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eZedia News
A New Definition of Technological Literacy
By Dr. Geoffrey Fletcher
Executive Director, T.H.E. Institute
T.H.E. Journal Online
September 2003
The other day I was reading Title II, Part D - Enhancing Education Through Technology in the No Child Left Behind Act again. (I know what you're thinking: Get a life Geoff!). In all the requirements that states and local districts are to comply with to get their money, two are interesting when looked at together.
One statement is in the goals area: "To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability."
The other statement is number 13 of the 15 required sections of a state's application for funds. The state is to provide: "A description of how the State educational agency will ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curricula and instructional strategies in all schools in the State, so that technology will be fully integrated into the curricula and instruction of the schools by Dec. 31, 2006."
The more things change, the more they stay the same. This caused me to think back a couple of decades to reflect on how far we have come in technology and education. In the mid-1980s, when I was a computer coordinator, Texas (and a few other states) required that all students in seventh or eighth grade take a one-semester course in computer literacy. Back then, computer literacy meant a little programming, a little history and ethics, a little spreadsheets and databases, and a lot of word processing. They didn't have to pass the course, but at least they had been exposed to computers. The state called for computer literacy textbooks, and school districts statewide set up computer literacy labs in middle schools for the course.
While some of us talked about integrating technology throughout the curriculum back then, we were focused on computer literacy. An unintended consequence of that requirement in the 1980s was to militate against integrating technology throughout the curriculum and instruction in two ways. First, all the hardware and software that we purchased went to satisfy the computer literacy requirement. While this flurry of purchasing lowered the student-to-computer ratio to an unheard of 38-to -1, it also concentrated the technology in a lab and restricted that lab to computer literacy. Second, and maybe even more important, is that only one or two teachers - the computer literacy teachers - had any need or requirement to use technology with students. Only the computer literacy teachers received the state training. It is hard to integrate technology without the technology or the training.
The seeming similarity between the requirement for computer literacy in the 1980s and the requirement for technological literacy is much more than the difference between the words "computer" and "technology." Training and professional development still is woefully inadequate (that is a topic for a later newsletter). But from the hardware perspective, today we are at a 3.8-1 (that is 3 point 8) student-to-computer ratio, and virtually every teacher has his or her own computer in the classroom. Another key difference is the applications and tools students use are much more powerful and complex in what they can do, yet incredibly simple to use.
A case in point is a suite of tools from eZedia that allow students to use a variety of media in learning. In the computer literacy days, the emphasis was on learning a software package; now, students can use technology to perform their work - learning. Part of the learning process is creating real-world products. In the business world of today, information typically is presented in a multimedia format. Complex problems and their solutions can be shown through digital photos, video clips, sound files, graphics as well as text. For most students, creating multimedia products is more engaging than just writing, and the end product is more compelling. In addition, using multimedia and creating multimedia products stretches students to think in different ways and to draw relationships among ideas in ways they would not normally by just writing.
eZediaMX allows students to incorporate all major media file formats (.mov, .mp3, .wav, .jpg, .gif, etc.) by simply dragging and dropping into eZedia MX. It has full graphic transparency, smooth text, QuickTime effects, true layering and real-time compositing. It also encourages students to create interactivity in products by linking media and creating chains of events or actions that can be triggered by simply drawing arrows. Students can create buttons with one click to navigate between frames, files, applications and Web sites. The resultant presentations can include slide shows, animations and interactive CD-ROM projects using simple drag-and-drop technology. One particularly compelling feature of eZediaMX is Non-Destructive Video Editing. This allows students to resize or change the playback sequence of movies, while the original movie file maintains its integrity. They also can animate movies, record voice-overs and sounds as well as draw shapes and add text.
Not only are these easy-to-use and powerful tools, eZedia seems to realize that teachers still need help and support as they use the tools with students. To that end, they offer online training on using eZedia products. These are short (45 minute), practical online sessions that teachers can participate in anytime, anywhere they have access to a computer. In addition, eZedia has teamed with nationally known experts such as David Thornburg to offer on-site workshops that incorporate eZedia products as well as other aspects to integrating technology throughout the curriculum and instruction.
Given this definition, the two statements from NCLB that I cited at the beginning of this article are not counterproductive as they were in the mid 1980s. The new definition of technological literacy, that assumes powerful tools such as eZediaMX and eZediaQTI, actually helps teachers integrate technology throughout the curriculum and instruction. Coupled with the training and workshops, teachers can reach this goal if they have the tools.
It is quite a different world from the mid-1980s.
Copyright © 2003 T.H.E. Journal L.L.C. All rights reserved.
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