Computer literacy

Computer literacy is the ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with a range of skills covering levels from elementary use to programming and advanced problem solving.[1][2] By another measure, computer literacy requires some understanding of computer programming and how computers work.[3]

In the United Kingdom

History

In the United Kingdom, the BBC Computer Literacy Project, which ran from 1980 to 1989, educated a generation of coders in schools and at home, prior to the development of mass market PCs in the 1990s.[4][5]

The ZX Spectrum, released in 1982, helped to popularize home computing, coding and gaming in Britain and was also popular in other countries.[6][7][8]

Primary and secondary education

Computer programing skills were introduced into the National Curriculum in 2014.[9][10]

Policy

The government published a 'digital skills strategy' in 2017.[11][12][13]

In the United States

Primary and secondary education

In the United States, students are introduced to tablet computers in preschool or kindergarten. Tablet computers are preferred for their small size and touchscreens.[14] The touch user interface of a tablet computer is more accessible to the under-developed motor skills of young children.[15] Early childhood educators use student-centered instruction to guide the young student through various activities on the tablet computer.[16] Often this includes web browsing and the use of applications, familiarizing the young student with a basic level of computer proficiency.[15]

Teaching computer literacy to students in secondary school may improve their thinking skills and employability, but most teachers lack the understanding and classroom time to teach computer programming.[17]

Nataraj (2014) found that many college freshmen in the United States had insufficient computer skills. After freshmen completed a computer literacy course, there was a significant improvement in their understanding of the course material.[18]

Digital divide

In the US job market, computer illiteracy severely limits employment options.[19]

Non-profit organizations such as Per Scholas attempt to reduce the divide by offering free and low-cost computers to children and their families in underserved communities in South Bronx, New York, Miami, Florida, and in Columbus, Ohio.[20]

See also

Computers

Initiatives

References

  1. ↑ "Computerized Manufacturing Automation: Employment, Education, and the Workplace" (PDF) (OTA CIT-235). National Technical Information Service. April 1984: 234.
  2. ↑ Haigh, Robert W. (March–April 1985). "Planning for Computer Literacy". The Journal of Higher Education. 56 (2): 161–171. doi:10.2307/1981664. JSTOR 1981664.
  3. ↑ Tobin, Catherine D. (February 1983). "Developing Computer Literacy". The Arithmetic Teacher. 30 (6): 22–23, 60. JSTOR 41190615.
  4. ↑ "BBC releases computer history archive". BBC News. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  5. ↑ "BBC Computer Literacy Project Archive". computer-literacy-project.pilots.bbcconnectedstudio.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  6. ↑ "Sinclair Spectrum designer Rick Dickinson dies in US". BBC News. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Kelion, Leo (23 April 2012). "Sinclair's ZX Spectrum turns 30". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  8. ↑ O'Regan, Gerard (21 June 2016). Introduction to the History of Computing: A Computing History Primer. Springer. ISBN 9783319331386.
  9. ↑ Dredge, Stuart (2014-09-04). "Coding at school: a parent's guide to England's new computing curriculum". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  10. ↑ "National curriculum in England: computing programmes of study". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  11. ↑ "Government sets out digital strategy". BBC News. 2017-03-01. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  12. ↑ "UK Digital Strategy". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  13. ↑ "Digital Skills in the United Kingdom" (PDF). House of Lords Library Briefing. 10 August 2017.
  14. ↑ Neumann, Michelle M.; Neumann, David L. (4 September 2013). "Touch Screen Tablets and Emergent Literacy". Early Childhood Education Journal. 42 (4): 231. doi:10.1007/s10643-013-0608-3.
  15. 1 2 Blackwell, Courtney K.; Lauricella, Alexis R.; Wartella, Ellen (1 July 2016). "The Influence of TPACK Contextual Factors on Early Childhood Educators' Tablet Computer Use". Computers & Education. 98: 57–69. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2016.02.010.
  16. ↑ Beschorner, Beth; Hutchison, Amy (2013). "iPads as a Literacy Teaching Tool in Early Childhood" (PDF). International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology. 1 (1): 16–24.
  17. ↑ Hannum, Wallace (February–March 1992). "Reconsidering Computer Literacy: A Critique of Current Efforts". The High School Journal. 74 (3): 152–159. JSTOR 40364597.
  18. ↑ Nataraj, Sam (2014). "The Need for an Introductory Computer Literacy Course at the University Level" (PDF). International Journal of Business Management & Economic Research. 5 (4): 71–3.
  19. ↑ Wyatt, Edward (18 August 2013). "Most of U.S. Is Wired, but Millions Aren't Plugged In". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-08-19.
  20. ↑ "Per Scholas; Affordable Technology Finally Available to Bronx Residents". Pediatrics Week: 42. 27 August 2011.
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