Knowledge of measures of data quantity and transmission rate are part of IT literacy

A recent FCC survey found that only 20% of home Internet users know their download speed.

I would argue that being conversant with units of measure for data transmission speed and being generally familiar with the speeds needed for various applications are required for IT literacy.

We know that automobile speed is measured in miles per hour or some other unit of distance/time, and we are familiar with residential and highway speed limits, the top speeds of our cars, etc. Similarly, we know that fuel economy is measured in miles per gallon, kilometers per liter, etc. and we know typical values for economy cars, luxury cars, etc.

An understanding of fuel economy and auto speed is necessary if one is to be a rational consumer or to follow political discussion of energy policy.

One cannot evaluate ISP offerings or have an informed opinion on IT policy without understanding the units of measure for data transmission speed.

We all have a feeling for units of measure for distance -- feet, inches, miles, etc. -- but that is not the case for quantities of data -- bits, bytes, megabits, etc.

Going further, data is augmented with a coding scheme to produce information, and some knowledge of coding schemes, for example of ASCII for text, is needed to make data measures concrete and to impart an idea of the transmission speeds (and storage) required for various applications.

Should all of this be part of the IT literacy curriculum?

A textbook chapter with some IT literacy concepts

We talk about the skills and concepts making up an IT literacy course.

Some of the concepts I feel should be included in an IT literacy course are covered in a chapter I wrote for a textbook called Introduction to Information Technology a while ago.

The chapter, Technology trends, Internet Applications and Possible Roadblocks, does not cover all of the concepts I would include, and some are covered in too much depth. Here is an abstract of the chapter:

Information technology is improving at an accelerating rate. This opens the way for innovative applications, which make organizations and individuals more efficient and effective. This chapter outlines hardware progress, which has led to new forms of software and software development. Software evolution has brought us to the current era of Internet-based software. After describing some of the characteristics of Internet-based software, we ask whether the progress we have enjoyed will continue and conclude with a discussion of some of the non-technical issues, which tend to impede that progress.

• Hardware progress
• Software progress
• Internet based software
• Will the progress continue?
• Bumps in the information technology road

An online class session

We held an online class meeting as an illustration of synchronous collaboration.

During a typical classroom session, I present a topic while projecting class notes and doing live demonstrations. Students are free to ask questions and make comments at any time.

For our online meeting, the students and I remained at home, and I conducted the class much as I would have in the classroom. They viewed the notes and demonstrations using screen sharing software (YuuGuu.com) and we all talked using Skype.

There were only ten students in the class, and seven completed a survey afterward. Such a small survey is not conclusive, but the students reported that they were relaxed and less shy when online than in class. They also tended to focus more closely on the presentation, and were less likely to look at unrelated material than in the classroom. (We normally meet in a computer-equipped classroom). The students ranged from neutral to preferring the online meeting.

Click here for the survey questions and answers.

A table of skills and concepts for various students

Computer literacy is comprised of many skills and concepts, but they are not all appropriate for every student. This table lists some skills and concepts that might be appropriate for three groups of student. It could be extended and used as a checklist and an index to notes and exercises on each topic.