Herb Lin 202-334-3191 hlin@nas

© Copyright, Lawrence Snyder 1999

Be FIT!Fluency with Information Technology

A Report of theCommittee on Information Technology Literacy

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board National Research Council

Herb [email protected]


The Charge

“Everyone” means those in the population at large who wish to use IT effectively.

Reasons are diverse To be productive in the workplace To be an informed citizen To apply IT to personally relevant tasks

“What should everyone know about Information Technology?”


The Scale of the Problem

Information Technology -- information, computers, communications, software broadly defined -- is fundamentally changing the world

Certain changes are worthy of comment ...

Moore’sLaw

NewDomainNames

Grand-motherSendsEmail


Linking The World, Personally

An electronically linked world joins individuals more effectively than papers, TV, phones ... Email is inexpensive, fast, asynchronous, multimedia

person-to-person communication Chatrooms & newsgroups give communication

immediacy to small groups w/ common interests Web pages are a passive introduction to individuals,

allowing people of similar interests to find each other


Nowhere Is Remote

Compare New York, NY and Unalacleet, AK in breadth and immediacy of information access?

For finding a Prague subway map, equal For NASDAQ quotes, equal For answering “How ‘bout them Mets?” equal

Reading the Sydney Morning Herald is equally easy from Sydney, Nova Scotia or Sydney, New South Wales


Depression Is On The Rise

A Carnegie Mellon University study shows a significant rise in depression with as little as one hour per day of Internet usage

Such people had fewer friends Postulated reasons ...

On-line contacts are more superficial than face-to-face contacts

Time spent on-line diminishes the amount of time spent in social activity


English Is Becoming Esperanto Documents in every known language are

doubtless available on-line, but most information is in English ... The post-WWII tradition of English as the language of

science/technology likely contributes Dominance of US information technology industries

also contributes


Freedom Of Speech

For most people Information Technology brings a freedom of speech that has only been available to those with a soapbox, broadcast frequency or printing press Put up what you want Read what you want Say what you want


Rate-Of-Change Perhaps the most daunting component of the

IT transformation underway is its rate Implies urgency in achieving universal access Traditional IT “skills” instruction is inadequate,

because it lacks staying power Premise: “What everyone should know about

IT” cannot be a static prescription, but must provide for change, enable adaptability and promote lifelong learning


Education For A Lifetime

A college education has an expected “useful life” of roughly 55 years ...

What should one learn about information technology for this span, considering that ...

Electronic computers are 53 years old ARPANet came on-line 30 years ago The term “PC,” as in personal computer, is less than 20

yeas old The public has know the WWW less than 5 years

What should the Class of ‘44 have been taught?


The WESKAIT Committee

Committee was inaugurated in August, 1997 Testimony was solicited broadly Communities queried

Business Computer Science Education Library Science Societies Standards Training

CommitteeAlfred Aho Bell LabsMarcia Linn BerkeleyArnold Packer HopkinsLarry Snyder, Chair UWAllen Tucker BowdoinJeffrey Ullman StanfordAndries van Dam Brown


Fluency The committee adopted the term “fluency” at the

suggestion of Yasmin Kafai, UCLA “Literacy” connotes rudimentary knowledge, skills “Computer literacy” is in wide use with a “skills-only”

connotation “Fluency” connotes expertise, the ability to synthesize,

to use the medium effectively Fluency with information technology describes the

objective, and FITness is the term the committee has adopted for it


A Tripartite Solution

Fluency with Information Technology requires the acquisition of three kinds of knowledge

Concepts Skills Capabilities

Concepts, Skills and Capabilities are different dimensions of IT knowledge

Interdependent Co-equal


Skills

Knowing contemporary applications Approximates traditional “computer literacy” Essential for

Job preparedness Education, as a tool making a student productive Learning the other parts of FITness

A moving target, reliant on the state-of-the-art

Example: Use a word processor


Concepts

The foundations of information technology Concepts refer to material that might be called

the “book learning” part of FITness Concepts explain ...

