ICT LITERACY

While many different terms have been used to describe what students need, such as digital literacy, technological literacy, and 21st century skills, education leaders, nationally and internationally, are beginning to come together around a new common definition of what students need to know;
information and communication technology (ICT) literacy. ICT literacy reflects the need for students to develop learning skills that enable them to think critically, analyze information,communicate,collaborate, and solve problems, and the essential role that technology plays in realizing these learning skills in today's knowledge-based society. representative of the ICT literacy skills are the following six areas critical to students' success in the work place






communicate Effectively; Students must have a range of skills to expess to themselves not only through paper and pencil, but also audio, video, animation, design software as well as a host of new environments (e-mail, website, message boards, steaming media, etc)



Analyze and interpret Data: students must have the ability to crunch, compare and choose among the glut of data now available Web-based and other electronic formats.



Understand Computational Modelling; students must possess an understanding of the power, limitation, and underlying assumptions of various data representation systems, such as computational models and stimulation, which are increasingly driving a wide range of discipline.



Mange and Prioritize Task; students must be able to manage the multi-tasking, selection, and prioritizing across technology application that allows them to move fluidly among teams, assignments and communities of practice.



Engage in problems solving: students must have an understanding of how to apply what they know and can do to new situations.



Ensure Security and Safety: Students must know and use strategies to acknowledge, identify. And negotiate 21st century risks.



Different Types of Technology and their Educational Applications.
Many different types of technology can be used to support and enhance learning. Everything from video content and digital moviemaking to laptop computing and handheld technologies (Marshall, 2002) has been used in classroom. Various technologies deliver different lines of content and different purposes in the classroom. For example, word processing and e-mail promote communication skills; database and spreadsheet programs promote organizational skills; and modeling software promotes the understanding of science and math concepts. It is important to consider how these electronic technologies differ and what characteristics make them important as vehicles for education.








Technologies availale in classrooms today range from simple took-based applications (such as word processors) to online repositories of scientific data and primary historical documents, to handheld computers, closed-circuit television channels, and two-way distance learning classrooms. Even the bell phones that many students now carry with them can be used to learn.



Now will look at the roles ICT plays in different professions.



Engineering: Engineers and architects can now use ICT (developed computer programs) to carry out their synthesis and designs. For examples, AutoCAD for engineering drawing and simulation, ArchiCAD for designing buildings, etc.