Teaching an English composition online course at the moment, as well as a regional site e-supported course, "learning across the lifespan," I can heartily concur with Ira's post that we must allow our students to choose their technologies, in the knowledge that, in choice, they choose to participate in the literacies of the 21st century.  And as their basic skills grow, the progression to higher order thinking can be enhanced by higher order technologies. I am of the generation that remembers not having computers, and the painful process of learning as an adult how to make best use of them, and I am still learning, much as many of our students have to now learn, as adults, how to read, write and speak more effectively when they are beyond the age when language acquisition is the easiest. But they could be of different "technological" generations as well as literacy generations, and if we speak of lifespan learning, the instabilities of our workforce and
 institutional world demand lifelong learning, where technology is without question essential, whether they're entry level cashiers or stock clerks, or management trainees. 
Thanks, Ira, for a thoughtful post provoking more reflection.
Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D.Writing Center, Adjunct Professor
Post University, Waterbury CT
bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net
writingcenter at post.edu


----- Original Message ----
From: Ira Socol <irasocol at gmail.com>where our adult learners are at all levels of 


To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List <technology at nifl.gov>
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 3:48:35 PM
Subject: [Technology 1650] Re: "From literacy to digiracy"

I just want to jump in here with a couple of thoughts about technology and "tech literacy" as well as touch on the concept of "school solutions" v. "lifespan solutions."

First, I think that we as educators might want to consider how we use the term "technology." I prefer the British "ICT" for "Information and Communications Technology" because that is more expressive of what we are actually discussing - and more easily forces teachers and school administrators to understand that the book is a technology, and so is the pen, and so is paper, and so is the lecture hall. All technologies enable and all technologies disable. All technologies have benefits and create risks. It is important to remember that the book - that is the Gutenberg-style printed text - wiped out half the languages of Europe within 200 years of its invention.

But the key point is that technologies are "tools" - and humans define themselves by their use of tools. It is equally inappropriate for a school in the 21st Century to be banning 21st Century ICT - blocking their students from using it, refusing to teach appropriate uses of it, as it would have been for an army in the age of iron weapons to have insisted on their soldiers using bronze. That would have left those soldiers as dead meat on the battle fields of the first millennium BC, and it is leaving far too many of our students as "dead meat" in the economy of this millennium.

So what builds adult tool use is student tool use. Students who learn high and appropriate uses of technology such as the mobile phone will be adult learners with an advantage. Students who learn to choose their instructional format will be successful adult learners. Students who learn sophisticated search skills will be better adult consumers, and citizens, and employees, and continuing students. Students who learn the best ways to use everything from Google Earth to Garage Band will be more functional adults.

And students who learn to choose their own technologies, based on their own needs, strengths, and limitations, will have the personal problem solving skills adults need.

This last is essential because whatever technologies you choose to teach today, you can be sure will be antiquated when your students graduate. So the real value is in teaching "tool confidence" and "tool learning." If you are not doing that - well, think of the value in today's world of all those Word Perfect courses so many colleges used to offer.

-- 
Ira David Socol
Research and Teaching Assistant
Michigan State University
irasocol -at- gmail -dot- com
socolira -at- msu -dot- edu
http://speedchange.blogspot.com/
http://riverfoylepress.com/


On 5/28/08, Mariann Fedele <MariannF at lacnyc.org> wrote:
Hi David,
 
I've been
thinking about your question: 
"Do
we have tools for adult learners, for example media literacy curricula, to
enable thinking for onself in a world where increasingly information comes from
the (e)mergingmultimedia of mobilephone/TV/Web/blog/wiki/podcast/social
networking Web spaces/Electronic Newspaper/Twitter/Jott?"
 
I encourage our fellow
tech list members to forward their thoughts and resources.
I have a couple of
specific instructional/curricular resources I'll send in a second post. 
 
But, for now your
question made me consider the world we are preparing our students to flourish in.
One of the exciting new initiatives nationally is post-secondary transition for
adult ed. students. I believe the movement in this area will amount to a true
paradigm shift in adult ed because it responds to a fundamental question about
the requirements of living in contemporary society. I believe another such area
may be technological literacy as a content basis for curricula. I'm going
to re-post some out takes from a message I sent about a year ago on the topic
with regard to National Academies publication called "Tech Tally":
 
Definition: Technological
literacy is an individual's, "understanding of technology at a level that
enables effective functioning in a modern technological society." It is
comprised of three dimensions:
knowledge (both factual and conceptual), capabilities (fluency in the use of technologies
for problem solving) and critical thinking decision making (the approach we
take when considering new technologies for their benefit and consequences
individually and to society). 

Characteristics of a Technologically Literate Person 

Knowledge 

* Recognizes the pervasiveness of technology in everyday life. 

* Understands basic engineering concepts and terms, such as 
systems, constraints, and trade-offs. 

* Is familiar with the nature and limitations of the engineering 
design process. 

* Knows some of the ways technology has shaped human history and 
how people have shaped technology. 

* Knows that all technologies entail risk, only some of which 
can be anticipated. 

* Appreciates that the development and use of technology involve 
trade-offs and a balance of costs and benefits. 

* Understands that technology reflects the values and culture of 
society. 

Critical Thinking and Decision Making 

* Asks pertinent questions, of self and others, regarding the 
benefits and risks of technologies. 

* Weighs available information about the benefits, risks, costs, 
and trade-offs of technology in a systematic way. 

* Participates, when appropriate, in decisions about the 
development and uses of technology. 

Capabilities 

* Has a range of hands-on skills, such as operating a variety of 
home and office appliances and using a computer for word processing and 
surfing the Internet. 

* Can identify and fix simple mechanical or technological 
problems at home or at work. 

* Can apply basic mathematical concepts related to probability, 
scale, and estimation to make informed judgments about technological 
risks and benefits. 

* Can use a design-thinking process to solve a problem 
encountered in daily life. 

* Can obtain information about technological issues of concern 
from a variety of sources.
 

What do others think?
Best,
Mariann
 
Mariann Fedele
Director,
NYC Regional Adult Education Network
LiteracyAssistance Center
Moderator,
NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List
32 Broadway 10th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-803-3325
mariannf at lacnyc.org
www.lacnyc.org

----- Original Message ---- 
From: David J. Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 
To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
<technology at
nifl.gov> 
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2008 8:48:12 AM 
Subject: [Technology 1644] "From literacy to digiracy" 

Colleagues, 

I am intrigued by the last sentence of a May 16, 2008 article in the Economist
entitled "From literacy to digiracy" 

Teachers must recognise that our pedagogical tools are inconsistent with the
skills needed 
to survive in a world where people are always connected to everyone and
everything. In such a world, 
learning to think for oneself could well be more important than simply learning
to read and write. 


http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11392128 

Do we have tools for adult learners, for example media literacy curricula, to
enable thinking for onself in a world where increasingly information comes from
the (e)mergingmultimedia of mobilephone/TV/Web/blog/wiki/podcast/social
networking Web spaces/Electronic Newspaper/Twitter/Jott? 

How do we help adult learners and ourselves sort the wheat from the chaff? 

David J. Rosen 
djrosen at
comcast.net
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