Technology Literacy According to Students: What is It, Where are We and What Should We Do for Parents and Children?

Abstract

Nowadays, there is a swift transformation in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and all technological devices and tools affect our lives both on an individual and societal level with their innovations. Especially such technological devices as computers, mobile phones and tablet PCs require us to know how to use these technologies efficiently, therefore aiming to make their use and the lives of individuals and societies much easier. In this view, the concept of technology literacy comes to the prominence. In this study designed qualitatively, the opinions of 25 students from the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies about the term ‘technological literacy’ are collected. A definition is made using these concepts while students define technological literacy as becoming aware and following, ability to use, problem solving and benefiting from its use in social life. In addition to that, students stated negative opinions about the society in which they live. They stated that there is an unconscious and purposeless or limited technology use even though the use of technology differs to a great extent in terms of age. Students also made a recommendation for parents and children to get education on technology, to acquire further information and to keep a close track on technology

Keywords

• Technology literacy
• literacy
• technology
• society and technology
• use of technology

Öğrencilerin Gözüyle Teknoloji Okuryazarlığı: Nedir, Neredeyiz, Aile ve Çocuklar İçin Neler Yapmalı?

Öz

Günümüzde ICT’lerde hızlı bir dönüşüm yaşanmakta, yenilik olarak karşımıza çıkan teknolojik araçlar ve ürünler bireysel ve toplumsal olarak yaşamı etkilemektedir. Özellikle bilgisayar, cep telefonu, tablet PC gibi çoğu teknolojik araç, bu teknolojilerin etkin bilinmesini, kullanımını ve bu sayede bireylerin ve toplumun yaşamının kolaylaştırılmasını amaçlamaktadır. Bu kapsamda teknoloji okuryazarlığı kavramı ön plana çıkmaktadır. Bu araştırmada nitel olarak desenlenen bu araştırmada 25 bilgisayar öğretmenliği bölümü öğrencisinin görüşleri ile teknoloji okuryazarlığı kavramı ele alınmıştır. Öğrenciler teknoloji okuryazarlığını teknolojiden haberdar olma ve takip etme, kullanabilme, problem çözme ve sosyal yaşamda yararlanabilme boyutları ile değerlendirmiş, bu değerlendirmelerden yola çıkılarak da bir tanıma ulaşılmıştır. Ayrıca öğrencilerin, içinde yaşadıkları toplumu olumsuz biçimde değerlendirdiği sonucu dikkat çekmiştir. Daha çok bilinçsiz ve amaçsız ya da sınırlı düzeyde bir teknoloji kullanımının var olduğu, buna karşın yaşa göre kullanımın farklılaştığı değerlendirmesinde bulunmuşlardır. Öğrenciler ailelere ve çocuklara yönelik teknolojiler konusunda eğitim alma ve bilgilendirilmenin, ayrıca teknolojinin yakından takip edilmesinin önemini dile getirmişlerdir

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Teknoloji okuryazarlığı
• okuryazarlık
• teknoloji
• teknoloji ve toplum
• teknoloji kullanımı

Kaynakça

1. However, Altun (2005:11) states that a society which do not utilize from new technology in its daily life
2. will eventually affect its own objectives about social life of its people and will come to a point not to
3. realize this fact, instead of shaping it via responding the social objectives of these tools. All these issues
4. are taken into consideration under the term ‘technology literacy’. The opinions of 25 candidate teachers
5. of CEIT department are gathered in terms of technology literacy, which is believed to have a high level
6. of technology literacy in this view and the results are given below.
7. Students bring such issues on technology literacy into the prominence respectively as skills to benefit
8. from technology, problem solving/productivity, being aware of technology, following technological

9. devices and requirement of a social life. Using the themes obtained from students’ expressions,
10. technology literacy can be defined as “being aware of technology and following technological devices,
11. using these technologies by all people within a society both effectively and productively to solve problems.”
12. It is possible to argue that there is an ICT-digital focused viewpoint in students’ opinions due to their
13. department (CEIT). Becta (2010) defines digital literacy as “the combination of skills, knowledge and
14. understanding that young people need to learn in order to participate fully and safely in an unceasingly
15. digital world”, and states that digital literacy involves four dimensions, which are functional technology
16. skills, critical thinking, collaborative skills and social awareness. These dimensions closely correspond to
17. the opinions of students.
18. On the other hand, all these expressions point out the term ‘information literacy’, which also involves
19. technology literacy in addition to many other literacy types. McClure (2001) stated that the intersecting
20. point of all literacy types such as media literacy, network literacy, visual literacy, technological literacy
21. and computer literacy, all of which resulted from technological advancement. Doyle (1994: 2-3) stated
22. that an individual with information literacy should possess the above mentioned main characteristics
23. besides the use of information technologies, reaching sources, organizing data for further applications,
24. problem solving and social interaction dimensions. Therefore, the findings are in parallel to information
25. technology, which is accepted as common ground for all literacy types.
26. Students, in general, made a negative evaluation about the society in which they live in terms of
27. technology literacy. They especially stated that it is used under a technical or limited framework or used
28. without conscious. When the data published by State Planning Organization (SPO) (2006:23) are
29. examined, it is remarkable that the levels of utilizing from technological devices by the public are quite
30. low. In the same framework with this plan, it is also remarkable that there are three recommendations
31. made to increase these data, which are common (technological) access, higher motivation and focused
32. competence (ability to use). The intergenerational differences are the outcome of digital transformation
33. experienced nowadays. Prensky (2001) stated that there are two societies living together, one is defined
34. as digital immigrants and the other as digital locals; adding that digital locals are more competent to
35. use technology and new generation uses technology much better than its parents (digital immigrants).
36. Therefore, age is an important factor in technology use and it is an important result that students
37. underlined it as a distinctive element.
38. All recommendations made by the students for parents and children involve education and awareness
39. raising activities in terms of positive use of technology. Becta (2010) emphasizes the importance of
40. education to increase literacy. However, the findings indicating that technology literacy will be increased
41. by the acquisition of research skills especially designed for students are also significant. Doyle (2004)
42. also stated that literacy is increased by the development of research skills in his study where he dealt
43. with literacy within the framework of information technology.
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