Students & Technological Literacy

In conversation with the graduate students in my teaching circle this week, we were discussing the use of technology in our classrooms, specifically the Canvas learning management system, but also devices with internet access and specific programs like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, and soon the discussion turned to the pedagogical usefulness of new technology or perhaps its compatibility with less technologically dependent pedagogies. In particular, we considered issues of accessibility, both accessibility to differently-abled people and a general accessibility to the technology itself; that is, does everyone have it? And, on a related point, does having access to the technology always translate into an ability to use the technology?

The consensus among our circle was that our students appear to all have smartphones, and many more besides have iPads, Surfaces, and laptops that they bring into the classroom. This technological ubiquity may not, of course, be present at all colleges and universities, much less all high schools, but it seems to indicate a rapidly growing presence of these devices. To a limited extent some of our remodeled and new classrooms have laptops to loan, as does our university library, and, of course, there are computer labs scattered all over campus. At the very least, then, it seems that the availability of the technology is becoming a diminishing concern.

However, we did note that there was still a wide range of technological literacy among our students. After web browsing and texting, other technological skills may drop off quickly among many of the students. Something as basic as using word processing programs often presents problems with font choices, margins, and indentations. Familiarity with web and PowerPoint design should not be assumed either. I think that rather than avoiding these and other technological tools, however, this indicates a need on our part as educators to work these tools into our classes. This is not just where our culture is going; it’s where it already is and we need to be sure that our students have at least a baseline proficiency with these innovations and those yet to come so that they can fully participate in the world and have a better command of their own lives. This is another area where I think active learning provides support because I have seen students assisting each other with the technology as well as with the other course material.