Computer Literacy
TEST SIGN-IN

A Summary of the Standards

A realistic set of standards must address the following topics:

Analog & Digital
Bits & Bytes
Binary Information
Input & Output
Hardware Functions
Programs & Data
Basic Application Procedures
File Management
Operating Systems
Networks/Internet

These topics involve concepts that must be integrated into a coherent body of knowledge—not just presented as a hodge-podge of disjointed definitions, as is usually done.

A genuine understanding of all this is not beyond the grasp of the average 14 year-old and can be learned in about 20 to 24 hours of mostly lecture and demonstration.

One of the best courses that addresses all these topics is the Computer Orientation Series offered by CL-USA board member Bill Stewart of Virtual Bill, Inc. at Leisure Learning Unlimited in Houston, TX.

The complete list of CL-USA standards is proprietary and available to CL-USA partners who serve in an advisory role. To find out more, contact Bill Stewart at 281-489-7944.

Setting Computer Literacy Standards

The CL-USA definition of computer literacy is based on the idea of self-sufficiency. So to create a meaningful set of standards we start from the following question:

What does the average person need to know about computers in order function independently with them?

All of the popular notions of computer literacy center around the mistaken idea that using computers automatically translates into understanding them. This is such a deeply ingrained idea that to appreciate the CL-USA approach it might be helpful to start with what we want to be able to do with computers and then work backwards to identify the "missing links" that represent the common but crippling knowledge gaps most computer users have. Below we match "doing" with the corresponding "knowing."

What we must KNOW vs. what we must be able to DO

There is little debate about what we must be able to do with computers. The following is a list of the four most basic of these and what we must know about them:

1) Using Windows-based applications such as Word and Excel

What we must be able to DO:

• Edit
• Save and open
• Print
• Cut and paste
• Click and drag
• Minimize and maximize
• Navigate menus

What we must KNOW:
Memorizing procedures is all that is required here. No computer knowledge is needed if learning to use specific programs is the only goal.

2) Managing Files

What we must be able to DO:

• Create directories
• Copy and move files
• Delete files
• Rename files

What we must KNOW:

• What a file is physically
• File naming conventions
• What hard disk is and how it works
• How all disks store files
• Disk formatting
• What a directory is
• How the operating system is involved
• The digital nature of files
  

3) Maintaining the Computer System

What we must be able to DO:

• Install and uninstall programs
• Install hardware and drivers
• Configure/customize software and hardware
• Deal with problems/prevent problems
• Communicate with computer literate people

What we must KNOW:

• How operating systems (like Windows) work
• How hardware components work
• How programs maintain themselves
  
  

4) Using the Internet (and Other Networks)

What we must be able to DO:

• Send/receive e-mail and attachments
• Browse the web
• Upload and download files
• Deal with security issues

What we must KNOW:

• How networks are configured (in a general sense)
• What an IP address is
• What a URL is
• What a server is
• How information is routed through a network

The learning process can only be effective if there is a proper balance of DOING and KNOWING. In nearly all "Intro to Computers" books, classes and courseware, the emphasis is almost exclusively on "doing." The CL-USA standards shift the emphasis to include "knowing."