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.
Google is just something that is ingrained in our life, but don't be fooled -- Google is super powerful! That's why it's so important that kids and adults alike know how to do the basics of browsing! Here's a summary of the basic browsing skills kids should know and when (check the "General Browsing Skills" tab). Here's a list of things you can find there! Let me know in the comments -- are there any you yourself are unsure of? Are there any you think your kids don't know? Are there any you'd like a demo video created for? I'd love to help!
- Use refresh, forward, and back buttons
- Use tabs
- Create/use favorites/bookmarks
- Locate the URL of a website
- Understand what the different domains are (e.g., .org, .com, .edu, .net, .gov)
