© 2006 Ken Baldauf, All rights reserved. Curriculum Design Computer Literacy Preparing Students for the Real World Ken Baldauf Florida State University.

© 2006 Ken Baldauf, All rights reserved.

CurriculumDesign

Computer Literacy

Preparing Students for the Real World

Ken BaldaufFlorida State University


Session Agenda

Identify goals for the Introductory Technology class Employer Survey Advice of Scholarly Experts

Determine the level at which to begin the class Student Survey

Design the steps to effectively and efficiently meet the goals START


My Background

Computer Literacy @ FSU for past 10 years Courses

CGS2060 Computer Literacy Traditional Classroom Webbased for Mac

CGS2064 Computer Literacy II CGS2100 MicroApps for Business Intro to Media and Mobile Technologies (in dev.) Personal Computer Security (in dev.)


Establishing Goals


College-level Computer Lit

Traditional “Computer Literacy” equips students for college

“College-level Computer Literacy” equips students for their professional life


Pages act as links


Survey Example


Survey Participant Profiles

A National Building Supply Corp.Supplies lumber and building materials as well as value

added services to the house builder and professional contractor. There are 255 branches in 30 US states. The US arm of a large Global Corp.

A National Home Building Corp.A FORTUNE 200 company with operations in 54 markets and 27 states. In 2005, the company delivered 45,630 homes in the U.S. and generated consolidated revenues of $14.7 billion.

A Global Paint and Coatings Corp.Has more than 2,600 company-owned stores in 50 states, Canada, Mexico and is the U.S. market leader in distribution and sales of coatings and coating-related products with yearly revenues exceeding $5 billion and is ranked among the top U.S. Fortune 400 companies

A Global Healthcare IT Solutions Corp.

focused on developing healthcare information technology (HIT) solutions. Our 870 clinicians, 1,360 engineers and 2,100 consultants have deployed more than 4,300 applications to clients across the globe

A Global Communications IT Corp.an international communications and information technology

company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries - annual sales of over $3 billion and has more than 13,000 employees – including 5,500 engineers and scientists

A Global Business Consulting Firm107,000 employees in 140 countries around the globe help

companies in businesses across all industries—from emerging growth companies to global powerhouses—deal with a broad range of business issues.

Real names withheld for privacy


Survey Results

How prepared do you feel today's college graduates are for facing the technology demands of working for your company?


Skills Relevance

Relevance to average employee’s duties

EssentialUsefulUnneeded

Skills Desirability Average


Skills Relevance



Skills Relevance


Student Prep 70%



Student Prep 70%



Student Prep 90%



Student Prep 40%



Student Prep 80%



Student Prep 30%


Conclusions

Windows, Web, Email & MS Office skills remain desirable to all

Web development skills are highly valued by some, not at all by others

Participants have little use for Apple skills


Concepts Relevance



Concepts Desirability

Average


Concepts Relevance
















Conclusions

Four of the six participants found the understanding of these concepts to be useful if not essential

Of those four, Global/Ethical Issues, Security, Internet, and Information Systems were of most importance

The lack of media industry representation left Media and Apple high and dry in this survey.


Freeform Response

What computer and/or information technology skills do you value most when evaluating job applicants? “Microsoft Office is a Must.” “A deep understanding of Excel and PowerPoint is

crucial” “Experience with and knowledge of Microsoft PC

tools, particularly Word, Outlooks, and PowerPoint.” “Basic Windows skills, Word, Excel, etc.”


Freeform Response

What important computer and/or information technology skills do you feel are lacking in today's college graduates? “Many people are not familiar with the basics of

Excel. They don’t know pivot tables, Sorting, filtering, etc.”


Freeform Response How important are mobile technologies (cell

phones, Blackberries, mobile PCs) in your company's business practices? “extremely important” “Mobile phones and mobile PCs are very important

as many of our employees travel frequently.” “We have started to use these technologies, so if

students know them, it would be an added bonus.” “These are becoming more important to us. Each of

our sales reps uses a Treo and needs to be able to use this device effectively on a daily basis.”

“EXTREMELY IMPORTANT”


What do businesses want?

The majority of businesses surveyed want... strong MS Office skills including Outlook an understanding of technology concepts including

information systems familiarity with mobile communications and

computing technologies

Questions to consider... should curriculum cater to the average, least, or

most demanding businesses? What other considerations impact curriculum

design?


