What do Studies Tell Us About
Information Literacy and Technology?
The topic of information technology and literacy has existed for some time within the education context. Numerous research studies have been conducted and documented. All of the resources annotated on this page are based on research surrounding information technology and literacy, what its all about, where students have been and where we should get them to be.
Holum, Ph.D, A., & Gahala, M.A, J. (2001, October). Critical issue: Using technology to enhance literacy instruction.
This article suggests that a combination of literacy skills, such as being able to read, write, speak, and listen, along with technological skills like investigating, computing, and the ability to think critically, can create a well-rounded student. However, there are still some issues that teachers might run into when implementing literacy building activities through technological bases. One problem some teachers are running into is that technology is moving so rapidly that their current technology becomes quickly outdated. The author refers to this as the “moving target problem.” The other problem noted is stemmed from the lack of research on literacy and technology. The author visited four of the highest rated educational literary magazines and found that only 1%-5% of the information in those magazines were designated for literacy technology in schools.
The article continues to discuss various technologies that are being used in and out of the school setting to increase reading skills with children. Those technologies range from, audio books, electronic books and online texts, electronic talking books, and programmed reading instruction. The author also suggests that there are other technologies designated for increasing writing abilities in children. These technological methods are word processing, desktop publishing, multimedia composing, online publishing, and Internet communication.
While the technologies listed can easily increase literacy skills in children, there are a couple that, if not used in the right manner will not be as beneficial. For example, simply having a book read to students is not going to make them better readers. However, being read to, coupled with also having text in front of students will definitely increase his or her ability to read. Communicating with friends online will not make someone a better writer. The use of slang and the lack of grammar in colloquial friend chat is not adequate practice and therefore will not increase students' ability to write well.
The website provides a great look at literacy in our ever-changing school environment. The website offers plenty of resources for administrators and teachers to help them keep up with the newest information. I thought that the website was fair in listing the drawbacks still occurring with technology today, as well.
This article suggests that a combination of literacy skills, such as being able to read, write, speak, and listen, along with technological skills like investigating, computing, and the ability to think critically, can create a well-rounded student. However, there are still some issues that teachers might run into when implementing literacy building activities through technological bases. One problem some teachers are running into is that technology is moving so rapidly that their current technology becomes quickly outdated. The author refers to this as the “moving target problem.” The other problem noted is stemmed from the lack of research on literacy and technology. The author visited four of the highest rated educational literary magazines and found that only 1%-5% of the information in those magazines were designated for literacy technology in schools.
The article continues to discuss various technologies that are being used in and out of the school setting to increase reading skills with children. Those technologies range from, audio books, electronic books and online texts, electronic talking books, and programmed reading instruction. The author also suggests that there are other technologies designated for increasing writing abilities in children. These technological methods are word processing, desktop publishing, multimedia composing, online publishing, and Internet communication.
While the technologies listed can easily increase literacy skills in children, there are a couple that, if not used in the right manner will not be as beneficial. For example, simply having a book read to students is not going to make them better readers. However, being read to, coupled with also having text in front of students will definitely increase his or her ability to read. Communicating with friends online will not make someone a better writer. The use of slang and the lack of grammar in colloquial friend chat is not adequate practice and therefore will not increase students' ability to write well.
The website provides a great look at literacy in our ever-changing school environment. The website offers plenty of resources for administrators and teachers to help them keep up with the newest information. I thought that the website was fair in listing the drawbacks still occurring with technology today, as well.
Labbo, L. D. (1999). Toward a vision of the future role of technology in literacy education. ProQuest. Web. 10 July 2013.
Linda Labbo writes for the University of Georgia’s College of Education in their Department of Reading. Labbo authored this paper in 1999 when literacy concerns within technologies used in education were probably first making a huge push into the classroom. Labbo suggested that using technology to increase literacy skills would be the new “ah-ha” moment in education. The author stated that the current state of communicative technologies would make it impossibe to see an educational setting where students are not learning to read through the use of such technologies.
An interesting part of this article is when the author takes the reader through a journey of how literacy looked in previous years of education. She takes readers back to the Industrial Revolution when students, many of whom were immigrants, were taught basic reading and writing skills because society demanded that they work in mostly manual-labor jobs. The technologies needed to teach those basic literacy skills were pens, pencils, blackboards and slates. The teacher was seen as the guide of all information. However, as American education progressed into the late 1900s, technologies emerged for the purpose of “adding-on” to the teacher. However, there were and are problems with these technologies, ranging from limited classroom internet access to limited teacher understanding of technologies. As these problems begin to be addressed, Labbo states the nation will move away from print-based literacy learning to a more digital-based curriculum.
Labbo makes some really good points when it comes to literacy and she paints a great picture of how literacy has changed throughout the years. However, she makes a bold statement when she assumes that students will prefer to become literate through digital-based modes. It’s safe to say that it will take years or even generations to adapt to total digital-based print. There is also no limit of different types of literacy technologies for different types of students (typicals and atypicals). Finally, I’d like to point out that there were no reasons listed in the article as to why these technologies are more beneficial than teacher-centered instruction.
Linda Labbo writes for the University of Georgia’s College of Education in their Department of Reading. Labbo authored this paper in 1999 when literacy concerns within technologies used in education were probably first making a huge push into the classroom. Labbo suggested that using technology to increase literacy skills would be the new “ah-ha” moment in education. The author stated that the current state of communicative technologies would make it impossibe to see an educational setting where students are not learning to read through the use of such technologies.
