Information Technology Literacy in the ERA of the Ubiquitous Information Technologist: Panel Discussion
Abstract
In the near future, everyone will be an information technologist. However, realization of the relevance of information technology literacy is more widespread in higher education than are well-articulated institutional programs to assess and amplify IT competencies. There is a cultural and historical momentum behind the assessment of reading, writing and arithmetic; not so for information technology. As such, IT competencies are not emphasized in some high schools, not assessed at many universities, and not included in assessments such as the SAT and ACT. Moreover, there are no generally accepted standards for what constitutes IT literacy. In this panel, we will discuss the complex IT literacy construct and its various incarnations (i.e., information literacy, computer literacy, and so on), provide an overview of the proposed NAEP Technological Literacy Framework to be implemented in 2014, introduce a model of IT literacy, make recommendations for the proliferation of IT literacy standards, and prescribe strategies for moving toward broad implementation of IT assessment and amplification at all levels of education.