" in that sense.

So I am fortunate to have a partner in the exploration of the potential of ICDL in Robert Johnson, who coordinates and sometimes manages (encourages, implores, entices, etc. etc.) the business/industry organizations in all the 53 campuses of the Enterprise Ohio Network. EON helps the regional campuses of larger schools and the community colleges in the state to reach out into their communities, and find ways to help provide education and training services to area businesses, and other audiences. They do a great job at this sort of thing - offering short seminars, full-blown courses - even custom-designed curricula in some cases - for specialized audiences that might not otherwise think to look to the higher education infrastructure in their areas.

Hence the natural opportunity to help promote a common outcome like ICDL for a broad initiative in education around computer and IT literacy, regardless of business, educational attainment, or location in the state. EON campuses are used to assessing the need of an audience and then designing an educational experience that will meet that need. Well, we all know that in any community there are people who know a lot about computer and people who know next to nothing. If we want them all to be successful with a common outcome like the ICDL, then we need to have educational opportunity designed for people wherever they happen to fall along that spectrum. Some people may need a 2-hour refresher to fill in enough gaps to be successful. Other people may need to focus on the content of only one or two modules. Other people may need to begin at the very beginning and work their way up to understanding and being conversant with all 7 of the concept areas of the ICDL.

Who better to design those experiences - and help people make the right choices - and ultimately succeed - that the people who have been doing that every day at the EON campuses?

So Robert and I have been very pleased to begin working together to explore the possibilities. He and EON and EON's director Michael Taggart - are heavily involved in a variety of workforce development initiatives - in partnership with the EON campuses - in specific industries, in specific locations. And they completely sympathize with the premise that computer and IT literacy is a fundamental consciousness necessary for success in virtually any field, and virtually any job - today and for the years to come.

EON is a natural player and partner in the effort to expand computer literacy around the state. Our pilot programs are all based in EON campus locations and EON liaisons are playing the key roles in getting the pilots organized and up and running.

ICDL's flexibility - combined with the broad spectrum of EON's capabilities - could make the evangelism of computer literacy a lot more effective for Ohio.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

Computer Literacy - Time to act

The powers that be in education and the employer communities are increasingly reaching the conclusion that has been obvious to many of us as individuals for many years: Computer literacy is now as fundamental and as necessary as reading and basic math skills. If you can't interpret an application's interface, or understand when to use the basic keys on a computer keyboard - you are functionally disabled in the job market. Many employers now have even their job applications online - if you don't know how to get to them - you are not even going to get in line to interview for a job.

Many programs have been proposed launched, attempted, and then generally abandoned over recent history - to deal with the need to provide better and further training in computing skills. We have found a program that we believe will help incentivize both workers and employers to be more supportive of a comprehensive basic education in computing, and at the same time help make the workforce of Ohio more effective and competitive overall. It's called - I kid you not - the International Computer Driving License (ICDL).

The ICDL is an internationally-known and carefully validated certification intended primarily for consumers of information technology, especially computers. The program is focused on a series of 7 modular tests, each covering a key concept or application: basic computing concepts, file management, Internet and email, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation and database software. Because dealing with these things in the abstract is difficult, ICDL uses Windows XP and Microsoft Office applications as representative examples of these functions. While it's true that other operating environments and applications are out there - like Linux and Mac - the fact (unfortunate though you may think it) is that Microsoft dominates the market - and a worker is well-advised to include this experience in his/her training - because the odds are far more likely the job will require specific MS knowledge than Linux or Mac.

In June of this year, we ran a "pilot" test event for the ICDL. Working with Judy O'Dwyer of the Newark campus of OSU and the Central Ohio Technical College, we offered a number of people - from a broad variety of backgrounds - the opportunity to come in - basically with no special preparation (not the way this kind of testing is generally managed, by any means) - and take their best shot at the 7 certification tests.

Twenty-seven people took us up on the offer. Secretaries and administrative assistants, a school principal, computing instructors, students (including one high school student), people from the private sector as well as employees of the university - all showed up and spent some 4-5 hours going through these tests. Thirteen of them were completely successful and earned their ICDLs that day. The others did not successfully complete one or more of the module tests, and will come back to try again.

We asked some opinions of the participants, and they were universally supportive of the concept - they felt that the ICDL tested their knowledge of the subject matter, and did it generally fairly and thoroughly.

So we are going to try the pilot idea again. Over this month of September, we are planning four more events. I'll keep you posted on the results and the implications.

More to come ....

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

Connectivism, the blog

Connectivism is all about learning. It makes sense that you must start leading someone else to knowledge by beginning with the knowledge they have, and building from there. It does makes sense, doesn't it? So what's the question. The Connectivism Blog

is thought-provoking, and leads one to question the way you deal not only with students, but superiors and underlings, family members, the guy at the garage, and others. Well worth the time to check out!

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)