Back in the day, many post secondary institutions implemented a campus-wide requirement for a “computer literacy requirement.” In the late 1980’s or even early ’90’s this made sense. Any undergraduate ought to be broadly educated, at least to some degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the turn of the century, these tests had outlived their usefulness. Incoming freshmen students typically had been using computers for years, and knew perfectly well how to use a computer, and even the Internet. Where I taught we finally scrapped the “computer literacy requirment” and happily gave up the enormous adminstrative load it entailed: tracking which students had completed the requirement, which ones did so by taking a class, which by testing out of it, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the profession, computing education moved on from “literacy” to “competency.” It was defined as the difference between being able to use a computer now<\/em> versus being savvy enough to be able to maintain<\/em> your “literacy” over many years<\/strong>, as the technology changed. By now, of course, it is changing ever more rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then one day a new faculty member in the Education realm came to campus and he soon felt we ought to re-implement a “computer literacy requirement.” He even had it worked out: he knew of a company that would (for a fee) develop a 100-question terminology test all about Microsoft Office, administer it, and maintian all completion records. I tried to discuss with this individual the outdated mindset of such an approach. He wasn’t interested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I would agree that many students, who were adept users of all kinds of application software, might not know the exact technical terminology of various finer points of Microsoft Office. But I could not see how forcing them to pick up these specific words would enhance their terminology skills, nor make them better computers users or better students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exasperated, I came up with a Computer Literacy Test of my own, which I felt was really more in line with computer competency<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is, by now, quite dated. But the point remains valid. Consider my suggestion to what a student ought to know, on their own<\/strong>, versus cramming to pass an unnecessary 100 question multiple choice test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Provided: a computer with an active Internet connection, two application installer files, a printer (which is not installed on that computer) and that printer’s installation CD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tasks<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notes<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A computer literate individual should be able to complete these tasks in less than one hour. The expectation is that the average completion time would be near thirty minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Back in the day, many post secondary institutions implemented a campus-wide requirement for a “computer literacy requirement.” In the late 1980’s or even early ’90’s this made sense. Any undergraduate ought to be broadly educated, at least to some degree. By the turn of the century, these tests had outlived their usefulness. Incoming freshmen students … Continue reading From the archive: Computer Literacy Test<\/span>
\n\n\n\n
Computer Literacy Test<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n
\n