Technology Literacy

I read an article that focused on how we evaluate an educational technology’s effectiveness in schools. It gives a framework that can be followed to critique a school’s practices. Federal legislation in the United States currently mandates that technology be integrated into school curricula because of the popular belief that learning is enhanced through the use of technology. (Davies, 2011)

The proposed framework for understanding technological literacy involves three levels: (1) awareness, (2) praxis (i.e., training), and (3) phronesis (i.e., practical competence and practical wisdom). These levels are most accurately represented as a continuum that involves a cycle of continual reeducation. Just as higher levels of cognitive development require some level of proficiency at lower levels, the highest levels of technological literacy require students to move through the lower levels. (Davies, 2011) After reading this part, I then continued to read and it made me think. He states that so often we consider a student’s technology literacy based on technology adoption. Just because you adopt a certain technology does not necessarily mean there is a true understanding of technology literacy.

What is technology literacy? Some examples are stated in the journal. Hansen (2003) has defined technology literacy as “an individual’s abilities to adopt, adapt, invent, and evaluate technology to positively affect his or her life, community, and environment” (p. 117). Eisenberg & Johnson (2002) suggested that a technologically literate person can “use technology as a tool for organization, communication, research, and problem solving” (p. 1). (Davies, 2011) This makes sense and a child or student needs to have technology that they can manipulate and relate to what they are learning. Without that higher order thinking, the technology is not an advantage.

This article also states that there is a large assumption that because our students may have been exposed to technology more than their parents, that they are therefore better equipped to handle the technology and have a true understanding of it. That is not necessarily true. He also discusses “Technology native and technology immigrants.” Technology natives may still need explicit instruction in order to perform at the highest levels. Technology immigrants will need more training.

Davies, R. S. (2011). Understanding technology literacy: A framework for evaluating educational technology integration.TechTrends, 55(5), 45-52. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11528-011-0527-3