Computer Literacy -- What Our Students Need to Know

The state of Illinois recently implemented K -12 technology standards, and to assist with that, they have also released a document titled, "Computer Literacy: Knowledge and Skill Development Continuum." From that document: "Beginning with the 2022 - 2023 school year, all school districts shall ensure that students receive developmentally appropriate opportunities to gain computer literacy skills at each grade level K - 12." Here's what that means for us: We need to be conscious in our efforts to provide students with the opportunity to work with technology and develop the skills they need, not just to achieve these standards but to also help them develop the skills they need to be able to complete tasks in and out of school. Computer literacy skills cannot be taught in isolation; this means it can't just be the job of one teacher to cover these skills. Instead, it needs to be a concerted effort by all teachers. Next school year, I will be making it a priority to find resources and tools for teachers to help them work with students on developing the appropriate computer literacy skills, according to this continuum. Here are some highlighted skills and where students should be. You might be surprised to see that for some, we are ahead of the game and for others, we are behind a bit.

• Identify the basic components of a computing device; turn on/off a computing device and follow steps to access the device.
• K: beginning
• 1-2: developing
• 3-8: secured
• Use a mouse or trackpad
• K-1: beginning
• 2: developing
• 3-9: secured
• Use desktop icons to open and close files
• K-4: beginning
• 5-6: developing
• 7-8: secured
• Locate and use the correct finger/hand for space bar, return/enter, and shift
• K-1: beginning
• 2-3: developing
• 4-8: secured
• Locate and use letter and number keys with hand placement in home row
• K-1: beginning
• 2-3: developing
• 4-8: secured
• Use login credentials
• K: N/A
• 1-3: beginning
• 4-5: developing
• 6-8: secured
• Create, save, and edit files and folders
• K: N/A
• 1-5: beginning
• 6-7: developing
• 8: secured
• Know the difference between safe and unsafe practices when using online social media applications
• K-2: beginning
• 3-8: developing
• Use tab browsing to manage multiple web pages
• K-1: beginning
• 2-3: developing
• 4-8: secured
• Know how to do an effective browser search
• K: N/A
• 1-2: beginning
• 3-5: developing
• 6-8: secured
• Use multimedia in documents or presentations
• K-2: beginning
• 3-5: developing
• 6-8: secured
• Use email
• K-1: N/A
• 2: beginning
• 3-5: developing
• 6-8: secured

As you prepare to leave for the summer, I hope you RELAX and have some wonderful experiences with your family and friends. But I am also willing to bet that many of you will be doing a little bit of school work, too. Summer has always been one of my favorite times to work because I can work as much or as little as I want, on my patio, in my jammies, with coffee, with a glass of wine, however I want! If you do any work this summer, please consider reviewing this continuum to see how you can work the tech experiences into your curriculum so we can all work together to help our kids be the best they can be in every aspect of their education!