How and why IT works as it does Constraints and limitations on applications Principles on which to build new understanding Ideas that can be used to make IT more

personally relevant

Example: Difference between algorithm and program


Capabilities

Higher level thinking “Life skills” applied to information technology Capabilities entail ...

Abstract thinking Logical reasoning Analysis Judgment, estimation, analogies

The raw material for life-long learning

Example: Engage in sustained reasoning


Knowledge For FITness Fluency is not an end with a fluent/not_fluent test of

achievement It is the basic knowledge -- skills, concepts, capabilities --

necessary for a life-long quest to Acquires new skills and upgrades as needed Understands the foundational concepts better Progressively becomes more capable with IT Generally: Apply IT optimally to meet one’s needs

The take home message: FITness is the foundation for life-long learning ...


Selecting The Key Knowledge

Committee limit: Top 10 items in each type Keep to the plan

FITness is not an end state -- it is a process of life-long learning... so the goal is a sufficient level of introduction

CAUTION: There are 30 topics ...do not envision a 1 topic per lecture course or a 1 topic per chapter book


Ten Skills

Setting up a personal computer Using basic operating system features Using a word processor Using a graphics/artwork/presentation tool Connecting a PC to a network Use the Internet to locate information Using a computer to communicate with others Using a spreadsheet Organizing and querying a database Using online tutorial information


Ten Concepts

What is a computer, how does it work? Information systems Networks Digital representation of information Information structure and assessment Modeling phenomena with computers Algorithmic thinking and programming Universality Limitations Information in society


Ten Capabilities

Engage in sustained reasoning Manage complexity Test a solution Locate bugs in a faulty use of IT Organize and navigate information structures Collaborate with others using technology Communicate IT to other audiences Expect the unexpected Anticipate technological change Think of technologically, learn by analogy


Implementational Issues The report defines the content, but implement-

ational issues for colleges were addressed ... The college/university case is easier

The committee is composed of academics Higher education has more resources than K-12 “Colleges & universities are more flexible [sic]” FITness is essential to present mission, urgent

College students should be FIT when they graduate; FITness should become an entrance requirement


Projects Concepts, skills and capabilities are inter-

dependent and cannot be taught in isolation Projects -- meaning coherent, multiweek

activities to achieve a specific goal using IT -- are the key

Motivate learning skills and exercise them Provide a exposure to several capabilities Provide context for learning concepts

Construct an information system to track HIV testing and notification, and present the designto convince listeners that privacy is maintained


Projects Touch Many Ideas

Construct an information system to track HIVtesting and notification, and present the designto convince listeners that privacy is maintained

Capabilities Sustained ReasoningManage ComplexityTest a SolutionCommunicate ITLocate BugsExpect the Unexpected

Skills Organize DatabaseUse Spread-SheetUse On-line TutorialPresentation ToolsCommunicate With Others

Concepts Information SystemsInformation StructureAlgorithmic ThinkingInformation & SocietyLimitations


Discipline Specific Projects

Ideally, FITness should be taught in the context of a student’s interests or major

Motivation to learn is stronger The results have a direct application

There are impediments ... Freshmen have not chosen majors -- generic Resources are essential -- campus infrastructure Few FIT faculty to teach FITness -- co-taught The role of FITness in curriculum not yet set


Some Challenges For Colleges/Universities

Should FITness instruction be offered to some/all undergraduates? All students?

Is there space in the typical undergraduate schedule for FITness instruction?

How should delivery be mapped onto the units interested and capable of FITness instruction?

Would FITness fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning Requirement?


Summary Fluency in IT is essential to citizens in Info Age FITness entails interdependent knowledge

Skills -- competency with existing applications Concepts -- IT foundations Capabilities -- higher level thinking in IT

FITness, not an end state, but life-long learning Fluency instruction in college is projects-based With the content defined, it is time to implement ...

it is an urgent matter for students