Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference
Teaching, Learning, & Technology
The Challenge Continues
March 30-April 1, 2003
Entry Level Technology Standards for Professional Education: Basic Technology Literacy Exam
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By: Diane Fisher, Edward Mann |
Abstract
Prior to admittance into the Professional Education Program at The University of Southern Mississippi, students must demonstrate their technology literacy by taking a basic technology literacy exam. The presentation will include a brief discussion of the need for technology literacy for future teachers, a description of the developmental process undertaken and the administrative challenges faced, a summary of the results of the pilot study, and a discussion of the anticipated benefits.
Description
The use of technology in our schools has been growing rapidly throughout the last two decades so that now it is an integral part of the teaching/learning process. There have been numerous studies concerning the effect and value that the integration of technology has had on student learning. Bialo (1995) showed that the use of technology as a learning tool could make a measurable positive difference in student achievement, attitudes, and interaction with teachers and other students. However, most pre-service teachers know very little about the effective use of technology in education (Wellis & Mehlinger, 1996). They acknowledge the value of technology in education and are willing to integrate technology into their future teaching but are limited in their preparation to do so (Byrum & Cashman, 1993; Marcinkiewicz, 1995; and Wang, 1997).
As part of the Professional Education Council's (PEC) reform efforts, and in conjunction with the PT3 Implementation Grant, "Preparing Mississippi's Future Teachers to Use Technology," an innovative teacher preparation program improvement strategy was developed for The University of Southern Mississippi. Four (4) objectives were identified.
The first of these objectives addressed the need for fundamental technology skills and competencies (basic technology literacy) prior to entering professional education. It states "Implement a system for insuring basic technology literacy for in-coming professional education students."
This objective is based on the assumption that consistent infusion of technology in professional education programs cannot be accomplished unless entering students share a basic level of computer literacy on which to build more sophisticated applications, and the addition of technology literacy to entry requirements will insure the basic level of computer literacy needed for instruction in these applications.
Through the work of the Entry Technology Standards Committee and the Basic Technology Literacy Exam Committee, the Basic Technology Literacy Exam was developed and revised. The exam consists of five (5) modules:
- Word processing
- Spreadsheet
- Telecommunications
- Presentation Software
- Data base
Additionally, demographic data are gathered for each student.
The presentation will focus on the development of the exam, the administrative challenges faced and a summary of the data gathered. Additionally, a brief discussion of the need for technology for future teachers will introduce the presentation and a discussion of the anticipated benefits will conclude the presentation.