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01-26-02

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TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY UPDATE

A weekly newsletter for families and educators committed to
building brighter futures for kids in a technology-rich society.
THIS WEEK: Part 4 of our technological literacy series as we
delve into INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES!!

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TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY THIS WEEK

This is the fourth week addressing the significant technologies
identified by the ITEA in their "Technology for All Americans"
project. This week, we'll look at Standard #17-- "Students will
develop an understanding of and be able to select and use
information and communication technologies."

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES - AN OVERVIEW

A solid understanding of information and communication
technologies (ICT) may very well be the single most important
factor contributing to a student's technological literacy. This
is the "information age" and the ability to recognize and
utilize the tools that empower us as information consumers is
critical! The scope of ICT is vast and ranges through all the
devices and mechanisms that record, store, manipulate, analyze,
or transmit data. This obviously covers a LOT of ground!!

Examples of ICT abound in the world around us, so facilitating
a discussion is not a daunting task. Think about all the
devices that you and your students encounter on a daily basis.
A few obvious examples include telephones, televisions, media
players such as CD/VCR/DVD/MP3, radio, fax, and the Internet.

A high level of technological literacy in communications will
also go beyond the basics of recognizing and being able to
utilize communications hardware. It will also encompass a
deeper understanding of the communications process and all that
it entails. The simple act of conveying an accurate verbal
message is actually quite complex. To address this complexity,
the ITEA standards delve into issues such as symbolic
interpretation and how the communications medium itself can
alter the meaning of a message. The full text of the standards
are available online, including a solid breakdown of what
students at various grade levels should know. For more
information, visit the ITEA official website:
http://www.iteawww.org

TRY THIS AT HOME OR IN YOUR CLASS!

This is an awesome lesson plan that uses simple LEGO materials
to demonstrate the complexity of the communication process. Use
this to kick off a thorough treatment of the communications
process and the technology that accompanies it.

MATERIALS

This is a simple building and communication exercise that
requires 2 sets of identical LEGO elements including building
bricks and baseplates. You will need two matched sets of 1
small baseplate and 7 or 8 LEGO building bricks.

PREPARATION

Using one of the sets of LEGO materials, build a small model by
stacking bricks on the baseplate in any pattern. Put some side
by side, some on top of one another, and some separate from the
others. Be careful to keep this finished model hidden from the
students.

THE ACTIVITY

Step 1. Lead an introductory class discussion on the concept of
clear versus unclear communication. Ask several student
volunteers to give verbal directions on how to make a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich, and have the rest of the class
analyze what worked and what did not work in their directions.
Now, announce to your students that a physical demonstration of
the communications process is next!

Step 2. You will need two students to volunteer to demonstrate
the activity. Depending on time and available LEGO materials,
you can have more students do the activity.

Step 3. Have the two students sit back to back so they can
clearly speak and hear one another, but cannot see each other.
Position them so that your other students have a clear view of
the exercise.

Step 4. Select one student to be the "sender" and the other to
be the "receiver." Give the sender the sample LEGO model that
you built, and the receiver the matching set of parts.

Step 5. Clearly explain that the two students will have five
minutes to duplicate the existing model, using only verbal
instructions from the sender. Step back and start the clock!

Step 6. At the end of the five minutes, hold up the original
and duplicate models. The success of the duplication will vary
depending on the age and sophistication of your students, but
this is a challenging activity! Wrap up your introduction to
communications with a class discussion evaluating the
performance of your two volunteers-- what were their greatest
barriers to success? What worked best for them?

This activity was provided by PCS Learning Labs, experts in
technological literacy and LEGO use. Thanks!
http://www.edventures.com/l/10/tlu10c/index.html

ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS

The following is a link to an awesome lesson plan from the New
York Times lesson plan archive. Using simple materials, you can
help your students explore the effect that a medium (the
Internet) can have on your communications and relationships.
http://www.edventures.com/l/10/tlu10b/index.html

NEXT WEEK: TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES!!

We hope that this introduction to Information and Communications
Technologies has been useful. In order for students to be
successful in the information age, they must have a solid grasp
of the fundamentals of communications since we use these skills
daily in both work and play.

Try to find a moment to integrate some of this information into
your daily routine with your students or family this week.
Together, we can build a brighter future for students around the
world by preparing them to use technology as naturally as they
use a pencil and paper!

Until next week!

Technological Literacy Update

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