Todays' blog post is the next post in a series of posts sharing the TL;DR information available in the Illinois Computer Literacy Knowledge and Skill Development Continuum adopted May 2022. In this series, it is hoped that you will have a better understanding of what technology skills our students are expected to have at different grade levels. Of course, each student is different -- some will acquire these skills sooner than their peers; some will acquire them later. These are meant to be a guide for teachers.
Computer literacy isn't just something that is taught in "computer class" by a "computer teacher." Because the use of computing devices impacts our students at school and at home, for school work, for socializing, and for fun or entertainment, computer literacy is something every educator needs to assist students with. It is my hope that by summarizing these skills for you, it will be easier for you to find ways to help students develop, refine, and retain the computer literacy skills they will need and use for the rest of their lives.
You can find the actual continuum here. What you will see in these posts and the linked spreadsheet are my interpretations and summaries.
File management is a big job! Take a good look at your own files. Where are they stored/saved? Are they on your desktop? The hard drive of your computer? In the network H drive? Online in Google Drive? All over the place? Do you know the difference between those locations? It can be overwhelming for adults, so imagine how hard it can be for kids!
The thing about teaching kids about file management is that it takes time and multiple resources. You have to walk kids through things step by step, model it, provide demonstration videos, step by step handouts, and opportunities to try, try again. If you're thinking that you don't have time to create all sorts of resources for your students, fear not! This is what I am for (as well as your building tech person)! We can make the videos and the handouts for you -- all you have to do is ask! Then all you have to do is provide your kids the class time and the opportunity.
If you check out this spreadsheet, you'll see a list of file management skills kids need to know under the "File Management" tab. When you look carefully at this, you'll see that none of these skills are even expected to be addressed in kindergarten, many not addressed in 1st grade, most are considered beginning skills in grades 1-5 (meaning they guidance and support), most are considered developing in grades 6-7 (meaning they still need some assistance), and most expected to be secured by grade 8 (meaning they can do them independently). But keep in mind, the 8th graders can't have these skills secured unless all the previous grade levels have also helped kids learn file management along the way!
After looking at the spreadsheet, which file management skills would you like resources for? Drop them in the comments, and I'll get the tech team mobilized to create these for you and your students!
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