IT Fluency

Considering Advice from Scholarly Experts:

Computer Scientists


IT Fluency

Report: Being Fluent with Information Technology - 1999National Research Council, Committee on Information Technology Literacy


IT Fluency Computer

Literacyrote learning of specific hardware and software applications

“Literacy is too modest a goal in the presence of rapid change, because it lacks the necessary "staying power.“ As the technology changes by leaps and bounds, existing skills become antiquated and there is no migration path to new skills. ”

“Literacy is too modest a goal in the presence of rapid change, because it lacks the necessary "staying power.“ As the technology changes by leaps and bounds, existing skills become antiquated and there is no migration path to new skills. ”

IT Fluencyunderstanding the underlying concepts of technology and applying problem-solving and critical thinking to using technology


IT Fluency

IT Fluency emphasizes three types of knowledge: skills, concepts, and capabilities

Contemporary skills“Skills provide a store of practical experience on which to build new competence”

Contemporary skills“Skills provide a store of practical experience on which to build new competence”

Foundational Concepts “Concepts are the raw material for understanding new information technology as it evolves”

Foundational Concepts “Concepts are the raw material for understanding new information technology as it evolves”

Intellectual capabilities“The ability to apply information technology in complex and sustained situations, …fosters more abstract thinking about information and its manipulation”

Intellectual capabilities“The ability to apply information technology in complex and sustained situations, …fosters more abstract thinking about information and its manipulation”


Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

Considering Advice from Scholarly Experts:

Librarians(Information Science)



Published by:Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in 2000



Endorsed by: American Association for Higher Education Council of Independent Colleges Accrediting Agencies

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)

Western Association of Schools and College (WASC) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

One of 11 Initiatives in FSU’s LEAD PlanLeaders Educated to Make A Difference, or LEAD, is part of Florida State University's overall Quality Enhancement Plan. While it is a requirement of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation process, LEAD will be a sustained and ongoing initiative that will result in a better student experience and, ultimately, a better university.

One of 11 Initiatives in FSU’s LEAD PlanLeaders Educated to Make A Difference, or LEAD, is part of Florida State University's overall Quality Enhancement Plan. While it is a requirement of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation process, LEAD will be a sustained and ongoing initiative that will result in a better student experience and, ultimately, a better university.



The Information Literate Student…1. determines the nature and extent of the information needed

2. accesses needed information effectively and efficiently

3. evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system

4. individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

5. understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally



Information literacy is related to information technology skills, but has broader implications for the individual, the educational system, and for society.

IT Fluency focuses on the use of technology

IT Fluency focuses on the use of technology

Information Literacy is an intellectual framework for understanding, finding, evaluating, and using information - which often depends on technology

Information Literacy is an intellectual framework for understanding, finding, evaluating, and using information - which often depends on technology


Meeting Student Needs

Accommodating the Millennials


Today’s Students

Pretesting FSU Students Technology Survey

http://lit.cs.fsu.edu/survey/results

Most incoming Freshmen have had previous training in Windows, Web, Word, and PowerPoint.

Students have popular skills but lack professional skills.


Tomorrow’s Students

Our future students will, over time, achieve computer literacy, in its traditional sense, prior to college. 2005 National Educational Technology Plan (No Child

Left Behind) National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Generational change in teachers


Local Considerations

Knowing Your Institutional Needs and Requirements


Know Your Institution

What discipline-specific tech courses are being taught? What degrees are represented by students taking your

course? What skills are required of those degree programs? What are your Computer Literacy accreditation

requirements? Are there other special needs such as boosting

enrollment?

Are


Developing a Local Profile

Includes: assumptions about incoming student competency

levels and capabilities statements of fact regarding Institution needs opinions of experienced teachers!


Curriculum Development

Designing the path to your goals.


A Recipe for Success

Business Needs IT Fluency

Local ProfileInformation

Literacy

Intro CourseCurriculum


Curriculum Possibilities Business Needs

Teach college-level MS Office, beef-up Excel, include lessons in Outlook, discuss concepts such as business information systems, ethics, and security, and study mobile communications technologies. Consider an advanced course.Intro Course

Curriculum IT FluencyUse case-based projects from a variety of disciplines, include a team project, cover IT concepts and discuss the use of IT through case studies.

Information LiteracyProvide training in college level research including those skills listed in the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education - consider collaborating with your College Librarians

Local ProfileConsider eliminating skills from your curriculum that most students already have, push students to acquire more advanced skills, cater to degree programs, provide topics of interest in elective courses to boost enrollment


Ken BaldaufFlorida State University

[email protected]

http://lit.cs.fsu.edu http://www.kenbaldauf.com

Presentations,Survey Results,Assignments, and my BLOG!

Thanks for your time.

Sources “Being Fluent with Information Technology”

Reporthttp://books.nap.edu/html/beingfluent/

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Educationhttp://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm

FSU’s LEAD Planhttp://lead.plan.fsu.edu/index2.html

National Educational Technology Planhttp://www.nationaledtechplan.org/

ISTE NETS http://cnets.iste.org/index.shtml

© 2006 Ken Baldauf, All rights reserved. Curriculum Design Computer Literacy Preparing Students for the Real World Ken Baldauf Florida State University.

Documents

links slide

privacy slide

traditional computer

background computer

professional life slide

mac cgs2064 computer

global communications

global healthcare