An interesting part of this article is when the author takes the reader through a journey of how literacy looked in previous years of education. She takes readers back to the Industrial Revolution when students, many of whom were immigrants, were taught basic reading and writing skills because society demanded that they work in mostly manual-labor jobs. The technologies needed to teach those basic literacy skills were pens, pencils, blackboards and slates. The teacher was seen as the guide of all information. However, as American education progressed into the late 1900s, technologies emerged for the purpose of “adding-on” to the teacher. However, there were and are problems with these technologies, ranging from limited classroom internet access to limited teacher understanding of technologies. As these problems begin to be addressed, Labbo states the nation will move away from print-based literacy learning to a more digital-based curriculum.
Labbo makes some really good points when it comes to literacy and she paints a great picture of how literacy has changed throughout the years. However, she makes a bold statement when she assumes that students will prefer to become literate through digital-based modes. It’s safe to say that it will take years or even generations to adapt to total digital-based print. There is also no limit of different types of literacy technologies for different types of students (typicals and atypicals). Finally, I’d like to point out that there were no reasons listed in the article as to why these technologies are more beneficial than teacher-centered instruction.
McEuen, S. (2001). How fluent with information technology are our students?. Educause Quarterly, 24(4), 8-17.
In an effort to understand information technology fluency of the Net Generation, the cohort who grew up in the computer technology era, Southwestern University (SU) in Georgetown, Texas conducted a study to serve as a guide for future technology initiative. SU used the definition of information technology created by the Associated College of the South in November 2000 which states, “information technology is an interwoven combination of computer literacy, information literacy, and critical thinking skills.” SU used this definition and created a study to see the gap between student perception of their own information technology fluency and their actual fluency.
SU looked for FITness, which was a balance of the three fundamental elements of intellectual capability, foundational concept, and contemporary technology skills. SU saw the need for higher education to listen to the perspective and understand the expectation of the Net Generation in terms of information technology in education. The panel understood that students needed to know how to use technology as well as understand the concepts of how the hardware, software, and infrastructure work together in order to be able to troubleshoot potential problems. Students should be able to know how to use the web to find information as well as organize the information found and test the validity of the information.
The study demonstrated that students were not entering or exiting with a sound concept of technology, which hinder the reasoning and critical thinking skills. Students use computers more as a social instrument and do not fully understand the affordances and constraints of information technology. Students of the Net Generation prefer to learn by trial and error rather than waste their time with a manual. If trial and error does not work, they prefer to ask someone else. The problem is that these students are not aware that they are far from being fluent in information technology. Students desire to be problem solvers, yet aren’t equipped with the know-how in computer operations or network knowledge. They are not effectively using the Internet for research, which is attributed to the lack of understanding of database systems and Internet structure. These gaps of knowledge is problematic because students are overly confident with their abilities that they create problems to their computers, others computers, or even networks.
The study resulted with the understanding that students of the Net Generation have not been properly trained with the technology that they have been surrounded by since birth. Not only are they not properly trained as they enter college, but they are also not being properly trained within their college years. The study is to be used as a guide for future technology initiative.
In an effort to understand information technology fluency of the Net Generation, the cohort who grew up in the computer technology era, Southwestern University (SU) in Georgetown, Texas conducted a study to serve as a guide for future technology initiative. SU used the definition of information technology created by the Associated College of the South in November 2000 which states, “information technology is an interwoven combination of computer literacy, information literacy, and critical thinking skills.” SU used this definition and created a study to see the gap between student perception of their own information technology fluency and their actual fluency.
SU looked for FITness, which was a balance of the three fundamental elements of intellectual capability, foundational concept, and contemporary technology skills. SU saw the need for higher education to listen to the perspective and understand the expectation of the Net Generation in terms of information technology in education. The panel understood that students needed to know how to use technology as well as understand the concepts of how the hardware, software, and infrastructure work together in order to be able to troubleshoot potential problems. Students should be able to know how to use the web to find information as well as organize the information found and test the validity of the information.
The study demonstrated that students were not entering or exiting with a sound concept of technology, which hinder the reasoning and critical thinking skills. Students use computers more as a social instrument and do not fully understand the affordances and constraints of information technology. Students of the Net Generation prefer to learn by trial and error rather than waste their time with a manual. If trial and error does not work, they prefer to ask someone else. The problem is that these students are not aware that they are far from being fluent in information technology. Students desire to be problem solvers, yet aren’t equipped with the know-how in computer operations or network knowledge. They are not effectively using the Internet for research, which is attributed to the lack of understanding of database systems and Internet structure. These gaps of knowledge is problematic because students are overly confident with their abilities that they create problems to their computers, others computers, or even networks.
The study resulted with the understanding that students of the Net Generation have not been properly trained with the technology that they have been surrounded by since birth. Not only are they not properly trained as they enter college, but they are also not being properly trained within their college years. The study is to be used as a guide for future technology initiative.
This website was created for the Exploring Key Topics in Tech and Ed assignment for Michigan State University's Master of Arts in Education Technology. It was created by the group More Techie Than You, of which its members are Jenna Ewend, Jeff Fisher, Annie Kim, and Diana Peters.