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Technical
Literacy Working Group Minutes
of Meetings: Present: Foroughi, Hemmendinger, Johnson, Keller, Klein, McFadden.
1. Survey Results (Word document) The survey results have not been tabulated yet, and more results are coming in. We should re-issue the survey and invite more responses. 2. We recommend that CDC and OCS look into making TekXam available to our students. It is not an exam that we can require, since we are not prepared to offer extensive training, but it will be a valuable credential for some graduates. Diane Keller will make sure that Joanne Tobiessen is provided with all of the details of how an institution can become a TekXam host. Even if we cannot become a host, we should make sure our students have access. 3. We re-affirmed that trying to include a technology component in as many Gen Ed courses as possible seemed like a good idea for introducing and reinforcing technical literacy early in students’ careers at Union. We will have to work with the Gen Ed board and the AAC to decide whether we want to designate TAC courses, or to simply encourage faculty to explicitly use more technology in their classes (web research; presentations; data analysis; etc.) We also discussed the possibility of each student being required to prepare a presentation in their major as part of their senior year. This could be attached to their senior writing requirement. In addition to their writing, they should either present (e.g. Steinmetz, or in a Departmental seminar), or prepare a web site summarizing their research. The presumption is that most (all) students will need to use technology to prepare their presentation. We briefly discussed the idea of students maintaining a digital portfolio of their work, although this seemed a bit impractical. Tom McFadden urged the committee to arrange focus groups to get student opinion on the current and desired level of digital literacy. We also thought about surveying recent graduates to find out what they now wish they had learned at Union. 4. We decided that we should compose a letter to the Gen Ed board recommending that Gen Ed courses be encouraged or required to incorporate technology. Furthermore, the Gen Ed board should survey all existing Gen Ed courses to find out how technology is currently used. The survey should emphasize that we are not interested in technology for its own sake, but rather in demonstrating that the modern concept of literacy period, must be extended to include a facility with information technology. Here is some proposed wording for the letter [by JDK]: Option 1: Administer a technical literacy exam, such as TekXam, to all students, and either (a) report the score on the transcript or (b) require a passing score for graduation. Comments: There are two fundamental problems with deciding to administer a technical literacy exam. The first problem is deciding what to test for, and even if we could reach agreement on what constitutes technical literacy, recognize that that definition will change from year to year. The second problem is the need to offer preparation and/or remediation for students taking the exam. If we require students to take the exam, we are under an obligation to prepare students for the exam. Option 2: Require students to take and pass a course that teaches technical literacy. Think of this course as a technical Freshman Preceptorial, or a Digital Literacy course. Comments: While reaching all students with this information early in their college careers, this solution has the following problems. 1. As above, we would to reach agreement on the course content, and to face the fact that the content would be constantly changing. 2. The course would have to be fit into the already-filled General Education requirements. 3. The course would have to be staffed. 4. The subject matter, while important, is certainly not in the mainstream of traditional liberal arts. We could argue that it is akin to teaching composition or grammar, and as such at the heart of being literate, but it will still, in the eyes of some, smack of training rather than education. Option 3: Expose students to the use of technology as early and as often as is possible in their Union careers. The common portion of the curriculum through which all students must pass is the General Education requirements. While these may be satisfied in many different ways, Gen Ed courses at least offer a framework to concentrate on in addressing technical literacy. Comments: This option encompasses literally dozens of possible courses, and two students will rarely take exactly the same Gen Ed courses. Yet the fact that students take twelve Gen Ed courses means that only a little technology need be incorporated into each one in order to make a difference. In fact, many courses probably already utilize technology. The Gen Ed board should undertake to ensure that students be exposed to a broad range of technology applications in these courses. Next meeting: |
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